Along with the warmer days we get in the spring it can be windy throughout the region. In addition, we have had a lot of rain recently. Many consider this a good thing but getting knocked around in the boat is one thing but doing it and getting wet is something I try to avoid. Anglers are carefully choosing the days they want to be out on the water. I did manage to get some fishing in between storms last week.

I finally made it to Wapato Lake to try for kokanee. I had heard that the kokanee were big and wanted to see for myself. I tried to see when kokanee were first introduced to Wapato Lake but couldn’t find the trout and kokanee planting reports for Chelan County prior to 2020. According to the reports from this year forward, 25,000 kokanee are being planted in Wapato Lake. This may account for the larger size of the kokanee being caught in Wapato Lake, compared to those being taken from Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee. Fish Lake received 63,000 kokanee last June and they are now a solid 12 inches. They may be larger as we approach the fall and by next spring should be even bigger.

Tom Verschuren and I headed up there Tuesday morning and launched at the park at the east end of the lake. I had talked to Alan Greenhalgh, owner of Kokabow Fishing Tackle, the day before and he said to fish shallow. I told him that this was the case with Fish Lake kokanee. When I fished there recently we had the riggers set no lower than 12 feet and even got fish while letting the line out. He mentioned that the Kokabow blades are heavy enough to be fished without weight and are probably ten feet deep when put 100 feet behind the boat and trolled at 1.3 to 1.5 mph.

We got a nice 16-inch kokanee flatlined with the Inferno Tail Feather blade in the Copper Series trailed by a Talon spinner before we got all the lines out. Our leaders were 16 inches. We got two more kokanee on this same setup. We marked several schools at twenty feet along the south shore of the lake, were we encounter another angler that had five kokanee, and he mentioned the fish were shallow. I did see one boat trolling with side planers, and this is something I may try on my next trip to Wapato. I always use these when fishing at Lake Roosevelt, where the fish are known to be very shallow in the winter and spring. The wind started to blow so I figured that it would be good idea to put our lures a little deeper, so I added a one-ounce weight ahead of the blades. Sure enough, fish number two and three came on the weighed setups. The wind continued to build and by ten o’clock we decided to pack it in. We will be planning another trip to Wapato soon, knowing we can get Lake Roosevelt size kokanee much closer to home. This week’s photo is of me with an 18-inch kokanee from Wapato Lake.

I hope you have your calendar marked for the Quincy Chamber’s Annual Pike Minnow Derby. It’s coming up on May 13th through the 15th and will be held at Crescent Bar. The popularity of this derby has really grown the past few years. Not only do anglers make a significant contribution to the health of the Columbia River for salmon and steelhead by removing hundreds of pike minnows, but they are also rewarded with cash and prizes by participating in the derby. I am amazed at the amount of, and quality of the prizes handed out to winners, plus through the raffles. The derby organizers also treat derby participants with a great lunch right before the awards ceremony. It is easy to get the derby rules and even register for the event online. Just go to www.fishingmagician.com and click on the “Something Fishy in Quincy” logo on the Home Page. You can pick up a registration blank in person at Quincy Hardware Lumber, Hooked on Toys or Sportsman’s Warehouse in East Wenatchee.

Another fishery that gets going in the spring is the fishing for Northern Pike on Lake Roosevelt. You may be aware of the suppression effort being made by the WDFW and several tribes to curb the spread of Northern Pike on the big reservoir. If these voracious predators make their way into the Columbia River below Chief Joseph Dam, they could pose a serious threat to our salmon and steelhead populations.

The tribes are using tangle nets anchored along the shores in likely places to find Northern Pike and want sport anglers to fish for them. To encourage this, the Colville Tribe offers a bounty of $10.00 for each Northern Pike head turned into locations on Lake Roosevelt. Sport anglers have contributed to about a third of the catch of Northern Pike in some years. To learn more about the bounty program and even find a map of likely places to find Northern Pike, click on the Catch.Kill.Report. logo on the home page of my website.

I fished for Northern Pike last May right at this time, and did a video with Kevin Witte, of Up River Outfitter Guide Service. He shared some good information about where and how to fish for Northern Pike. You can watch the video by going to the Dave Graybill YouTube channel. Another video you may want to watch is of Austin Moser, of Austin’s Northwest Adventures Guide Service, fishing for walleye and smallmouth bass on Moses Lake. Just click on “Spring on Moses Lake” on the Fishing TV Page of my website.

If you pass by any of the rivers in our region you will notice that the flows have been getting stronger as our annual spring runoff begins in earnest. There is a great way to find out what the water conditions are around Rock Island and Rocky Reach dams before you plan to get out on the water. The Currents App provided free by Chelan County PUD will give you that information. Just click on the app logo on the Home Page of my website and download the free app to your smartphone.

When the wind settles down I will be out on the water and hope to see you out there!