I finished last week with a couple of days of excellent fishing with my friend Rollie Schmitten. It was great to have him back out to a couple places where we have experienced some epic catches. I have more plans for some more fun times on the water in the coming week.
Last Friday was the first morning of a triple-header fishing adventure that my fishing partner Rollie Schmitten and I had planned. We were going to be fishing Rufus Woods, Banks Lake and Buffalo Lake, and try for triploid rainbow trout, smallmouth bass and kokanee. We started our adventure fishing below the upper net pens on Rufus Woods. There wasn’t a lot of current, which was a concern. Fishing is always better when there is current but can also be a challenge when fishing with light jigs. We wanted to fish with jigs and no bait so we could release any small fish we landed. Rollie was jigging our favorite 1/8th ounce olive jig and hooked a dandy trout. We switched to bait, as we wanted to get down to Banks Lake, and have plenty of time to fish for smallmouth. It didn’t take long to finish our limits with triploids that averaged about 5 pounds. This is a ton of fun when you are fishing with light gear. Rollie was very impressed with the quality of the fish we caught and was looking forward to loading up his smoker with them. This week’s photo is of me with one of the triploids we caught at the net pens.
I just can’t help it. Every year at this time I check the steelhead numbers over Bonneville and Priest Rapids dams, to see if there is any hope for a steelhead season on the upper Columbia. Last year the numbers kind of took me by surprise. It turned out that we got enough fish up here for an abbreviated season. By that I mean that we got to fish the Methow River and from Wells Dam up to Pateros. My wife was disappointed that the area that she loves to fish in Bridgeport didn’t open, but we gave it a try at Pateros. We took the Bob Feil Boats and Motors Smoker Craft down to The Rocks and then across to one of my favorite spots, and I hooked a great fish. It took off upstream with my reel singing and then my line broke—and my heart. When I checked the numbers recently, I saw a big spike earlier this summer and then the numbers at Bonneville fell off sharply, and the numbers over Priest Rapids are not good. Oh well, maybe next year. Also, the numbers of fall Chinook over Bonneville are looking better, so fishing above Wanapum should improve soon.
I had heard from a couple of contacts that the perch were bigger than usual at Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee. I suggested to Tom Verschueren that we go up and check it out, and he agreed to join me for a few hours on the lake. He enjoys fishing here, and we have had some great days catching trout, kokanee, bass and perch. More than anything though he just likes being on the lake to take in the scenery and the wildlife. We often spot bald eagles and always watch ospreys snatching fish off the surface of the lake, and on this trip, we even watched a group of otters moving across the water. We do like to catch perch, though. He got his first taste of perch last year and is now more eager than ever to get out and get a bunch. I told him that I didn’t want to keep anything small, and it turned out that most of the perch we landed were 9 ½ to just barely 10 inches. These are keeper perch in my book and certainly bigger that the perch we typically have caught in the past on Fish Lake.
I know a lot of anglers have been frustrated with the fall fishing above Priest Rapids Dam. The forecast was for a very good return of fall Chinook this year, but they just haven’t shown up. The good news is that the run is just hitting its stride over Bonneville Dam. Although the numbers of fall Chinook that have passed over Priest Rapids Dam so far have been disappointing, be patient, they are on the way. I have visited the parking lot at the boat launch off Huntzinger Road, and it was full. Anglers are eager to get after these fall fish. When I stopped by the launch at Wanapum Dam, it was basically out of service due to the low water. I have friends that use the launch at Desert Aire, and it’s not busy at all. It isn’t that much of a run up from there to the popular fishing areas off the mouth of Crab Creek and the trestle. Some even fish right above Priest Rapids Dam when the counts are at their peak, so don’t give up on the fall Chinook fishing just yet. The best fishing of the season is ahead of us.
I will be sitting down to write my free Quarterly E-Letter for Fall soon, and if you want to get on the list to receive a copy, I will make it easier than ever to get one; all you have to do is click on the Contact Button on the www.FishingMagician.com Home Page and send me a note saying you want to be added to the list. I will take care of it from there. Before I send out the free Quarterly E-Letter for Fall, I am going to send out a Monthly Update to those who have paid to receive them. These Monthly Updates provide subscribers with the best information based on my personal experience of the opportunities in the coming month. They will receive detailed information on where to go to have the best chance at success on fisheries available in our region. So, send me a request to be added to the list of those who will receive the free Quarterly E-Letters and see what you think of what I share with those who read these e-letters. I will let you know when I plan to send out the next Monthly Update to paying subscribers and you can decide it you want to be added to that list.
