by Dave Graybill, May 13, 2013

We sure had some great weather over the past weekend, and I hope you were able to get out and spend some time on the water. It looks like spring has arrived, or maybe even early summer with the temperatures we’re getting. This will mean the launch of some new fisheries in our region. Walleye and smallmouth bass fishing should be coming into their own very soon.

I decided to skip the annual Apple Blossom celebration in Wenatchee and went up to Chelan on Sunday. I should have gone to Wenatchee. Chelan has either been very good to me or very bad. Unfortunately for my fishing partners Dan and Gary Feil it was very bad. The day couldn’t have been better. Bright sunshine, calm water, it was beautiful. However fish were scarce.

We began our search across from Mill Bay and just below the Monument. I got a hit that was hard enough to take the line from the clip on the downrigger, but it didn’t catch a hook. We had another good hit, and the fish was bouncing the rod, but when I popped the rod loose from the clip there was nothing there. I talked to a buddy of mine from Yakima and they had taken six fish from this area early in the morning. They were scratching around for fish when we saw them.

We pulled the gear and we headed for the Yacht Club. My fishing side kick and video producer, Eric Granstrom, had taken some fish here earlier in the week, and when we got there I saw that there were quite a few other anglers with the same idea. We got two fish here, and Dan Feil was sure impressed with the size of the kokanee at Chelan this year. He is an old hand at fishing for kokanee here, but hasn’t seen that many 18-inchers. We talked to some other boats, even saw Eric Granstrom, and they all said it had been better early, but had fallen off to nothing. We made a few more loops in the area and then I ran out of patience and we headed down lake.

We looked out in the middle across from Rocky Point, and saw very few fish on the finder. Then we tried along Mill Bay, with the same results. We wound up right back where we started, and the fish still hadn’t show up. I should mention that every time I decided that we should pull the gear and head for another spot, a nice group of fish would show on the depth sounder when we were pulling away. It was automatic and all we could do was laugh about it.

I was a great day, though. This was Dan Feil’s first time on the water with me in this model of Kingfisher. He was very impressed with how it was laid out, the amazing amount of room it has, and how nice it is to fish with the remote-controlled I-Pilot. He, Gary and I had a wonderful day, and are eager to get back out again. Maybe this time I will even come up with some fish for them!

There is an event coming up that you’ll want to plan on attending. It’s the annual Northern Pikeminnow Fishing Derby, sponsored by the Quincy Valley Tourism Association, the same folks that bring you the Trout Derby at Burke Lake. The derby headquarters is at Crescent Bar, and the event will take place on May 17th, 18th and 19th. There is a good chance that you could win one of two fishing boats that will be raffled at the end of the derby. One is 12-foot Smoker Craft Alaskan, with motor and trailer. The other is a 10-foot Smoker Craft john boat, with motor and trailer. In addition to these two boats there is $9,000.00 in cash prizes to be handed out. There will be cash awarded to the top 20 with the largest cumulative catch over the three days of the event. Cash is also provided to the top ten biggest Single Catch on Saturday and Sunday. There is cash being paid to the top three Single Catch in the Youth Division on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for the Youth Division, age 15 and under. Tickets are available at Quincy Valley Hardware, Hooked on Toys, High Mountain Hunting Supply, and on-line. To get a complete list of the rules and registration forms you can go to www.quincyvalleytourism.org.

This derby is really done for two reasons. Number one is to remove as many pikeminnows from this stretch of the Columbia as possible. These fish are responsible for the loss of thousands of salmon and steelhead smolt as they move down the Columbia to the ocean. You are doing every salmon and steelhead angler a favor by fishing in this derby. The other reason the QVTA holds this derby is to offer a great weekend of fishing fun to families. Pikeminnows are not particularly hard to catch so the event is designed to be fun for young and old alike. Great fishing skills are not required to be “in the money” at the awards ceremony on Sunday.

Another item to add to your calendar is the free fishing seminar being offered by Town Ford in East Wenatchee. The topics to be covered will be kokanee fishing in the region, and spring salmon fishing on the Icicle River. Bobbie Loomis, of Macks Lure, will be sharing his expertise on fishing for kokanee on Lake Chelan and other lakes in the western region. Shane Magnuson, Upper Columbia Guide Service, will provide instruction on spring salmon fishing, with a step by step approach. The seminar will be held on Thursday, May 23rd, beginning at 6 p.m.

Hope you all get a chance to get out and spend some time on the water. There is great fishing available right now throughout the region!

By Dave Graybill

FishingMagician.com