What’s hot (even
though the weather is getting colder) is trolling for Lake Trout near the Yacht
Club on Lake Chelan. Try fishing
depths of 120 to 140 feet deep early in the morning by the Yacht Club. Then move to water that is over 200 feet
deep as the sun gets up higher in the sky.
This is a transitional period as our Lakers work through the spawn and
move into winter habitat. As you
are developing your own locations, look for areas that relate to chunk rock in
depths of 60 to 130 feet deep. Our
Lakers will spawn there and then hold in water that is a little deeper to feed
and recover.
Work Worden Lures
Flatfish off your outside rods in the T4 size and the purple glow color. Try either Mack’s Lures Cha Cha
Squidders or Silver Horde’s Ace Hi Flies off the downriggers. We rig the Ace Hi’s with a Mack’s Lures
Smile Blade. Bait those with a
chunk of Northern Pikeminnow if you can get it. Otherwise use whatever fish you can
get. We use a 2” triangle that is
about a half inch across the base.
As always, fish within 5 to 10 feet from the bottom regardless of how
deep you are. The presentations
that I recommend work best when trolled at 1.2 to 1.6 mph.
Your fishing tip of the
week is to try a slip sinker rig with Pautzke’s Firebait in the American
Wildfire flavor if you are unsuccessful with artificials on Rufus Woods
Reservoir. Remember, the heavier
the current, the longer your leader needs to be. Also, a simple formula that has caught a
lot of steelhead is to take 1” chunks of shrimp and sprinkle Pautzke’s Fire Cure
on them and let it soak in overnight in the frig. Then bag them up in a Ziploc to fish on
Worden Lures Maxi jigs.
The kid’s tip of the
week is to shorten the fishing trips down a bit as the weather gets colder. I can remember taking my eldest grandson
to Potholes Reservoir during some bitter weather. I, of course, wanted to catch fish. Tyler was in it for the pie at the
restaurant. We caught some fish but
ran in for a lot of pie and to warm up.
He’s in college now and has deckhanded for me on Chelan, but we both
remember the “pie” fishing trip. As
I get older, those memories get more precious.
The safety tip of the
week is to start thinking about freeze protecting your boat. The force that water generates as it
freezes is impressive. Don’t let it
break your water pumps, manifolds or other expensive boat parts. Make sure things are properly drained
and protected before putting the boat to bed for the winter.
