The Fishing Magician

Wednesday, Nov. 17

I finally caught up with Shane Magnuson, Upper Columbia Guide Services, to check on the fishing on the upper Columbia River. He has been a busy boy this season, with lots of trips booked for the early steelhead season. He complained that the fishing was slow. I talked to him about ten in the morning and his two clients had only hooked six and landed three wild fish by then. When the fishing is like this it tells me something: the really good steelhead fishing on the upper Columbia has begun. Magnuson was fishing right in front the new Pateros Lakeshore Inn when I reached him, and as I mentioned in an earlier report, this isn't a bad place to start your steelhead fishing day, whether in a boat or on shore. The good ol' bobber and jig method is the way Magnuson fishes for steelhead, and with action like this there is little reason to try something different. When I get the new JetCraft I will be joining the anglers here, drifting my bobbers just off the docks, and then maybe I will try down river a ways, at the area known as The Rocks. Then there's a few other spots I know near Pateros that hold fish, too.

Friday, Nov. 19

Here's some good news on the steelhead fishing on the Wenatchee River. All of a sudden anglers are doing well on this stream, very well. Conditions have come together to create great opportunities, especially for those who are floating the river. Jeff Stroup, fish checker for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, saw a huge improvement in success in the last week. In one day he checked 16 fish, and all but three were wild, which is what the ratio is expected to be on the Wenatchee this season. Many of the boats that Stroup checked were making their first trip of the season, and it appears that they timed it just right. Not every boat had fish, but one had landed five. Most of the boats checked were fishing the upper river, which is also good news. This indicates that fish have finally moved into the Wenatchee and are dispersed throughout the system. I imagine that this same circumstance is happening on the Methow River. Steelhead fishing has now officially started on the tributaries to the upper Columbia. You can bet that I will be concentrating on the smaller rivers until the new JetCraft gets rigged.

Monday, Nov. 22

Now that the steelhead fishing has improved on our area streams it is important that anglers take care of the fish they catch and release. There is a high ratio of wild fish being taken this year, and that is a good thing. We all want to be sure that these wild fish make it to their spawning beds in good condition. I have talked to several people who have observed anglers releasing fish in a manner that would diminish their survival. Dragging a wild fish up on the rocks is not a good thing. It is advised that anglers use a knotless net to capture and contain a fish in the water while removing a barbless hook. It is important to keep the time that the fish is exposed to cold winter temperatures at a minimum. It is also important that a fish not be fought to exhaustion. Get the wild fish in quickly and release them, while still in the water, quickly too will help get them to their spawning beds. Also, remember that sport fishing is an important management tool in the effort to recover our wild steelhead stocks. You must retain the hatchery fish you catch. This is only reason we are able to fish for steelhead, which remain on the endangered species list.