We have been trying to make a trip to Dworshak for some time, have not fished it for many years. Were thinking about camping for a night or two, but finally decided on a one day trip.

Left the house at 5:00am, pulled into Dworshak State Park around 7:am. Beautiful day with the clean smell of pine trees in the air, no wind, a little chill, sun with a few big clouds, perfect day for fishing. I have several new lures to try, new Spectre Braid on the downriggers, and Chamberlin downrigger releases that are designed to trip with small Kokanee. We get the downriggers installed on the rails, the rods rigged with Sling Blades, and Kokabow lures, finally get the boat launched at 7:30am.

Without putting the lines out we make a large loop in front of th launch, including the Freeman Creek area to check water depth, and mark fish, see a ot of fish on the screen so we decide to start fishing in his area, while we were doing this procedure a couple of boats put in and headed across the lake.

We then put the lines in one at 30' the other at 40', seeing fish on the screen we are expecting a hit any time, not a hit, try different depths, and change lures, nothing happens. After about two hours we are ready to change locations, even though we are dragging through fish we can see on the fishfinder. Off in the distance across the lake we can just barley see a vouple of boats, so we pick up and head in that direction. When we get there there are five boats spread out in a large area, then we see a net come out. We get the lines back in the 62F water, start a slow 1.2mph troll, this goes on for about thirty minutes without a bump.

Time to try something different, what we are doing just isn't working, back to basics, I rig a rod with a string of Les Davis silver spinners that I fished with forty years ago, attach a wedding ring with double single size 6 hooks, put a fake maggot on the upper hook, and red corn on the trailer, add a little weight, then put out sixty feet of line. Rod had been out for less than ten minutes when the tip starts bouncing, Barb grabs it out of the holoder and pulls in a beautiful silver Kokanee. Now we are really happy and excited, give each other a high five and then get the rod back in the water. We decide to quit using the downriggers, while changing things out Barb pulls in another Koknee

We now have three productive rods out, all catching fish, no more than ten minutes went by without a hit, or fish on, pretty fast action. Did not get any triples, but did get a couple of doubles. After we caught Twenty Kokanee, we decided to pull the lines in, and find a spot to have lunch, our little English Setter "Happy" was ready for a break.

Had been wanting to check out the Canyon Creek Campground, so we located it on the map, put the boat on plane, and headed there. his is a beautiful campground with two campsites overlooking the lake, and a few others back in the timber, they all have large park benches, there is also a very nice restroom, the park service keeps everything sparkling, if you are so inclined, this is a good spot to pull in for lunch.

What started out as a very slow day, turned out really good, but it would have been good even without fish. Dworshak is very beautiful, not a single house on the lake shore, very few people, almost like a wilderness area, and it's over fifty miles long, can hardly wait to return.

Sorry for the lack of fish pictures, we had put the fish on ice as they were caught, I didn't want to put them in the warm outside for photos, but will figure out something for the next trip. Ken & Barb

MotoBoat

5/22/2013 8:32:00 PM

I was not familiar with this lake. Until a google map search revealed it is in the great Potato State. LOL!

hewesfisher

5/23/2013 6:26:00 AM

Glad to read a report from you, it's been awhile. Even better you and Barb had a good day AND caught fish. :-)

kenbarb

5/24/2013 8:56:00 AM

Thanks hewsfisher, and likewise to you, always look forward to your Roosevelt Lake adventures. MotoBoat I've got to tell you, Dworshak is one of the best kept secrets in the country, huge lake with many coves, beautiful scenery, great fishing for Bass, Trout, and Kokanee.

MotoBoat

5/25/2013 7:57:00 PM

Awesome, thanks for sharing! What size were the Kokanee? Now I am curious what the limit is, and what an out of State fishing license costs? Have you ever been to Lake Chelan? Curious how it compares (depth, water clarity, campgrounds, food, gas..ect)?

kenbarb

5/25/2013 11:34:00 PM

The Kokanee are ten to eleven inches, and some that will push fifteen. The daily limit is 25 per person, don't remember what I paid for out of state license, just google Idaho Fish & Game to find the price. Have been to Lake Chelan many times, we usually go in the fall and stay at the Weaver Point boat in campground, which is across the lake from Stehekin, occasionally we stay at the Stehekin Valley Ranch. When we stay at Weaver Point we catch quite a few Kokanee, some are starting to turn red, but most of them are bright silver, we only keep what we want to fix at the campground. Dworshak is not as clear as Chelan, on a scale of 1 to 10, Chelan would be a 10, Dworshak a 5, Chelan is one of the deepest lakes in the USA, much deeper than Dworshak, The Stehekin River flows into the upper end of Chelan close to Weaver Point Campground, the water is very cold.There is a store, resturant, hotel, gas at the dock, and campground at Stehekin. We put the boat in at 25 Mile State Park, and go uplake from there. Chelan can be VERY dangerous when the wind comes up, and there are not many places to take shelter, if you ever want to go uplake, do some research, and check the weather report.

MotoBoat

5/26/2013 9:45:00 AM

Thanks for the update Ken. Boat camping sounds like a super way to experience a larger lake. How is the Rainbow trout, and kokanee fishing in the up-lake area of Lake Chelan? Is the quality of the fishing dependent on up-lake migration of the fish, driven by the urge to naturally reproduce? I have heard of excellent fly fishing for Native Rainbow in the upper reaches. But only during certain times of the year. No idea of that time of year, or how true that information is.

kenbarb

5/26/2013 9:26:00 PM

We go to Stehekin around the 1st of Sept., at that time the Stehekin River is running red in some places with spawning Kokanee. Big Rainbow follow the Kokanee for their eggs, fishing for them is outstanding, I have caught them with egg patterns, and also some with dry flys, 15" to 17" and a few that are larger. Best way to fish it is with a pontoon boat. The Rainbow are actually not native, but the Cutthroat are, in fact further up the river there are no Rainbows, but it is crammed with the Cutts, and it is fantastic fly fishing. If you are interested in making a trip up there, contact Cliff courtney at the Stehekin Valley Ranch, he has written many articles about fishing the Stehekin, he is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

MotoBoat

5/27/2013 2:30:00 PM

Everything in your last response I find incredibly interesting. What kind of cutthroat is native to Lake Chelan? What is there upper end size? How do you reach the area of Stehekin river where the cutthroat fishing is done? I am trying to imagine fishing from a pontoon boat in the upper reaches of the river. Is it fast moving water? Have you any lake fishing knowledge, from lakes above Stehekin? What are the options for reaching Stehekin (car, boat...ect)?

kenbarb

5/28/2013 2:12:00 PM

The Upper Stehekin River can only be reached by taking a car/bus or bicycle, then hiking to the river. I have done them all, it is quite an adventure, when you are fishing the river you will not see any sign of another human being. It is too small for a boat or raft, due to the short growing season, the fish are small, a lunker would be 12". There are several nearby lakes that contain fish. The best pontoon boat fishing that I have found is from the Stekekin Valley Ranch to the lake, absolutely beautiful, many white sandbars, deep pools, scenery beyond your imagination.

Steheikn can only be reached by boat or float plane. There is a lot of informatiom on Stehekin, go to www.stehekinvalleyranch.com or google it up. It is a trip you would never regret.

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