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Cindy and I made the 106 mile (one way) trip to Palmer this morning. Left Chelan just as it was cracking daybreak. Got on the water 8:00 ish with upper 40s air temp and light breeze. We trolled 4 rods (both have two rod endorsement) with a mixture of rigging. We used wedding rings in various colors, Pro troll (apex style) in several colors with flashers and Mack's flash-lites. Corn, crappie nibbles and worms were used to tip the hooks. Trolling speed from 1.0 - 1.7, and aught fish over that range of speeds. Could not establish a pattern for lures or speed today. There were small Kokes jumping most of the day, and we could mark fish (?), but getting them to bite was difficult. We caught fish on red, green, and silver colors. There was a "Major" insect hatch going on, with husks carpeting the surface in some areas. We caught Kokes from 6 inches up to 17 inches. We tried for Perch and could not get a bite, and tried on several areas on the lake. We didn't mark any Perch clouds today either. There was rain, wind, white caps, and even a period of calm smooth waters over the course of the day. We saw a pair of golden eagles doing the aerial courting displays, and along the north shore line a beaver came out to the boat and gave the hull a couple of whacks. Guess we were in his territory. LOL We also saw Ospreys and Bald eagles hunting, and mule deer grazing on the hillsides, AND our first sighting of Mountain Goat. The goat were 1/2 - 3/4 mile away up on the side of the mountain on the south side of the Lake. I got some pics, but the pixals start fuzzing when I enlarge it enough to see the goat. When we took out, there was a creel checker at the parking lot. She said she had only checked two fish this afternoon at Palmer. So it made me feel better about having a hard time getting the fish to bite. Surface water temp was 51-53 degrees, depending where on the lake you were. Saw a couple of boats working the shorelines for bass, and two or three trollers. Not very crowded at all. We spent around 8 hours on the water today, and came home tired after the long drive home. Will have fish tomorrow on the grill. Mmmmmmm..

mav186

5/7/2011 11:26:00 PM

Holy smokes Lewis...with all those animals up there, it sounds like you may have found the Ark!!! lol

hewesfisher

5/8/2011 6:54:00 AM

Sound like you two had a great day even if the fishing was the best. I didn't even know there were mountain goats in WA. Thanks for sharing the pics. :-)

MotoBoat

5/8/2011 8:46:00 AM

I must say, a day filled with a wide variety of various wild animal sightings makes for a special day. Consider, if the distraction of fast action occurred while fishing, many of those sightings may have gone unnoticed!. Once again, thanks for sharing your experience through the fingertips and photo lens Lewis. With the pictures at full screen view, those goats are very close and very much viewable to me.

Why2Fish

5/8/2011 1:03:00 PM

Such an amazing place!!

blufin loui

5/8/2011 9:36:00 PM

Thanks Guys, it is a great get-a-way up there. I was looking for the crash site Mave, but all I saw was an old timer with an empty stringer. LOL. Hey ya Phil, we had heard there were occassional siting at palmer, and we got a chance to confirm it. It was an experience to follow those guys around on the high cliffs with binos and to get a pic, well we felt pretty fortunate. The truth is MotoBoat we probably miss some strikes from all the "gawking" at the outstanding scenery around this lake. If the sunrays hadn't been just right to highlite the odd splash of white on the cliffs, it would have been easy to miss seeing the goats. AND Why2Fish, I gotta agree with ya, It is an amazing place. Take care all

Toni

5/8/2011 9:42:00 PM

Very nice.

The Jigmiester

5/8/2011 10:12:00 PM

I gotta get up there to Chelan and enjoy that " Arkansas Hospitality" that you talk so highly of Lewis. Great report sir. Thanks for sharing. Jiggy

afk

5/9/2011 8:26:00 AM

Keep it up Lewis! Sounds like a good trip. Thanks for the report.

gnuesse

5/9/2011 6:58:00 PM

The wife and I just spent Thursday thru Saturday fishing Palmer, so we probably trolled past each other. It is a gorgoues place and we also seen lots of wildlife. It took us until Friday afternoon to really start targeting and getting the Kokanee. I was able to get a limit on Saturday but worked really hard to get them. They are a very qaulity fish and great eating.

blufin loui

5/9/2011 9:01:00 PM

Hi ya Toni, I sure feel fortunate to be able to spend time in our great outdoors. You could travel the world over, and be hard pressed to beat it.

blufin loui

5/9/2011 9:03:00 PM

Hey Jiggie, I been accused of the Arkansas Hospitality before, but no "garrountees". LOL AND AFK, it was the best trip I had all week. LOL see ya on the water someday soon I hope.

blufin loui

5/9/2011 9:05:00 PM

Glad you got em dialed in gnuesse, they are some quality fish for sure. Flavor second to none.

kenimes

5/17/2011 6:22:00 AM

Ahh, the Golden Eagles........awesome birds. I had always thought that Bald Eagles were big birds, but seeing them in the sky together- the Goldens look damn near twice the size!

Also see the Goats in Loomis quite a bit these last few years. Sometimes in the middle of the road!

Good chance to see some bear, cougar, and bobcat if you head towards Oroville, and take your first left on the dirt road, past the Palmer Lake lodge.

kenimes

5/24/2011 4:20:00 PM

*Correction- first left on the dirt road past the 'Chopaka' Lodge

blufin loui

5/24/2011 8:17:00 PM

Thanks for the info kenimes, I may have to make a drive up in that country sometimes. It sure is beautiful.

kenimes

6/3/2011 11:54:00 AM

Seen some deer this trip, seen the sheep across the lake as usual, lots of bald eagles (no Goldens this time), and some friends that came up for the first time even spotted a bear near the side of the road while heading to Oroville to grab more worms.

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