I have been reminding everyone about the extended fall we’re having here in the region, and to take advantage of the good weather. My trouble is that sometimes I ignore the forecasts and just have to get out on the water.

My plan for Tuesday was just another in a series of not-so-great choices I have made about where to go fishing recently. If your phone rings and indicates that I am calling, you may want it to let it go unanswered. My latest bright idea was to go to Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee. I had stopped by there the other day and spoke with Scott West at the Cove Resort. He told me that although he didn’t put any big triploids in the lake this year, the year before he put a bunch in that averaged 12 pounds.

Here’s how I planned to approach the fishing on Tuesday. I would run two downriggers with some plugs for the really big fish and run two fly rods out the back for the rainbow. My brother in law, Tom Verschueren, would come along so we could run four rods. There was snow next to the road on the way up the Tumwater Canyon to the lake, and it was pouring down rain when we got there. I was sure he was looking daggers at my back while I rigged everything up, thinking “how did he talk me into this!” Well, once again my great plan failed. We didn’t get any big fish, and although we got lots of hits on our fly rods, only landed one 14-inch rainbow. Like I said, if I call—don’t answer!

When I go over my list of fisheries that are my favorites in the fall, there are a couple that are on the Colville Indian Reservation. One is Omak Lake. This is a big beautiful lake that is just eight miles outside of the town of Omak. I have learned that the launch in Mission Bay is closed and anglers must use the one at Nicholson Beach. Although the launch is rough I have launched the Bob Feil Kingfisher 2025 Escape here many times. I like to fish with downriggers here and pull everything from a Needlefish to J-Plugs. I catch a lot of Lahontan cutthroat that average 16 inches with many much larger fish mixed in. The state record is from Omak Lake, and is over 18 pounds.

My other favorite is Buffalo Lake. This lake is just ten miles from Grand Coulee Dam. It has regular rainbow trout, triploids, kokanee and largemouth bass. The fish to target this fall would be triploids. In October the Colville Tribe released some of these in Buffalo that average about five pounds. Mike Hall at the resort on Buffalo Lake wasn’t sure how many. Both of these lakes require a Colville Tribal fishing permit to fish, and these are available at the Wal Mart in Omak or Coulee Playland in Electric City.

Bob Feil Boats and Motors is offering another free seminar, and you won’t want to miss this one. It will be on winter fishing at Lake Roosevelt and Rufus Woods Reservoir. Many feel that the best fishing of the season is in the winter on these two big reservoirs, and you will learn everything you need to know about how to fish them on Wednesday, December 4th. Austin Moser will be talking about how he catches both rainbow trout and big kokanee on Lake Roosevelt. He will provide very detailed descriptions of the tackle and techniques using downriggers, side planers or flat lining plugs and other gear in the winter.

I will also be appearing at the seminar and, will describe fishing on Rufus Woods from Top to Bottom. I’ll talk about the ways I have caught big triploids on Rufus Woods, both from a boat and from the shore. This presentation will show the most productive fishing spots from Chief Joseph Dam to the upper net pens. The seminar starts at 6 p.m. at the Bob Feil Boats and Motors dealership in East Wenatchee. There will be light refreshments and door prizes, and plenty of parking.

As many of you know, my wife Eileen and I host fishing trips to somewhere warm in the spring. Last year we returned to Belize after visiting destinations on the Sea of Cortez. Placencia was where we took the group, and it was such a hit that everyone wanted to go back. They loved Roberts Grove Resort and the guides.

Fishing on the reef was terrific. We all caught a lot of jacks, barracuda, snapper, African pompano other species. We got to see some amazing things while we were out on the water, too, like a pod of manatee feeding in the channel we crossed going and coming from various fishing grounds. Some of our group took the trip up the Monkey River and got to see crocodiles, howler monkeys and an amazing variety of birds. I spent two mornings on the Monkey River casting a fly to tarpon and got one each day. I also caught bonefish off a small island before heading out to the reef to finish the day. the small village of Placencia was a fun place to go for lunch, dinner or shopping. The photo in this week’s column is of Lyle Ostheller, of Brewster, with an African pompano that he landed one day, fishing on the reef at Placencia.

So, we have scheduled a return trip to Placencia, leaving on May 15th and returning on May 23rd of 2020. If you would like to join us on our next adventure, please give Sandy Mathews at Journey Travel a call at 509-662-7775. She will give you all the details on costs. You can always e-mail me with questions, too.

I am going to try to do a better job of watching the weather forecasts when I make plans for fishing this week. There are a couple of destinations I have in mind. I haven’t been to Omak Lake for a while and the fall fishing can be really good, as the fish are cruising the shorelines this time of year. I would take my fly rod but would be prepared to fish with my downriggers if it came to that. Lake Roosevelt wouldn’t be a bad option either. Whatever I do I will let you know.