Many anglers are shifting their focus to fall salmon fishing. Fall Chinook are moving up the Columbia to the Hanford Reach, and anglers have been intercepting them below Priest Rapids Dam and Wanapum Dam. There are many other great fishing opportunities on the lakes and reservoirs in the region.

My friend Brian Nielson was willing to spend part of a day’s fishing for walleye on Potholes Reservoir to help me shoot a video on “Where to Fish for Walleye on Potholes”, and we set up a trip for Thursday. I picked up Ron Buner, a fishing friend of Brian’s on the way down, and we met Brian at his place early that morning. We launched at Mar Don Resort and found the water level at Potholes about as low as I had ever seen it. The folks at Mar Don have marked a “safe area” to back your boat in with PCV pipe so it is no problem here, but you will need to take extra special care when using the other launches on the reservoir. We bounced all over the place, stopping long enough to explain where we were and why this area was a good one to look for walleye. We then spent some time trolling bottom bouncers and spinners at a couple of places. Walleye fishing was slow, but we caught a couple, and we landed a total of six different species of fish. Even if the walleye aren’t biting you can have a lot of fun on Potholes. This week’s photo is of one of the crappie we landed on Potholes.

The most popular fishery in Central Washington is in the Hanford Reach for fall Chinook. Every year the number of anglers that fish the stretch of the Columbia River at Vernita is so great that the launch site takes on the look of a small town. Before daybreak there is a long line of trucks and trailers lined up to put boats in the water to fish the many known areas of the river that produce catches of fall Chinook. That’s why I will dedicate the Fall issue of my free E-Letter to fishing for fall salmon. In the E-Letter subscribers will find detailed descriptions of the best places to fish, the tackle that is being used by successful anglers and the techniques they use. There will be maps, videos and photos that give anyone who plans to fish the Hanford Reach the best chance for success. In addition to the very detailed feature on fishing the Columbia River for fall salmon, I will also list several of the other opportunities for fall fishing for other species. If you aren’t currently receiving the free E-Letter, just go to my website and click on the E-Letter logo on the Home Page.

When Christine Lee’s mother Brenda comes down from Alberta to visit, the first thing she does is put her to work at Bob Feil Boats and Motors. This is with the promise of a fishing trip with me. Last year we had a great day on Lake Wenatchee, catching sockeye. They remembered that when we needed two more fish, we hooked a triple. Earlier this year I took them kokanee fishing on Lake Chelan, and we were catching fish until the wind blew us off the lake. For this visit I suggested that we go up to Fish Lake and catch a bunch of perch. Christine said it didn’t matter, they just wanted to catch some fish—and we did. Brenda grew up fishing and she passed her passion for fishing, of any kind, onto her daughter. The perch did steal their share of worms, but we put a good number of them in the livewell. They had almost as much fun watching the ospreys swoop down and grab fish off the top of the water. It turned cold and windy, but they didn’t complain. I really have a great time with these two on the boat.

Not long ago Tom Verschuren took his niece with him to show her the fun of fly fishing on the upper Icicle. He caught a few small rainbow and let her give fly casting a try. He wanted to get back up there, so we went around midday on Tuesday. The catching was disappointing, but it was a perfect day to be out splashing around in this scenic stream. For those who would like to give this a try, here’s a couple of my favorite places to cast for the small trout on the Icicle. About 12 miles up Icicle River Road, you will see a bridge over the stream, and there is a pull out. I park there and either wade upstream from the bridge or downstream. I should mention that the wading in this area is difficult. It is classic pocket water and long casts aren’t necessary to get a bunch of fish. Another favorite of mine is above the bridge at the last campground. Just past the bridge there is a short dirt road. I park there and walk the trail up a ways before I get into the water. There is a very nice stretch of water here and it is loaded with small rainbow.

My wife and I have a hard time remembering our wedding anniversary. It’s no big deal, we laugh about it. Once again it got by us, and we have tried for a couple of weeks to celebrate it. A couple of years ago I took her to Stehekin in the boat. It was her first time to the small town at the top end of Lake Chelan, and she loved it so much that this is what we do every year. We were surprised to see calm water when we looked at the lake as we could see it from the top of Navarre Coulee. We drove on up the lake, seeing just a light breeze, until we got right to 25 Mile Creek. The wind was howling here. The lake takes a bend to the northwest here and it was nothing but whitecaps as far as we could see. So we drove down to Chelan and launched below the bridge at the High School and took the boat up to Rocky Point. I put out a couple of rods, but didn’t pay much attention to them. We just enjoyed the good weather and conversation. It was a very nice day on the water to celebrate 23 years together!