My fishing buddy James Lebow wanted to see if some of his favorite fishing haunts on Moses Lake would still produce walleye. So, Ryan Harris and I jumped on his boat last Friday at about 7 a.m. We launched at Blue Heron Park, thinking we may want to fish both the south end and upper end of the lake. We decided to try an area just below the I-90 Bridge above Peninsula Park. Turns out we never had to leave this spot. James deployed his Minn Kota Ulterra, and we put out bottom bouncers and spinners and started trolling in about nine feet of water. We were all using Sparkly Green Smile Blades, which seem to work best on Moses Lake. James kept his eye on his Humminbird depth sounder and trolled in a pattern that skirted the weed beds. We were into fish right away and found enough walleye here to keep us busy. We found that even when we wound up in the weeds, we usually got a fish. We got the occasional perch or smallmouth bass and released a few undersized walleye. By 11:30 we had 22 walleye from 14 to 21 inches in the live well and headed for the launch and lunch. James filleted our catch back at his home. The water temperature on the lake was about 22 degrees, and we were both very impressed with the quality of the fish. This week’s photo is of me with one of the bigger walleye we landed.

The other day I decided to swing by the takeout on the Wenatchee River to see if anyone was catching fish on the Icicle River. Just pulling the boat out of the river was Diane, Shane Magnuson’s wife, with him in the boat! This was a wonderful surprise. As many of you know, Shane and I go way back. We have fished together on the Columbia River from Drano Lake all the way up to the Brewster Pool and even made a couple of trips on the Okanogan River for steelhead. We laughed about our first trip down the Icicle in a 12 foot rowboat and landing a springer, and the day he put me on two 30 pounders in the same hole a few years later. Shane has been good enough to help me shoot videos on fishing for salmon and steelhead on many popular destinations on the Columbia River, and they have been viewed by tens of thousands of anglers. To this day, people tell him that they just watched one of the videos and enjoyed it, even though it’s many years old. It was great to see him and his wife and that they are doing well.

Bob Feil Boats and Motors is sponsoring several boating events in the region, and the Second Annual Opening of Boating Season and Boat Parade at Crescent Bar is one of them. It’s coming up on Saturday, June 14th. If you have a boat, any kind of boat, you can join the fun. Just show up with your boat decorated and crew dressed to reflect the Pirate theme. It takes place at the marina near Tower Pizza. The boats will all stage in the back bay and cruise within view of the crowd on the bridge over the channel. The top three best dressed crew and decorated boats will receive a treasure chest of goodies, and their names engraved on the coveted three-foot tall Crescent Bar Cup. I attended the event last year and it was a lot of fun. This year’s promises to be even bigger and better. There are a limited number of boats that will be included in the parade, so get your registration in right away. All you have to do is log onto the Crescent Bar Association’s website at www.CrescentBar.org and fill out a registration form. The association pulls out all the stops to make this day one to remember.

Christine Lee works at Bob Feil Boats and Motors, and when her mother Brenda visits from Alberta, Canada, I take them fishing. They have fished with me on the Smoker Craft Phantom on Lake Wenatchee for sockeye, Lake Chelan for kokanee, and now Banks Lake for smallmouth bass. I always like to take people that want to catch a bass to Banks, as it is loaded with eager fish, and it is a very scenic place. Christine took the bow position and Brenda joined me in the stern. I actually ran the Minn Kota all day from the back of the boat and am getting pretty good at steering without seeing where the head of the motor is pointing. They loved seeing fish on the Garmin fish finder. We fished the west shore above Rosebush and found plenty of smallmouth. We cast our baits close to shore, or over large submerge rocks. They were hitting Baby Brush Hogs, Lizards and grubs. We released a bunch of small ones, and they kept some of the larger fish to take home to cook. Once again, I had a blast fishing with these two, and I look forward to our next adventure.

I know that if you follow my reports on my website, Facebook page, on radio or newspaper, you are an angler already. Maybe you have a friend, family member, or neighbor that doesn’t fish and here’s chance to let them sample what you enjoy. Washington State’s Free Fishing Weekend is coming up on June 7th and 8th, and people don’t need a fishing license to experience what so many people do. The Free Fishing Weekend also coincides with the Discovery Pass Free Days, when the Discovery Pass is not required on lands managed by Washington State Parks or the Department of Fish and Wildlife. You also do not need to have a Vehicle Access Pass or the Two Pole Endorsement. Everyone still needs to follow the rules detailed in the Washington Sport Fishing Pamphlet. As an additional incentive to give fishing a try, those who fish on the Free Fishing Weekend can also win a prize when they catch a tagged trout, through the WDFW’s Trout Derby. There are some exceptions to what anglers can catch without a license, and you can learn about these by visiting the WDFW website. So, take someone fishing. It might mean the beginning of a life long activity.