Silvers - Possession Point

This past week we have been seeing greater numbers of ocean coho showing up in the catches. We have seen quite a number of these fish in the 7 - 11 pound range with the largest pushing 14 1/2 pounds. Many of the regulars have changed their tactics and are now targeting coho with many now being rewarded with 2 or 3 for a mornings fishng. Not Hot! But still well worthwhile.

We should see this fishery just get better over the next 3 or 4 weeks.

Skagit - Pinks and Silvers

I spoke with Nick Petosa this AM while he was on the river. He said if anyone is wanting to get into some outstanding pink salmon fishing now is the time to do it. He said that the fishing has been on fire and that there is no problem in catching limits of fish with little effort. He has been fishing the Sedro Wooley section of the river and has been tossing and twithing jigs for the most part. Though tossing small TBS spoons such as Dick Nites of FST spoons have been doing well also. The plunkers in the Mount Vernon area have been also doing well fishing Spin N Glows and sand shrimp. With the river dropping there is considerably more bar areas to fish. Nick mentioned that he has been catching an odd silver salmon. If you would like a good time on the river give Nick a call.
Petosa's Guide Service
360-854-0259

Humpy Fishing - Mukilteo to Picnic Point

The humpy fishing in the Humpy Hollow area south of Mukilteo was really hot this AM with a great number of our customers having no problem in catching their limits. The fishing has been very good for the past few days and should continue for quite some time as the reports that we have been getting out of the Port Angles with huge numbers of pinks still in the area.

Point No Point Beach Fishing

There was a fairly good salmon bite off the beach at Point No Point this morning on the incoming tide. The vast majority of the fish caught were pinks, though there was 4 -5 nice sized 7 -11 pound coho mixed in. The pink fishing has been quite good this week. Most anglers are tossing 2 or 21/2 inch Buzz Bombs in Hot Pink. Make sure to change your hook to a single barbless to conform to the regulations. There have been a lot of new anglers that have not read the regulations and use the treble that they come packaged with. The other offering that has been productive has been a pink Wannabee. It's nice to see this many good sized coho in the catches this early as it is a good indicator of a good run.

Lake Chelan Report - Anton Jones - Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service

What’s hot is trolling on Lake Chelan’s South Shore for Mackinaw. The Bar is finally slowing down a bit, but it is great early in the morning. With all our work on Chelan, I haven’t heard much from the Columbia during the reporting period. For those in the Chelan Valley looking for simple shore action, try Roses Lake for panfish. On Lake Chelan fish the “Bar” early in the morning, then fade over to the South Shore and work all the way from Sunnybank past the point at Minneapolis Beach all the way to the Pleasant Beach Condos. Worden Lures T4 Purple Glow Flatfish fished at 1.3 to 1.7 has produced our big fish almost every day. For numbers present a combination of Silver Hordes Ace Hi Flies and Mack’s Lures mini Cha Cha Squidders baited with a chunk of Northern Pikeminnow affixed to the front hook of a tandem hook array. Fish these combos at 1.2 to 1.4 miles per hour. The fish continue to be concentrated in water from 135 to 155 feet deep. For people with little kids that want to simplify things and fish from shore, continue to work little Roses Lake fishing under a bobber with worms or throwing a little Worden’s Roostertail for a variety of panfish. Your fishing tip of the week is to reduce line twist to make your hootchie style presentations more effective. As mentioned above, we are fishing a lot of Silver Horde Ace Hi Flies and Mack’s Lures mini Cha Cha Squidders. We put a big Mack’s Lures smile blade in front of these to provide attraction. They can also provide a lot of line twist. Your solutions to this problem consist of swivels and beads. Place a couple of 4mm beads between the Smile Blade and the nose of the lure. Add a swivel or two in front of the blade to help with the twist. Your kid’s tip of the week is to enjoy that time. It goes by quickly. After having some friends die young over the last year, it really has brought it home to me. I can remember helping my eldest grandson reel in his first laker here. I remember his joy in seeing that fish and his reticence to touch it. This summer, as an 18 year old high school graduate, he deckhanded for me. It has been a rare blessing to have my grandson develop under my eyes from a beginning toddler to a young man with professional skills. If you are fortunate enough to get that time with your kids and grandkids, enjoy it. Your safety tip of the week is to watch that floating debris in the evening flat light and wind. That waterlogged stuff can be hard to spot.

Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service (http://www.darrellanddads.com/) or (1-866-360-1523)

Pictured: 8/18/11 - Mark Wagner of Chelan and sons with their mornings catch of Lake Chelan Mackinaw

Also Pictured: 8/20/11 - Fishing buddies Greg LePage and Larry West of Seattle with their mornings catch of Lake Chelan Mackinaw.

