The Fishin' Magician

It’s amazing. Summer is almost gone. Pretty soon it will be Labor Day Weekend and the kids will be back in school and we’ll be rolling into fall. I am not ready to give up on summer yet, though. There will be plenty of warm weather ahead and I am going to take advantage of it and get out on the water.

There is still some great fishing happening on the Columbia River. I made another trip to Chelan Falls and this time I did much better. Actually, I had a very slow start. My fishing buddies Dr. Brian Anantatmula, Eric Granstrom and I were on the water by 4:30, getting the early start that I thought would make all the difference. We could have slept in as it turned out. On previous trips here, I had usually has some action by 5:30 or so, but had heard there was an even earlier bite. We fished the lower hole here for hours without even a bite. I finally gave up, figuring we were done for the day, and headed for the launch. The one we used on the Chelan side of the river was choked with weeds as the river was lower than I have ever seen it. Brian and I jumped off, and while he headed home I took the truck and trailer to the other side of the river. Granstrom was going to drive it over to the Beebe Campground on the other side. Good thing I decided on this strategy of getting the boat out of the water. When I got there Eric said he had just seen three fish hooked in about ten minutes. We just had to get back out there. I parked the truck and trailer and we joined a small group of boats trolling in the deep upper hole just opposite the park. We had some action not long after we got our gear down. We fished for about two hours and got four good hits and landed and released two nice wild kings. I didn’t put anything in the fish box but boy, we had some fun! I was very pleased to see what good shape the Chinook we released were in. I want to get back up there as soon as I can.

I mentioned that the opportunity to catch big bluegill, perch and largemouth bass is very good at Wapato Lake recently, and there are other opportunities coming up soon in our region. Before I expand on this I want to remind anglers that Wapato Lake switched to catch and release fishing only for trout on August 1st. You can keep the spiny rays but no bait is allowed here. The lake will close to fishing on October 31st. A lake in Okanogan County that changes from catch and release fishing to catch and keep is Davis Lake, which is outside of Twisp. Davis is known for very nice rainbow and anglers can keep their catches beginning September 1st.

The Icicle River is very low and warm right now and if you want to try fly fishing for small trout here and on other small streams in the area, this is a great time of the season. I was joined on a recent visit to the Icicle by Jerry Gutzwiler, who hadn’t been up the Icicle Valley for some years. He was surprised how great it looked after the fires of ’94. Jerry thought there would be much more evidence of the devastation. He had a brand new 4 weight rod that he hadn’t had a chance to use yet, and it turned out to be perfect for our outing. We got him rigged and I handed him a size 12 Renegade and turned him loose. I watched him go to work in a boulder field and saw him catch some very nice little rainbow. Some of them, out of the deeper holes were the biggest I have seen up here. Fishing will be good in the evenings on the small streams, as that’s when the hatches really get rolling. Anglers should take advantage of this before the water temperatures begin to chill and the trout go dormant for the winter.

Anglers who like perch fishing should know that there are good catches coming from Fish Lake near Lake Wenatchee right now. It is getting pretty late in the year to get periwinkles, as many of the caddis usually found on the rocks have hatched. Night crawlers can still be great bait to catch these tasty fish. Remember, there is a 25 fish limit on perch at Fish Lake. I found out about the excellent perch fishing at Blue Lake, north of Soap Lake, late last year. The perch were large and plentiful there last season and it should be good again this year. I want to get some trips made to this lake, and it remains open until September 30th.

When I decided that I wanted to travel to Costa Rica to fish for marlin, sailfish and big roosterfish, I did some research. I chose Golfito as my destination, as it is located on the inside of big bay, and even if the weather turned rough we could still fish on protected waters. Not only are the marlin and sailfish plentiful we can catch them on a fly, it is the only place that Dan, “my guy on the ground” down there, will guarantee roosterfish. I found out that the best time to visit Costa Rica is in December, as the weather is the best of the year. Then I checked the phase of the moon, and made sure that we would be there during the best fishing period. This is going to be an incredible trip, and if you want to learn how to come along, call Shari Werner at Journey Travel and Tours at-1-877-335-1153 or 509-662-7775 right away. We leave December 3rd and return on the 10th. Come join the fun!