The Fishin' Magician: Steelhead on the Wenatchee

The re-opening of steelhead fishing on the Wenatchee and Icicle rivers was welcomed by lots of anglers this past weekend. The weather was perfect; sunny and clear and not too cold. River conditions are great, too, with levels high enough for floating and good for wading. The Wenatchee is open from the mouth clear up to the dam in the Tumwater Canyon.

The stretch up the Canyon, above Leavenworth hasn't been open for several years, and anglers are excited to have the opportunity to fish this area of the river. It has a lot of great water and there are plenty of hatchery steelhead lurking in them. It is not only a productive stretch the scenery in the Tumwater Canyon is spectacular.

According to sources with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, participation was good on the late-season opening weekend. Anglers wading the river, casting from shore and drifting it had pretty good success.

I talked to a group of three anglers just above Monitor on Sunday morning. They had a nice hatchery fish on a stringer when I spoke to them. The day before one of them had released a 12-pound wild fish and lost another good steelhead. It's a great time to be steelhead fishing on the Wenatchee!