Tuna Fishing - Washington Coast

The Albacore fishing has been a tad on the slow side lately for folks chasing these long fins lately. It hasn't seemed to matter where folks have been chasing them on the coast as all the reports have been spotty. A group of our customers fished with Mark Coleman yesterday out of Westport. They thought they were going to have an outstanding day as they had a double header within the first few minutes of the jigs hitting the water, only to be the only two fish they had for the rest of the day. This was fairly much the same story I heard from most everyone else fishing tuna the past few days. We have had such outstanding tuna fishing for so many many years most have forgotten how wishy washy these fish can be and how inconsistent the fishing can and has been over the years. Perhaps it's our turn to be in a slump.

Bouy 10 - Lower Columbia River

We have had nothing but "Great" reports coming out of the Bouy 10 / Lower Columbia River the past couple of days. Lots of nice Chinook are being landed at the present time and most everyone we have spoke with having no problem in getting their limits and off the river early. Blue sized herring fished behind an in-line flasher such as a Fish-Flash, Agitator or Kone Zone and presented in the strike zone by either a diver or lead has been the most common approach to this fishery. For the most part this is a Chinook fishery at the preset time though we have heard of a few coho being caught in the river already.

Skagit River Pinks

The reports that we are receiving from the lower Skagit River has been nothing short of outstanding for pink salmon anglers. The single biggest problem has been finding a good place to bank fish. Though the river has dropped a great deal since the opener it is still quite high and much of the bar areas are still covered by water making it difficult for bank anglers to find a spot to fish. The bank anglers are plunking with a spin n glow and sand shrimp combination and it is taking 4 - 8 ounces of lead to keep it in place depending upon the flow in the area you are fishing. The boat anglers are doing much better as they can access a greater amount of river than a bank angler can. The boat anglers are finding good results anchoring up on a current seam in 3 -6 feet of water and plunking with a spin n glow shrimp combo or TBS (Thin Bladed Spoons) such as FST's of Dick Nites or twitching 1/4 - 1/2 oz pink lead head jigs tipped with either a small piece of sand shrimp or coon stripe shrimp. Most boat anglers that I have spoke with have had no problem in getting their 4 fish limits recently.

Mukilteo to Picnic Point - Pinks

The past few days have really seen a change in the number of pink salmon that we are seeing caught. The Mukilteo to Picnic Point area has really seen an increase in the number of pinks being caught as well as the number of folks chasing them. We have spoke with a number of individuals this afternoon that had outstanding numbers of pinks being hooked. Craig Reedy of AAA Charters mentioned just awhile ago that he had hooked 40 plus this AM with his clients before reaching their four fish limit per person. Another customer mentioned they hooked 25 and landed 14. The next 2 - 3 weeks should see outstanding pink salmon fishing in our area. Most have been finding them 25 - 35 feet deep first thing in the morning and then dropping deeper as the day progresses into the 70 -80 foot zone by 9:00 am. The typical white flasher or dodger with a trailing pink hoochie (squid) has been doing the trick . Make sure to fish slowly!

Lake Chelan Lakers

Here's a nice catuch of Lake Chelan lake trout caught by Sarah and Dan Hillman form Tacoma on a four hour trip fishing with Jeff Witkowski of Darrell and Dad's Family Guide Service. Dan caught the nice 16.1 pound laker. Fish were caught on Yakima Bait T-4 Flatfish and Silver Horde Ace Hi Flies.

Snohomish Pinks

The reports that we are getting from anglers fishing the Snohomish have been extremely good. Most everyone that has an idea of what is going on is catching good numbers of fish. We have had reports from the lower tidal portion of the river in the Langus / Rotary Park areas upward of the town of Snohomish (Hwy 9 Bridge) and the boat fishermen have been doing well. The bank anglers in this area are likewise doing well, that is if they can find an area to access the river that is free of brush and blackberries. Finding good bank access in this section of river is a little bit of a chore and in the few spots that have access you have get there early to stake out your spot. A few enterprising individuals take pruning shears with them and cut their way through the bushes and blackberries to claim a spot of their own. The Bob Herriman Wildlife Park area has been putting out good numbers of fish for the bank fisherman. In the lower river 2 & 21/2 inch Buzz Bombs and Wannabees have been overall the lure of choice. In the upper portion of the river pink lead head jigs with pink, pink & white or white tails of marabou or lead heads with squid bodies of the same color combinations. To enhance your productivity you can use a small piece of sand shrimp or coon stripe shrimp for additional smell and attraction. The jigs can be fished under a float or simply twitched.

Fresh Sand Shrimp

We have "Lots" of fresh sand shrimp! Both 12 count (regular) and 18 count (small) that were delivered fresh this AM. We will try and keep shrimp on hand on a daily basis for this pink salmon season.

Area 9 King Salmon

Here's a nice king salmon that Mark Sears caught just south of the shipwreck on a green and white flasher with a green and yellow squid.

