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After a couple hiccups including needing to buy a new adapter for the tow rig we headed off to Roosevelt in 12 degree weather. My brother and I decided it was probably for the better that we didn't make it an overnight trip and leave the night before. The launch at Ft. Spokane was a little iced up but the few boats that had gone in before had broken that up and the launch itself had been pretty heavily sanded. We felt comfortable launching with 4 wheel drive and great snow tires. On the way out we did see a gentleman struggling with a two wheel drive truck and highway tread tires though so be careful.

We started trolling under the bridge as we had heard of guys having some luck up there to the no-wake buoy. We didn't get a single bite until the first point after the buoy on the south shore of the river. We made our first pass and had four fish in the boat with two more hits that were self-released. Trolled back up and didn't get a thing. We thought we'd try to cheat the system Phil by not pulling up and drift trolling back. Didn't work. We had one hit but it didn't stick. We noticed that a lot of these fish weren't hammering the flies like usual. Many of the fish we brought to the boat were short striking it and some barely hooked. We didn't get another fish trolling the south shore of the mouth again so we kept trolling towards Seven Bays along the coves. We had to work for them today and ended up trolling past the Marina for our limit. Put the last fish in the boat a little after 3:00 p.m. and we started close to 10:00 a.m.

We started with Orange and Perch Kekeda flies with the downriggers set at 9' and 12'. We had our first three fish on the orange Kekeda and one on the perch. We switched to a black/orange Kekeda and quickly got a hit but didn't get the fish. We tried a jointed Rapala in perch and that didn't pick up a fish so we went to two orange and that is what finished out our limit. The count was 9 of the 10 fish in the boat on the orange Kekeda with the other one coming in on the perch. The orange accounted for 12 of the hits today. It was definitely the hot color for us. It was a great trip despite the cold weather, wind and waves in the main part of the lake. Thank goodness for the canvas top, probably should have brought the heater! :)

Kekeda Tackle Co. is a local company offering high quality trolling flies. The perfect trolling fly for waters around the Pacific Northwest. Offered in a variety of colors at reasonable prices.

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mtngrizz

2/9/2014 2:16:00 PM

Fat Bows, positive report, any boats pickup any Kokanee while you were there? Thnx,

Kekedatackleco

2/9/2014 2:22:00 PM

We didn't see any Kokanee caught and only talked to one other boat that was just trying out his new boat. We only saw three other boats fishing the same area and two making runs up or down the river.

ridgeratt

2/9/2014 3:07:00 PM

Nice!! Am I to understand you are the person selling these flies?

Kekedatackleco

2/9/2014 3:21:00 PM

Yes, I am. You can email me or PM me on WA lakes with any questions you may have. I try to get these flies out the same day that you order them and local guys are always welcome to set up a pick up if I'm available. They work really well for the winter bite on Roosevelt but we have absolutely killed them at Spring Canyon with them during the summer as well. They really are a year-round fly to fish.

ridgeratt

2/9/2014 3:28:00 PM

I'm local spokane and pretty sure I can almost walk to your house. Im at Francis and Monroe!!

Kekedatackleco

2/9/2014 3:33:00 PM

You absolutely could! I'm one street off of Indian Trail a couple blocks north of the Yokes.

downriggeral

2/9/2014 9:14:00 PM

Hi Dave - Glad to see you finally were able to get out. No heater??? You are tougher than me! I was in Portland at the Sportsman's Show and so did not fish this week.
How much setback and speed were you using? Real worm? - Alan
PS The Kekeda flies Dave produces are very well made and work!

Kekedatackleco

2/9/2014 10:01:00 PM

We actually brought the heater but with the late start and running around we forgot to get the propane. We managed, it wasn't the warmest time spent on the water but catching fish always seems to warm you up. I forgot to mention speed and all that. We trolled at various speeds and for us the fish were hitting at 2.3 to 2.6 mph and we don't run our lines back any set length. We use spinning rods and just let the line out for a while. It was easy that day, when the frosted line on the reel ran out that was far enough. :) We did a ton of knocking ice from the guides of the rods that day. We were using a real worm, just about an inch is all it took. The key is to hook it far enough in the end that it doesn't make the fly spin out but it's still secure. Hope you get out soon! Thanks for the support of the flies too.
-Dave

hewesfisher

2/10/2014 6:12:00 AM

Nice report Dave! I sure wish I had time to get away to wet a line or two, but have too much on my plate right now and might not have an opportunity until the end of the month. You're "hardier" than I am with no heat in 16° - 20° temps. Debbie would say "no way"!

I've been using Dave's Kekeda flies at Roosevelt for almost 2 years and they are a top quality product. I give them 2 thumbs up! :-)

afk

2/10/2014 6:52:00 AM

Well done Dave, I've been stuck on call and have not been able to get up there. I'm going to hit it this coming weekend. Your reports and others is what keeps me near the water.LOL
Quick question on the hooking of the worm. Are you hooking it to the main hook or the treble?
Thanks in advance
Andy

DEADDOG500

2/10/2014 7:30:00 AM

I was one of those boats you saw. We had to work for our limit too. We pulled Rapala's way, way back. And yes, orange was the color they wanted. We got 10 nice bows. Took from about 9AM till 1 PM to do it. All of our fish came from the south side from after the beach fishers till the Colombia. There were 2 of us in an old white 16' seamaid without any canvas, and YES the heater was a good idea!

YJ Guide Service

2/10/2014 8:53:00 AM

Just a FYI to everyone that Seven Bays and Porcupine Bay as well as the casinos boat launches are all frozen...only one spot at Ft Spokane is open...so check things out ahead of time...Also remember to drain your trailers so the ramps don't freeze up behind you... Thanks everyone

DEADDOG500

2/10/2014 10:15:00 AM

Yes! And bring a bag of sand and/ or ice melt!
Better safe than sorry!

Kekedatackleco

2/10/2014 8:03:00 PM

I don't know if it's hardier or more forgetful Phil. :) We rig up or flies with the worm on the main hook three or four rings down on the worm Andy. That way it's trailing straight back, it seems to eliminate a lot of the spinning and the flies track straighter that way. It also seems like a short strike on the worm ends up with the stinger getting the fish. Which is really what we experienced that day, short strikes and mostly stinger hooked fish.
Deaddog500, I'm glad to hear you guys got your limit as well. I think you guys were smart staying inside the mouth of the river as well. It seemed like as soon as we hit that last point going out into the Columbia the wind and the waves really picked up. It was a great trip for us despite the cold. When you're catching fish it never seems as cold anyway... until you have to rinse your hands in the water!

downriggeral

2/10/2014 11:51:00 PM

Ever try to other things after the cold water rinse...Yikes!

hewesfisher

2/11/2014 5:25:00 AM

Dave - I think of the things I did when I was younger and cold didn't bother me as much. You guys are younger and tougher than me these days. ;-)

Alan - I know what you mean, and the cold water rinse gets me every time, especially when I'm preparing to re-bait and send gear out with a wind blowing in 30° temps. Just brutal.

YJ Guide Service

2/11/2014 7:58:00 AM

Need to have a pot of nice warm water cooking on the boat so you have warm water to rinse in lol.....Wishful thinking huh...

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