We are blessed with many clear and sunny days in the fall here in North Central Washington State, and I try to plan as many fishing trips as possible when the forecast calls for these conditions. I have had some wonderful days enjoying the warm sunshine and good fishing. I am surprised at times, when the weather turns cold and rainy, that the fishing is still very good!
I had a video project to do for the City of Moses Lake, and last Wednesday seemed to be the perfect day for it. The forecast was for sun and calm weather, and my friend James Lebow was available to help me out. He met me at Blue Heron Park, and we took his boat from there to Cascade Park to show people the facilities there and what a great place it was to start a tour on the “Water Trail” on Moses Lake. Cascade Park is just one of several good launching spots for those who enjoy power boating, paddling a canoe, kayak or paddleboard. It is fairly protected and there is an “on the water park.” John E. Calbom Island Park at the mouth of the bay. I also showed Peninsula Park on the west shore and Montlake Park on the east shore. Both are great places to explore Moses Lake by small watercraft. We observed a beaver swimming across the lake, a muskrat, a blue heron and other wildlife while we were on the water. We even stopped at the I-90 Bridge for a while and caught some whopper crappie. This week’s photo is of one of the crappie we caught while there.
I often pull off Highway 2 on my way home from Rufus Woods, Banks Lake, or other destinations in this area, at Jack’s Resort on Jameson Lake. I want to check on the fishing on the lake, of course, and it’s an excuse to buy a couple of slices of pie. This habit spans at least 15 years. The pies that Ginger makes are well worth the seven mile drive off the highway. I get my wife her favorite coconut cream and I get the chocolate-peanut butter cream for myself. Ginger always greets me and knows exactly what I want and in addition to the delicious pies she gives me the fishing report. Unlike Banks Lake, which was vacant of anglers, there were bank anglers on the shores of Jameson Lake, and I saw at least one boat. Many anglers know that the month of October is a very good time to fish for the rainbow that inhabit Jameson. Ginger was excited to report that a pair of anglers had been in that morning with limits of rainbow that ranged in size from 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. Jameson continues to be a great late season trout fishery.
On my way back from Moses Lake last week, I stopped by Rocky Ford Creek, near Ephrata. I will often visit this stream when I’m in the area to check on the water conditions this time of year. Fly fishing Rocky Ford is one of my favorite late fall and winter fisheries. Like many waters in our region, there is heavy weed growth in the summer months, and it takes some cold weather to clear them out. As I suspected, there was a blanket of weeds along the shores of Rocky Ford, and although we are starting to see some very cold and even freezing temperatures, it will be a while before The Ford is really fishable. There is open water in the middle of the stream, but good luck getting one of the big trout over to the bank to release it. I walked out on the bridge at the upper parking lot, and I just saw one big rainbow near it. Usually, I see several. They must be in the deepest, coolest water right now. I did notice several small trout that I assume are from a recent plant. I will keep you posted on the conditions at Rocky Ford.
A couple of years ago I met Beau Harman at the middle net pens on Rufus Woods. He said he was a big fan and if I ever wanted to visit him in the town of Curlew, I would be welcome. I took him up on his offer. My wife and I first fished the Kettle River probably 15 years ago, and I have made several trips there since then, and I decided to visit Beau and fish the Kettle River last Friday and Saturday. After getting settled into the trailer Beau had set up for me, I made a bee line to my favorite fishing hole with my fly rod. It was a terrific reunion with the river and its trout. It was sunny and warm, and I caught and released about 25 fish that were a mix of rainbow and whitefish and one brown trout. Beau and I had a nice dinner in Republic and the next morning I woke up to a cold and rainy day. I still wanted to try my favorite hole, and I am glad I did. I landed about 15 fish that were all larger than the ones I got the day before!
When I was on the way home from fishing the Kettle River, I stopped at the Northrup boat launch on Banks Lake. I wanted to see if the docks were still in. They were and maybe for the first time ever, I saw there wasn’t a single truck and trailer in the parking lot. This indicated that even the hardiest of anglers weren’t going to fish on this cold and rainy day. I did see Aulin Smith, who works for the WDFW and checks on angler success on several bodies of water here in Central Washington. He said that “most likely” the docks would be pulled at the end of October, and I also assumed that the cleaning station near the boat ramp would be shut down for the winter. Aulin also mentioned that the walleye fishing had slowed down in recent days, probably due to the sharp drop in temperatures. I told him I was surprised that there were no anglers fishing for whitefish. He said that the whitefish will often disperse from the popular fishing area in Devils Lake, and we agreed that they would be out in force once again when the ice gets safe enough to drill holes in Banks Lake.
