I went over the mountains for some winter fishing on lake Chelan. We started fishing at O Dark Hundred. After fiddling with ling lines (pulled two lines and yielded one ling) we started to jig - but not for long. The wind was quickly beginning to gust so we put away our ling jigs and got down to laker business.

Anton has been sending in incredible reports this winter and today was no exception. We trolled from 8:30am until 1pm. Caught nine lakers averaging 2-4 pounds, lost at least a half dozen. The hot depth was from 200 to 220 feet deep, right off the bottom. Hot lure was a Worden's U-20 luminescent chartreuse plug. We also caught a couple on a jointed Worden's plug in stripped green. We had four doubles. Every time Anton would slow the boat down with one fish on, it seemed the second pole would start jerking with another.

Winter is a great time to hit this fishery. The lake is beautiful and you'll have it to yourself. Most days are actually pretty nice. Just dress warm. By 10am the sun starts to warm things up - just the cure for the West Side Rainy Day Blues.

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