I had several things to attend to last week, which stalled my outdoor activities. There is a long list of places that I want to try this late fall and winter. I better get in gear if I am going to enjoy the great fisheries we have here in Central Washington.

I hadn’t been able to get out on the water earlier in the week. So, I looked at some photos of what I was doing this time last year and what I will want to do when circumstances allow. Of course, last year I was fishing for coho on the Icicle, but that turned out to be a non-event this season. The water was too low for fish to enter the river apparently. I did talk to an angler that had caught a couple of fish recently. I have been checking on the stretch of the Icicle just below the hatchery and have yet to spot a fish.

I came across some photos of our family and friends having a great time on Fish Lake fishing for perch last fall. The recent rain we got in the upper valley really cleared out the smoke and I wanted to get out on Fish Lake to catch a bunch of perch. I hope to have a good stock of perch fillets in the freezer for the winter. Another favorite fishery of mine as we get into winter is Rufus Woods. The triploids that were planted earlier this spring have put on weight and now anglers can expect to get plenty of 4- to 6-pound trout on Rufus and some even larger this fall and winter. There is nothing better than smoked triploids to share with family over the Holidays.

I mentioned that I really enjoy fishing for perch on Fish Lake this time of year. I like to have a good supply of perch fillets in the freezer to last until the lake freezes and we can get out on the ice for them. On Thursday afternoon my wife Eileen and I hooked up the boat and ran up to Fish Lake. It’s only 20 miles from our home in Leavenworth and the drive up through Tumwater Canyon is beautiful, with the fall colors. Scott West, owner of the Cove Resort greeted us at the boat launch and suggested that we try the upper end of the lake. So, off we went, and it didn’t take long for us to spot a nice bunch of perch on the fish finder. For some reason I was having trouble staying on the fish but the fish we got were dandies. Every one of them was at least 10 inches long and healthy. We were putting a chunk of worm about a foot above a sinker and if there were fish down there they bit! It was so much fun we may go again tomorrow.

My wife and I had so much fun fishing for perch on Fish Lake last Thursday that we went again on Friday afternoon. We started at the top end again, and although we had fish on the finder we weren’t getting the kind of action I wanted. It was windy on Friday and that may have been part of the problem. When I spotted a school I would toss out a marker and then put the bow mount in Stop Lock, and this time I even put an anchor out the back. I decided to try another spot that usually produces fish for me.

We ran down to an area in the middle of the lake between the Cove Resort and the old Porters Resort. Now we were into fish. It was late in the day and that’s when they started biting. We got twenty, throwing back a few small ones. My wife made a delicious fish chowder, inspired by a restaurant she liked in New England. This week’s photo of Eileen watching the sunset on Fish Lake.

On a serious note, Shawn Short, longtime employee at Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee, had a medical emergency last week. He was transported to Harbor View Hospital in Seattle and is recovering. I learned his daughter Kassidey started a GoFundMe page to help offset the anticipated huge medical costs. Shawn is known for his quick wit and ready smile, and I would encourage people help out. Just go to the GoFundMe page and search Shawn Short under Medical. Please help the family meet their funding goal.

It is hard to believe it’s November already. Time flies and it doesn’t matter. There are always plenty of good fisheries to try in the fall and early winter here in Central Washington. I want to get back down to Potholes for some walleye. The bite this fall has been the best in a long time. I hope the colder weather hasn’t put the fish off, and I can get some more fish in the freezer.

One fishery that seems to get better as it gets colder is the triploid rainbow trout action on Rufus Woods Reservoir. The thousands of trout that the Colville Tribe released this spring have been putting on weight and now anglers can expect to get fish weighing from 3 to 6 pounds. There also are some real monsters caught. I have had great success catching them in the fall and winter from the boat as well as from shore.

One of the best fall and winter fisheries is for rainbow trout on Lake Roosevelt. It is very common to get limits of trout averaging 16 inches this time of year. I like to fish from shore for them at Spring Canyon or Keller. All you need is a good spinning rod, some ½-ounce egg sinkers and some Power Bait to get them.

One fishery that is gaining in popularity is for big whitefish on Banks Lake. I saw big crowds of boats in one of the bays earlier this summer and have seen people cleaning huge numbers of these whitefish at the cleaning station at Northrup. Fishing from a boat is good when there is little or no wind. Anglers also fish from shore, often at night, from the bank near the intake above Coulee Playland Resort, right up until the lake freezes. Then anglers fish for them through the ice. Whitefish weighing 3 pounds are common on Banks.

There are lots of things to do this fall and winter!