Puget Sound King Salmon

Though we are a tad past the peak of our Puget Sound king salmon season there are still good numbers of kings being caught. We have had a number of our customers that have caught nice kings the past couple of days. Above is Amanda Jackson with a nice resident coho and her uncle Robert with a respective king. The king was caught off Edmonds on a Glow Green Hot Spot Flasher and a glow green hoochie. Nice catch!

Snohomish Pink Salmon

Spoke with John Thomas (Rotten Chum Guide Service) this AM to see how the Snohomish was treating him with today's opener. John was fishing the upper Snohomish out of tide water and said that they had hooked over 30 fish and had landed perhaps 20. He mentioned that some of the fish had a little color already, an indication that they had been in the river for awhile. The fish overall were good sized with most in the 6 to 6 1/2 pound range. We'll see if we can add to this a little later today.

A couple of the customers were fishing the main Snohomish below Hwy 9 bridge and had a "Great" morning of pink fishing twitching squid bodied jigs. They said that between them they had around 40 pinks.

Spoke with John Thomas around 5:30 this evening and he was with his second set of clients for the day. He said that they had already hooked around 40 fish and that there was just wave after wave of fish entering the hole he was fishing. John said that he was doing the best fishing jigs under a float tipped with a piece of shrimp.

Marine Areas 9 & 10 - Salmon Fishing

We have just about everything available for the salmon angler in Marine Areas 9 & 10 at the present time. We are still seeing some fair numbers of kings being caught by those who have been targeting them. I would have to say that there is no one area that has been better than another and you just have to luck out and make the right choice as where to focus your angling attention. The resident silvers are putting on the pounds and becoming a fish worthwhile of taking home. Most are in the 4 - 5 pound range. There have been an odd ocean silver starting to show in the catches in the past week with a few in the 8 -11 pound range. We should be seeing good numbers of them by the end of the month. The pinks have really shown up in the catches, though we are still a ways off from the peak, there are at least reasonable numbers of them around.

Snohomish / Skykomish Opens For Pinks / Silvers August 16th

The Snohomish and Skykomish up to the Lewis Street Bridge opens for retention of Pinks and Silvers tomorrow Tuesday August 16th. The limit is 4 total salmon of which only 3 can be silvers (coho) plus one additional pink (humpy), Chinook and Chum cannot be retained. There seems to be a number of pink salmon in the system at the present time and you should have at least a resonable chance of catching some. We have been hearing of pinks moving trough the system for the past week of so. If you are boat fishing you can launch at Langus Park, Lowell, Marysville, Maple Street (Snohomish) or Everett. The Lowell and Langus ramps are the ones that are most comonly utilized and closest to the lower river fishing. Maple Street launch in Snohomish has a limited amount of parking and is not the best launch by any means. Marysville is a long run (5 miles) back to where the slough comes back into the Snohomish. Everet is good but also a longer run back up the river to where the fishing is. Make sure to observe the "Speed Zones" in the streach of river below I -5 and Langus Park. You can fish them in a variety of manners but for the most part most will be casting and twitching a variety of jigs. A 1/4 - 3/8 - 1/2 oz maribou jig head in pink, pink and white or white is a very good choice or a squid bodied jig in the same color combination. Tip the jig with a smal piece of snad shrimp or dyed coon stripe shrimp and you will improve your productivity. Some folks will be casting and jigging #2 or 2 1/2 inch hot pink Buzz Bombs or Wannabees. Make sure you rig them with a single hook. It does not have to be barbless in the Snohomish. Hot pink or pink & white spoons in 3/8 or 1/2 are also very popular. You can also fish small TBS spoons such as Dick Nites or FST spoons and cast them on a 5 foot leader with a shorter 12 - 18 inch dropper off a three way swivel. As far as colors go on the spoons give a pink, pink and white or a 50 / 50 brass/nickle combination a try. Thouth not as populr on the Snohomish a plunked Spin-N-Glo / shrimp combination is also quite productive.

We do have "Fresh" sand shrimp for the pink season.

Humpies Are Here - Possession, Satchet Head, Humpy Hollow, Edmonds

The humpies have arrived in "Good" numbers off Possession and Satchet Head this week. Though for the most part most of my customers have been targeting the kings rather than the pinks. Even though focusing their attention on Chinook they are still getting good numbers of incidental pinks on their flasher/squid or flasher/spoon gear. The Mukilteo (Humpy Hollow) area as well as off of Edmonds have all been showing good numbers of Humpies this past week. We are just seeing the first big push of these popular fish and we should just see increasing numbers in the next few weeks. If you are specifically wanting to target them fish a size 0 or 1 dodger in white or pearl white finishes or a small 8 in plastic flasher such as a Hot Spot or Coyote in white, white pearl scalite or white glow colors and trail a small mini hot pink squid behind the dodger or flasher. On the Dodgers the leader length should be around 1 1/2 times the length of the dodger and 2 times the length of the flasher. Fish slowly, (around 1.2 mph) just fast enough to get the dodger/flasher to slide slip side to side. Fish the upper 35 feet of water first thing in the AM and proceed deeper as the day goes on. Though some days the fish will stay close to the surface. We should see good numbers of pinks in the saltwater though the first part of September.

