First time fishing Chelan. As a kayak angler this lake has always intimidated me which is probably why I've not prioritized it. Circumstances lined up with the NWFR BBQ and I decided to give it a shot. I scouted out a launch near where I was staying in Manson Bay the day before and launched their at sunrise the next day.

Several boats were already trolling the ledge when I launched so I headed out that way. I was using Paulina Peak Tackle Big-I dodgers with orange microhoochies on 8-20 lb old school glass trolling rods. I opted to use lead rather than my downrigger and use a 3 oz cannonball on one rod and a 4 oz on the other and dropped them back 100'. No sooner than I got both rods deployed I got a double, which resulted in zero fish to the boat. I put corn back on and redeployed. Another double came and this time I converted both. From that point on the action was non-stop and although I lost several fish I was quickly able to limit out.

That evening I had a great time at the NWFR BBQ and Gathering. Great foods, tons of awesome giveaways, music, and good company. Looking forward to fishing this lake more as I will be moving from north Idaho to north-central Washington soon.

---