What’s hot is… holy cow! Did we have a week to remember for big Lakers on Chelan! Steelhead continued to bite baited jigs on the Upper Columbia. Particularly the area between Wells Dam and Beebe bridge was productive. Roses Lake is a mixture of open water, slush and thin ice. Stay off of it.
On Chelan, we are into the peak period for big Mackinaw above the Yacht Club. Go to our web site to see this week’s pictures. Purple Glow Rushin’ Salmon Wobblers by Critter Gitter were the hot ticket. We continued to fish straight out through the Narrows from 200 feet deep all the way out to the 400’ break. To put this last week in perspective we get about one fish over ten pounds for every forty fish caught over the course of the year. This week we put forty nine lakers in the boat with ten of them being over ten pounds. That is better than 1 in 5. Twenty pound fish are one in a thousand here. We got one this week. Fish over 15 are about 1 in 200. We got three this week. Which is the long way around to say "it doesn't get much better than this". We dealt with some rain this week. Temps were in the high 30's to low 40's all week. No wind. In other words, perfect for this time of the year.
The Upper Columbia Steelhead fishing is doing pretty well, well… below Well’s Dam. Bait up Mack’s Lures quarter ounce Rock Dancer jigs baited with purple shrimp.
It has been a difficult bite on Rufus. Cast and slowly retrieve Black Glo Getter marabou jigs by Mack’s Lures. Start at one-eighth ounce.
Your fishing tip of the week is to convert your riggers from braided steel to super braid. Two hundred pound test is about right. No hum, less “blow-back” and you can tie knots instead of crimping with tools. To get more tips go to KOZI’s website for the podcast.
Your kid’s tip of the week is to pay attention to their hands this time of the year. A couple of things can be problematic here. First, if the fishing is good, the hands get wet, gooey and cold. The kids are excited and sometimes are unaware of how cold they are until it is too late and you notice bad behaviors. Feel their hands and take action to warm them up. A heater, warmers or rubbing and extra dry gloves are some actions you can take. You don’t want the lasting memory of the trip being how cold and miserable they were.
The safety tip of the week is to slow down and double check things at the end of the day before making that mistake. Fatigue makes cowards and fools of us all.
Pictured: 2/6/10 - Jay Bomgardner of Clyde Hill with long time buddy and fellow Puget Sound Angler member Rich Elliott of Kirkland with the big fish of the year so far. A twenty pound eleven ounce deepwater Laker. 2/6/10 - Jacqueline SwinDell of Wenatchee with two hatchery steelhead from the Upper Columbia. 2/3/10 - Lake Chelan Sportsman's Association Dream Fisherman Raffle winner Ron Clifford of Camano Island with brother Dave of Ahsahka, Id and deckhand for the day, guide Jeff Witkowski of Chelan with 15 of their 16 lakers that include two twelve pounders.
