The Fishin' Magician: Trout Unlimited

A good place to get the lowdown on what's going on in fishing in the region is to attend the Icicle Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited's monthly meeting. I did just that recently and really learned what others had been doing and what kind of success they've had. In attendance was Shane Magnuson, Upper Columbia Guide Service, and just the day before he had four anglers on his boat. He fished the Pateros area and had ten fish to the boat and kept four two-fish limits of hatchery steelhead. He was using 1/16 to 1.32nd ounce jigs with bright jigs working best when it was over cast and darker colors producing when the sun came out. Doug Pendleton, a fly fishing guide, gave a presentation on fly fishing for steelhead, and also shared that due to foul weather on the Methow was taking clients on floats down the Wenatchee. Jeff Stroup, fish checker for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that he has seen more success for steelhead in the last few days than he has in quite a while on the Wenatchee. Things are looking good on the Wenatchee as we approach the first Holiday weekend. Better get out and give it a try.