I had a terrific time on the water this past week. I only fished once but it was a spectacular day. James Lebow and I made good on our plan to try salmon fishing below Wanapum Dam and I was truly surprised at our success. I also made a trip up to Stehekin to celebrate our wedding anniversary with my wife Eileen. What wonderful day that was.

James Lebow and I made our planned trip to try our luck fishing for salmon below Wanapum Dam last Wednesday. We ran down from the launch off Huntzinger Road and put out our gear off the mouth of Crab Creek. I have fished here several times in the past but never this early. I had my doubts but James showed me some photos of friends of his that have been fishing here with some nice bright kings. As it turned out, I was very glad we made the trip.

I had met James in George at 7 and we had a whopper king in the boat by 8:40. You can imagine the celebration that took place in the boat especially when we saw it to be a hatchery fish in the net. The fish was 41 inches long with a girth of 23 inches. There was a boat near us with a scale and it showed the king to weigh 28 pounds which was exactly my guess. The fish hit a Mountain Dew plug cut Super Bait stuffed with my mix of Graybills Guide Formula. The bait was on a 12 ounce lead ball out the back. The line counter showed it to be 80 feet out and our guess it was at around 40 feet deep. At 10:40 we got another king, but much smaller than the first one. This fish came on one of the downriggers that was set at 53 feet. We pulled our gear at 11:00. You can bet I will be back down there very soon. This week’s photo is of James with his big king.

This is the time of year that many people explore the high lakes in our region. The snows of winter have finally receded and the trails are open. My friend Greg Heuchert told me he and some friends were going to hike into some lakes and he wanted to try fishing some of these remote waters. He isn’t that experienced of an angler, so I suggested that he get a teardrop, clear casting bobber and a few flies.

I gave him a list of some of my favorite flies I use when fly fishing the small streams in the late summer. Earlier this week, he said he had a great story for me. He got the bobber and flies I suggested and bought a rod with a close-faced reel at a garage sale for a dollar. When they got to the first lake and were settled in, he tried this outfit. On his second cast he caught a fish. He proceeded to catch several. In fact, he caught fish at every lake they visited on the trip and even out fished the more experience anglers with more sophisticated gear. Fresh fish was a very nice addition to their meals. I was pleased that my suggestion worked out so well.

Last Friday was our 19th wedding anniversary and to our mutual surprise, my wife and I both wanted to take the Kingfisher up Lake Chelan to Stehekin. I hadn’t been to Stehekin since I lived in Chelan in the 90s and my wife Eileen couldn’t recall when she had been to this small settlement at the very top end of the big lake. We launched the boat at the 25 Mile Creek Campground and I was able to maintain a speed of close to 40 miles an hour as there was just a light chop on the water. It took us less than an hour to reach the moorage. We both knew that a visit to Stehekin isn’t complete without going to the bakery for a lunch or other treat. It is about a two to three mile walk and there is a free shuttle from the landing. We chose to walk and got to see a fawn still in spots and a grouse run across the road. We both got a cinnamon roll, that was amazingly good at the bakery, and then took the shuttle back to the boat. I just happened to bring a couple of rods along and we trolled for about an hour for Chinook but no bites. There was a little more wind and more chop on the way back but it still took less than an hour to reach 25 Mile Creek. It was a beautiful trip and a great way to celebrate our years together.

While many anglers are out on the Columbia River chasing salmon this summer, there was a serious effort going on to assure the future of our salmon and steelhead. The Colville Confederated tribes, the Spokane tribe and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have been busy catching as many northern pike as possible on Lake Roosevelt. The aim is to reduce the impact of these predators on our salmon and steelhead. The effort involves placing gill nets in likely areas in water that is less than 25 feet deep where there is little chance of encountering native salmonids.

Since 2015 about 13,000 northern pike have been removed by the co-managers on Lake Roosevelt. Crews set 286 nets over a five week period and captured 323 northern pike earlier this year. Anglers have also contributed with 390 northern pike heads turned in so far this season. The Colville tribe pays anglers $10 for each head turned into locations throughout the reservoir. Learn more about this program by visiting the Colville Fish and Wildlife website. The suppression program hopes to reduce the introduction of northern pike to the Columbia River below Grand Coulee Dam. The spread of northern pike is a scary prospect for the future of our salmon and steelhead fisheries.

There are some awfully good options available to anglers in the region. They are still catching kings in the Brewster Pool. The fishing in the Hanford Reach is about to take off. I had a great day below Wanapum, as I said, and that will just get better.

I still want to add to my supply of triploids and walleye and will be planning a combo trip to Rufus Woods and Banks Lake very soon.

What a great place to live and fish!