Winter is being reluctant to release it’s icy grip. We even got a good shot of new snow up here in Leavenworth. I was talking about an early spring a couple of weeks ago, but Mother Nature had a different idea. So, I made lemons into lemonade and had two really fun trips to Fish Lake and ice fished for perch.
I had such a great time fishing for perch last week I just had to get out and do it again. The weather report wasn’t very appealing, but I wanted to go anyway. I put on my heated jacket and my heated socks and drove up the Tumwater Canyon to Fish Lake. When I arrived on Sunday morning it was snowing. The snow was falling so hard that I was a little concerned about getting disoriented out on the lake. I could just make out a couple of groups of anglers and the trees behind the Cove Resort, so I trudged out to what I thought would be a good spot to start.

Anyway, I stopped and drilled two holes and put down my baits. This time I used one of those tip extensions that fit on the end of the rod and have a bright ring. They are called Big Eye and I have seen other people use them. They really made a difference when I was trying to see a light bite in the flat light on this cloudy and snowy day. I was using two rods and found that I had to set the hook and let one fish swim around while I hooked another and brought it in. If one rod didn’t get a bite I knew that my bait was gone. I had 25 perch on the ice in about 2 ½ hours. It might be my last ice fishing trip this winter and it was really fun.

My niece Sophie Graybill was going to be home from college for the long weekend, and she had never been ice fishing. So along with her Dad, Lane Graybill and a couple of her friends, we met at Fish Lake near Lake Wenatchee on Sunday of the President’s Day Holiday. The ice was at least five inches thick on the lake, and it took me just minutes to drill enough holes for our group. Sophie had bought a couple ice fishing rods, so we had enough to go around.
It took a while for them to get the hang of setting the hook, but soon they were all catching perch. We had everything from bright sunshine to heavy snow at times while we were on the lake. We met at about 7 a.m. and there was just one other truck in the parking area when we arrived, but by the time we left there were at least thirty people out on the ice.

We were using a pinch of nightcrawler with a couple of sinkers below the hooks, and we found that the fish were right on the bottom. We got a few perch that were just 7 or 8 inches, but we also got some plump 9 to 10 inchers. I plan to make another trip to Fish Lake as there is some very cold weather in the forecast that will keep the ice nice and thick. This week’s photo is of Sophie Graybill (right), Jaque Hixssen (middle) and Teagan Igne on the left, showing how much they loved the perch at Fish Lake.

The first family fun fishing derby of the spring is set for Saturday, March 19th. It’s the annual Burke Lake Trout Derby, sponsored by the Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce. This derby usually takes place on the first Saturday of March each year, but due to the continued chilly weather, Burke Lake will most likely be covered with ice.

I have always thought of this event as the unofficial start of spring trout fishing in the region. It is held in the Quincy Wildlife Area, where many lakes open on March first. The chamber and volunteers set up a big tent in the parking area of Burke Lake as derby headquarters. This is where registered derby anglers will bring their catches to be weighed and measured to qualify for the many prizes the chamber will provide. Thanks to the generosity of the local sponsors, there will a bunch of items to be awarded to derby winners and to those with lucky raffle ticket numbers.

Burke Lake always gets a good shot of rainbow from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, so fishing is usually great during the derby. To get in on the action, interested anglers can go to www.fishingmagician.com and click on the “Something is Fishy in Quincy” logo on the Home Page. You will find the derby rules, and a registration form. You can pick up a registration form at Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee, Sportsman’s Warehouse in East Wenatchee, Quincy Hardware and Building Supply in Quincy and at the Chamber of Commerce in Quincy.

Anglers should expect delays in the ability to fish many of the lakes in the Columbia Basin that open on March 1st, due to the icy conditions. Dusty Lake, which is accessed by trail in the Quincy Wildlife area, will be frozen on March 1st. Martha Lake, which is east of the town of George, and Caliche Lake to the west of George are a couple also frozen. Also, fly fishers will be disappointed as lakes that they start their season on will be ice bound. These include Lake Lenore, north of Soap Lake. Not far from Lenore is Dry Falls Lake. Both will take time to thaw out. To the south of these lakes near the town of Beverly are Lenice, Nunnally Lakes that are quality lakes and are very popular with fly fishers. They will have to wait a while to fish these lakes as well.

Meanwhile kokanee fishermen are out in force on Lake Chelan. There was a kokanee derby on the lake this past weekend, and over 60 boats participated. I hear that success was pretty good. At least these guys got to fish open water.
I will try to keep an eye on the lakes in the region and let you know when the ice starts to break up. There’s going to be some great fishing ahead of us this spring!