We got a lot of snow followed by rain in Leavenworth this past week. There really was only one day that would have tempted me to get out on the water, and I missed that opportunity. I have to face the prospect of fishing in the rain in the coming week if I want to get outdoors. Oh well. There will be plenty of sunny days this winter. That’s the benefit of living on the dry side of the state.

I wanted to see if there were any places that were attracting anglers up north in Okanogan County, so I called my long-time fishing buddy Keith Roe at North 40 Outfitters in Omak. Seems that anglers up there are in the same mode. Just biding their time and waiting for some better weather to get out. About the only thing that he is hearing about is Rufus Woods, and that has been good. Things will change when the weather does, in terms of people fishing their favorite spots this time of year.

Roe knows I like to fish from shore at Brandts Landing on the bottom end of Rufus Woods in the winter. He was wondering if this federal park was open after a fire swept through here last summer. I knew how to find out. I called Dave Marchaud, who is a fish checker for the Colville Tribe. He cruises Rufus Woods from the public accesses above Chief Joseph Dam up to Brandts Landing, and talks to anglers, seeing if they are having any success. He answered his phone on my first attempt to reach him, and he told me that yes, Brandts Landing is open to fishing. Anglers fishing from the access points here are having the best success, compared to the other places at this end of the reservoir.

He said he just recently visited with an angler who was fishing with his daughter at Brandts, and they had one fish that weighed just over 3 pounds and one that weighed just under 8 pounds. Brandts Landing has been the most consistent producer of triploid rainbow trout so far this winter.

This was good news for me. I do like to fish Brandts Landing from the shore and have been doing so for many years. When weather and road conditions prevent me from dragging the boat around, I like to hit Brandts. Heck, I have even been known to get my two-fish limit on Rufus fairly quickly, pack up my gear and drive up the Spring Canyon on Lake Roosevelt. I have finished my five-fish daily limit fishing from the sandy shore here.

When I fish from shore at Rufus Woods or Lake Roosevelt, I have been using the same technique for years. I use a spinning rod and slide on a ½-ounce egg sinker above a swivel. I then tie on a 10-pound test fluorocarbon leader of three or four feet long. I push a piece of marshmallow onto the size 2 hook and then add the body of a jarred shrimp. I hit with a dab of Graybills Guide Formula and cast it out. I prop my rod on a simple sand spike and then push it into the sand or jam it in the rocks.

When I fished Rufus Woods over a week ago I used my fly rod to catch a dandy triploid. I hadn’t had my fly rod out for a long time. It reminded me that there are some good opportunities for fly fishers this time of year. There are several quality lakes that fly fishers could try before they freeze. Better hurry though, the lakes I mention will close at the end of November. These include Dry Falls, Lenice and Nunnally and Lake Lenore. All of these lakes are managed under selective fishing rules, meaning no bait and single barbless hooks. The daily limit on all of them is one fish with an 18-inch minimum.

A lake that got my attention last season, but I didn’t get to fish yet, is Davis Lake near Twisp. This one fished really well last fall and it is now open year round. This is also a selective rule water, with a daily limit of two fish of at least 14 inches. When it gets cold enough to freeze our area lakes, I then plan a trip to Rocky Ford Creek outside of Ephrata. It is spring fed, never freezes, produces whopper rainbow for fly fishers and is a catch and release fishery.

When there is a break in the weather that will allow me to get out on the water in the Kingfisher, one of the places that I would like to fish first is Lake Chelan. I have had some good days of kokanee fishing on the big lake this time of year. Launching at the State Park I head for the Yacht Club. Starting above the Yacht Club where the channel opens, I look for schools of fish along the eastern shore. I may have to run up to Mitchell Creek, and if there isn’t any wind, I will shoot all the way up to 25 Mile Creek. Schools of kokanee can be few and far between at times, but I can usually find enough of them to make for a good day. The fish are most likely going to be down 100 to 130 feet, so we will run two downriggers and put two rods out the back with four- to six-ounce lead balls.

I know I have the gear to get them. I have always done well with Kokabow blades and either squidders or spinners. I tend to use bright color blades on bright days and darker ones on overcast days. The orange squidders have been very effective and I will always have one of these out on Chelan. Although I use orange spinners and sometimes pink, one of my favorites is the Ravisher. I always put two kernels of white shoe peg corn on each hook and douse them with Graybill’s Guide Formula. This week’s photo is of me on Lake Chelan a couple of years ago.

The use of our area parks was way up this year. People wanted to get out and enjoy the outdoors and we have lots to offer. Use will continue through the winter, and if you want to find out which State Parks are open during the colder months, you can log onto www.parks.state.wa.us.

I have my fingers crossed for two or three days of clear weather. I am definitely itchin’ to go fishin’!