I hope you were able to get out on the water this week. Our fall weather has been great. There is much needed rain in the forecast, and I am actually looking forward to it. I am eager for coho salmon to move up into the Icicle River near me. A huge number of coho are expected to be returning to the National Fish Hatchery in Leavenworth this season, but low water in the Icicle is keeping the fish in the Wenatchee.
In my continuing quest to find coho salmon I looked further down the Columbia River. The problem with fishing the Columbia near Wenatchee is that there is simply no flow, to concentrate the fish in any kind of seam or current line. I figured I would find some current for sure below Wanapum Dam.

I was right. I had visions of finding coho swarming and rolling in this area, but that wasn’t the case. There was nothing like I was used to seeing for swift water below the dam, but there was a definite “riffle” that looked very attractive. There were two anglers fishing this spot when I hiked out there, and they were happy to share this point. They had been fishing bobbers and jigs with eggs or spinners and had a nice coho on a stringer. The fish was about 4 pounds, and I was impressed to see how bright it was. I tried casting Mag Lips plugs and spinners and didn’t get a bump. My fellow anglers said they were getting some slight takes on their eggs, but the fish weren’t taking them with enough vigor to hook. With some rain everything could change.

When I opened my Facebook Page a photo popped up showing what I was doing this time last year. The photo was of my brother Rick from a trip that he, Steve Goodfellow, and I made to Rufus Woods. Rick was holding a nice triploid. One of several we landed that day.

In addition to limits of triploid rainbow we also landed some nice walleye. We were trolling downstream below the uppermost net pens with bottom bouncers and spinners baited with nightcrawlers. I like to fish this method because we can get a mixed bag of trout and walleye. Anglers have been fishing Rufus Woods all summer, but fall is by far the most popular time to fish up there.

Most anglers will continue to launch at Seatons Grove and make the approximate eight mile run down to the pens. Those who have purchased the $80.00 Colville Tribal Access Permit and paid a $10.00 launch fee can use the new ramp at the second net pen. One of the things that I want to try this year is jigging. I know the trout will hit jigs and I may increase my walleye catch with this method. Can’t wait to get up there and try it. This week’s photo is of one of the fish I got at the net pens last season.

I am very excited about the return of coho to the upper Columbia River, and when I told my brothers Rick and Lane about it, they wanted to go—and I mean right now! We tried the Columbia on Monday the 20th of September, and it appears we jumped the gun. According to the fish counts over 22,000 coho have passed over Rock Island Dam at that time, so we figured the river would be full of them. We spent most of our time off Walla Walla Point, knowing that the majority of these fish would be bound for the National Fish Hatchery in Leavenworth. We didn’t get a sniff. Breaking down what must have contributed to our poor luck we had to blame the river flow. I pulled up the Chelan County PUD Currents app on my phone and found that the flow below Rocky Reach Dam was just 56 kcfs. When the current picks up the fish will be concentrated and be easier to find and to catch. Our friend Shane Magnuson told us that trolling Mag Lip 3.5s in the orange with black stripes and the metallic pink are good coho plugs and to troll them fast. We’ll be out after them again when conditions improve.

The WDFW has announced the opening of the lower Yakima River to salmon fishing. Anglers can take a daily limit of two adults, with no limit on jacks. Anglers must stop fishing when their limit of two adults has been reached. Adult coho are any coho over 20 inches and adult Chinook are any Chinook over 24 inches. Fishing remains closed from 200 feet downstream of the USBR Chandler Powerhouse to 200 feet upstream of the USBR Chandler Powerhouse. The season is scheduled to run through October 17th.

I talked to my friend Brian Neilson in Moses Lake the other day, and he said he had tried Billy Clapp Lake recently. He and a buddy got a few walleye, up to 18 inches and several very nice smallmouth bass.

The water level on Potholes Reservoir is always very low this time of year. I talked to someone earlier this week that said he really liked it this way. The fish are concentrated into small areas on the big reservoir and can be easy to find. This is the time to have some fun and catch a variety of species each day. In addition to walleye and bass, anglers are catching some whopper bluegill, to over 10 inches, and some very nice crappie, too.

The idea of getting out on Potholes and catching a variety fish has a lot of appeal to me. I have yet to dedicate a day to fishing for those big bluegill and crappie. Sounds like a lot of fun.

My daughter is coming over for a visit, and we always try to get out fishing somewhere. Maybe I will treat her to a trip to Fish Lake for some of those perch. She would love it!