What a great week. I was able to have two exceptionally fun days on the water. One was with my neighbors and their two children on Lake Wenatchee. The other was with my good buddy James Lebow and my niece Ellie Coen on Rufus Woods Reservoir.

I had an exceptionally fun day last Saturday. James Lebow and I were going to fish Rufus Woods again and he agreed to let me bring my niece Ellie Coen along. Ellie is a beautiful woman and it surprises many people that she is, and always has been, a very avid and accomplished angler. We met James at the grocery store at Coulee Dam and then launched the boat at Seatons Grove. When we arrived at the net pens, there were several boats bottom fishing with bait on the inside of the pens. We always troll downriver with bottom bouncers and Dutch Fork Butterfly blades or Smile Blades on Slow Death Hooks and usually add a couple nice walleye to our catch. This week’s photo is of Ellie.

We made our first pass and got nothing. James and I were concerned. We weren’t used to this. On our last trip, we had three big triploids in the live well after our first pass. Ellie finally landed a triploid but James and I were still worried. The lack of current was killing us. We were already on the water well past the time we were usually on our way home. Finally, at about 11 o’clock, the current picked up and Ellie’s rod got hot. She hooked a big triploid and then got two nice walleye. One was about 17 inches and the other was close to 20 inches long. She thought she had snagged bottom when the big walleye grabbed her gold Butterfly blade.

We decided to run down the next set of net pens to see if the bite was good down there. While we took a bathroom break, James spotted something on the far shore. It was a young black bear. It moseyed up the side of the hill, not really bothered by us. We picked up Ellie and ran back to where we saw the animal and she was able to see her first bear ever in the wild.

It turned out that the trout bite was good here and we were able to finish our limits of triploids. Whew. It just proved what I have always said about fishing the Columbia: You have to have current to catch fish.

I was on Lake Wenatchee on Monday of last week, and although I put the fewest fish in the boat, it was my favorite day on the lake sockeye fishing. Along with me were my neighbors, the Fiske family. Father Dan and Mom Holly have always made sure that their kids get to enjoy the outdoors. They paddle board, surf, hike, camp, and fish on the east and west side of the mountains. I have wanted to get them out on my boat and finally made it happen. Their son Calder is in love with fishing of all kinds and has caught a number of fish from a paddle board with his Dad. Calder is always happy to share his fishing experiences with me and tells a fishing story as good as anyone. Sister Nevada likes fishing, too.

He landed the first sockeye of the day and was thrilled. His little sister Nevada got one soon after. I was impressed with their ability to reel in their fish. They required very little assistance. Calder landed another fish before the bite slowed. I gave each of them a turn at driving the boat before we headed for the dock. Later that week my wife Eileen and I were treated to a meal of sockeye with all the trimmings. Dan Fiske is a very accomplished chef and has cooked all over the world. He currently creates wonderful broth-based dishes at Yodelin, his restaurant in Leavenworth.

I had a busy week when sockeye fishing opened on Lake Wenatchee. I fished four days with friends. I missed a couple of days due to the high winds that are not uncommon at this time of year. Seems like every time we have a sockeye season, the summer winds will blow anglers off the water a good number of days.

I experimented with a variety of attractors and found that although some of the new things I tried were effective, the tried and true three red bare hook rigs still worked the best. Short leaders turned out to be consistently productive. The eight to ten-inch leaders, tied on heavy mono or fluorocarbon, caught the most fish. West Point was a good starting area for me, while others stayed further up at the top end of the lake.

I saw a variety of success, depending on the day, by most anglers, myself included. The water temperature in the lake is still very chilly. That means that the condition of the sockeye will be good, maybe through the season. Typically the fish are in great shape for the first ten days to two weeks and then show signs of nearing the spawn.

I am going to start my week on Monday fishing with my good friend Rollie Schmitten. Rollie introduced me to sockeye fishing on Lake Wenatchee and I learned what I know about it while “deck handing” with him when he took his family and friends fishing. He called the day before we were going to go with a strategy for our day. He asked if he could bring anything and I told him to bring along one of his dodger and three-hook rigs that has been productive for him. I saw him at the dock last Friday. He was coming off the lake with six fish at 9 o’clock. I would be happy to duplicate that on Monday.

On Tuesday, I will be taking my niece Ellie fishing again and this time I will be taking my other niece Sophie with us. This trip to Lake Wenatchee should be a good way to start what I hope to be many more days on the water.

There are a lot of great options for anglers in our region right now. Take advantage of the good weather and get out there. I hope to see you on the water!