The Fishin' Magician - Dave Graybill

Monday, Aug. 23

Anglers that haven’t had a chance to get out after summer-run salmon will be glad to hear that the bite has really picked up recently. I caught up with Shane Magnuson, Upper Columbia Guide Services, while he was putting his boat in at Wells Dam, and he said that fishing has been very good this past week. He has been boating from four to eight salmon at day for his clients. The pattern he has been following is to start at Brewster and fish off the mouth of the Okanogan River, taking advantage of the very early morning bite there. If he hasn’t got his quota, he will then head down to Wells and finish out the day below the dam. He is getting a few jacks and even some sockeye still in his catches. The bite has definitely improved over what it had been in both of these locations. I plan to fish the Icicle this weekend, it is perfect for fly fishing, and also hit Fish Lake for some perch. Then I will be out on the upper Columbia after summer-runs with Shane to tape a session for my Fishing TV Show. You will be able to see Shane’s tricks when you watch it in early September.

Wednesday, Aug. 25

I jumped on board Shane Magnuson’s boat the other day, and joined his two clients for a day’s salmon fishing on the upper Columbia River. I wanted to tape a segment on the fishing for my Fishing TV Show, so he saved a seat for me. We hit a great day to be on the water. It was sunny and calm the entire day. He headed for the spot known as Pelican, which is around the corner from the mouth of the Okanogan River, and we had a fish in the boat before it was light enough to video the action. After trolling here a bit long without any action, he headed down and around the corner to try off the mouth of the Okanogan. We didn’t have the baits in the water more than 15 minutes when a rod went down. The fish appeared to be solidly hooked, but we didn’t get it to the boat. Shane grew impatient with the fishing here, we only saw one king landed, so we head for the launch and a new area. He put the boat in above Wells Dam and went back to work. The move paid off. We put two more fish in the boat, one weighing about 37 pounds!

Friday, Aug. 27

Here’s an item in the “mark your calendar” category. The annual Fish and Wildlife Roundtable is to be held in Brewster this year on Wednesday, September 8th. Most every year now the Director of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Phil Anderson, makes a trip over here to listen to the public’s concerns on a variety of hunting and fishing issues. High on the agenda for this meeting will be the Upper Columbia salmon and steelhead selective fishing management plans. The Roundtable is known for lively discussions and frank exchanges from the community on how the department conducts its business in this region. The meeting will be held at the Columbia Cove Recreation Building, 508 W. Cliff Avenue, in Brewster. It is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 that evening. It will be interesting to learn about the upcoming steelhead season on the Upper Columbia and the tributaries. I have heard that another great return is expected over Priest Rapids Dam, and that the season could open earlier than ever before. If what I have been told is true, we may be fishing for steelhead before October 1st. Can you imagine, fishing for steelhead wearing a t-shirt instead of long johns?