We have had enough sunshine between the rain up here in Leavenworth. When the sun hits the snow-capped peaks in the mountains and lights up the fall foliage it reminds me why I love living here in Leavenworth. I hope you find the time to stop and enjoy the views where you live.

Time is flying by, and the Holidays will be here before long. Something I try to do just before they get here, is to stock up on smoked fish. Fortunately, I have a very good supply of sockeye in my freezer. I figure I will need to do two or three loads very soon. It doesn’t take me long to prepare the fish after the fillets have thawed. I have a big crock bowl that I layer the fish in with the brown sugar, salt and basil for the brine. This sits overnight in the refrigerator, and after I have rinsed and dried the pieces they can go into the smoker. Years ago, when my wife watched me try to finish a load of steelhead in one of the old metal box smokers that I had used for years, she got me a Bradley. Now instead of taking ten hours or more to finish the fish, I am usually done in less than four hours. I can load it up with the “biscuits” and it automatically feeds them into the smoker. No more checking and filling the pan every fifteen minutes. My family sure enjoys the results. I had better get busy!

I can’t remember when or why I started doing it, but instead of handing out chunks of smoked fish over the Holidays, I started making a spread. I wish I would have come up with the idea sooner. My family seems to like getting a tub of the spread more than the chunks of fish, and it makes the smoked fish go further. It’s easy to make, too. I just take a couple of pieces of the smoked fish and crumble it up into a bowl. I stir the fish thoroughly to find any bones that were in the fillets. Then I add a generous amount of dill. In the large bowl that I use I mix two blocks of cream cheese. I have found that if I put the unwrapped cream cheese on a plate and put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes it becomes very soft and mixing it with the fish is much easier. While the mixture is still warm, I use a spatula to fill small rectangular snack tubs, that hold just over a cup. I can usually fill three or four of them. I let it cool a bit and then refrigerate.

Every year or two for the past 15 years Bob Feil Boats and Motors has provided me with a new Smoker Craft or Kingfisher boat for my use. This has enabled me to be out on the water and provide the reports on fishing here in Central Washington. Every one of these boats has come with a full cover. I would take the top off and put it in my garage as soon as I got the boat home. I didn’t want to keep them in the boat and bother with putting them up. This year’s Smoker Craft Phantom came with what they call a half hard top. When the weather got chilly, I put on the side curtains and back drop, and it has made such a difference I haven’t even used my heater yet. All these years my family and fishing buddies have either suffered under the sun in the summer or nearly froze in the winter. At my recent birthday party, when some of my fishing friends got the opportunity to say a few words about me, a surprising number of them recounted days when I thought nothing of the weather, and they couldn’t wait to get back to the to the warm truck! This week’s photo is of the Smoker Craft Phantom with the full cover on.

Beginning January 1, 2025, the National Park Service (NPS) at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area will increase camping and boat launch fees and introduce a new dump station/ water fill fee. Fee increases beginning January 1, 2025: Weekly Boat Launch: Good for seven consecutive days. Increasing to $10 per week. Eligible for a 50% discount with an America the Beautiful Annual or Lifetime Senior pass or a Lifetime Access pass. Annual Boat Launch: Good through Dec. 31st of the year printed on the permit. Increasing to $60 per year. Fee increases beginning March 15, 2025: Campgrounds: Spring Canyon, Porcupine Bay, Fort Spokane, Hunters, Gifford, Kettle Falls, Evans. Increasing to $30 per night. No winter fee discount after this date. Eligible for a 50% discount with an America the Beautiful Annual or Lifetime Senior pass or a Lifetime Access pass. All other campgrounds (excluding Keller Ferry, operated by Lake Roosevelt Adventures). Remains $23 per night. No winter fee discount after this date. Eligible for a 50% discount with an America the Beautiful Annual or Lifetime Senior pass or a Lifetime Access pass. Group Campsites: 1-25 person capacity increases to $65 per night. 26-50 person capacity increases to $90 per night. 51-75 person capacity increases to $115 per night. New fee beginning March 15, 2025: Dump station/water fill: $10 per use to dump grey and black water tanks and to fill potable water tanks. Dump Stations: Spring Canyon, Keller Ferry, Fort Spokane, Porcupine Bay, Hunters, Gifford, Kettle Falls, and Evans. One of the requirements for participating in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), which allows public lands to charge user entrance and amenity fees, such as camping and boat launch fees, is that federal agencies are to charge fees commensurate with the local area, so as to not undercut the local markets. Camping fees at Lake Roosevelt have not been adjusted since 2021 and boat launch fees have not been adjusted since 2015. They are now lower than the average of the area around the park.

It has been getting very wet where I live in Leavenworth. The rain will pour but it doesn’t last long. It really hasn’t been that cold either. There are still lots of places to go to find some good fishing. There’s steelhead fishing on the Columbia and the Methow, and that is something that I want to do more of. There has been fair success in the areas near Pateros.