Beach Fishing - Whidbey Island

The beach fishery for pinks on the Whidbey beaches has gone into full swing this week. We have been hearing "Good" reports from most everyone coming back from the Island. If you are wanting something to do this weekend a trip to the Island just might be it. As usual a pink Buzz Bomb or Wannabee (My Preference) is the lure of choice to be pitching at the Humpies. Make sure that you use a single barbless hook as the WDFW boys have been checking. To keep your fish in outstanding shape for the table make sure that you bleed them immediately after landing and get them gutted and iced promptly. Taking good care of your catch will make for outstanding table fare no matter if they are going on the BBQ or into the smoker.

If you are not familiar with the Whidbey beach fishery stop by and we'll be glad to fill you in on the particulars. We have "Lots" of gear on had for the pink season.

King Fishing Area 9

This past week has scene some of the best king salmon fishing that we have seen this season and it appears that it will continue for a little longer. We generally see the peak of our king salmon runs in this neck of the woods around the fourth or fifth of August and it appears that we are right on time. Most of the hatchery fish we are seeing caught are in the low to mid teens with a few into the twenties and a very odd fish in the thirties. The wild fish on the other hand have been in the twenties. We are seeing fish being caught on just about everything though as was the case last year Tomic and Silver Horde plugs have accounted for more than their fair share of fish. The Tomic 600, 602 & 603 color patterns have all been good. Many folks have been fishing the Tomic Tubby's this season, which can be fished at a slower speed than the Classics. The popular Silver Horde Gold Star Kingfisher spoons in the 3.5 & 4 in White Lightning/Cream and Cookies and Cream color patterns have been good producers when fished behind a Hot Spot or Q Cove flasher.

Baker Lake Sockeye

Though the fishing at Baker Lake has slowed a considerable amount from what it was the first couple of weeks there are still a good number of fish to be caught. Most folks to whom I have spoken with the past few days are still getting at least a couple of fish for their efforts. Most have said that the fish are biting less aggressively than they were. Make sure to fish the first few hours after daylight as this is the best bite time. Even if the fishing has been a little slower the scenery is fantastic.

Lake Chelan Reports - Anton Jones - Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service

What’s hot again is trolling early for the morning bite on the Bar for Lake Trout. Also, continuing hot is the mid-morning bite on Lake Chelan’s Minneapolis Beach for nice numbers of eating sized lake trout. Salmon fishing on the Upper Columbia has been spotty at best. We had a bit of fun bass fishing on Roses Lake too. On Lake Chelan’s “Bar”, you should try to arrange it so you can fish a four rod array. Two people each with a two rod endorsement will do the trick. A high percentage of our fish have come off the “poor man’s outrigger rods”. My theory is that as we drag the downrigger presentations through neutral to negative fish, it alerts and excites them so they bite the lures on the outrigger rods. I like Worden’s T4 flatfish on the downrigger rods with a setback of about 40 feet. I like low drag stuff on the outriggers like Silver Horde’s Ace Hi flies and Mack’s Mini Cha Cha Squidders baited with a chunk of Northern Pikeminnow stuck on the lead hook. We fish those about 100 feet in back of one pound ball that also has significant blowback. Therefore, there will be anywhere from a one to three minute delay between the downrigger and outrigger lures hitting any given piece of the bottom. Everything that we have heard indicates that the lack of a thermal barrier at the mouth of the Okanogan River has made for very slow salmon fishing. Below Wells Dam, it has been a bit better, but the inconsistent releases from the dam have played hobb with our fishing. We took a businessman’s holiday and threw stuff at the Roses Lake Shoreline with some success for Bass. Rattletraps thrown at the outer edge of the coontail reeds worked. Your kid’s tip of the week is to pay attention to kids comfort to ensure they are having fun. We had a recent morning trip that the little boy was overheating a bit. It would have been easy to miss and just keep trying for that next fish. We ventilated and misted to improve his comfort. He had a great time! Your safety tip of the week is to ratchet up your floating debris awareness on Lake Chelan again. A little surge in water level and evening wind has put some more floating debris out on the lake again. Slow down and watch it. Some of that stuff is partially waterlogged now and sitting quite low in the water. It can be easy to hit. What a nice stretch of weather we’re having!

Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service (www.darrellanddads.com or 1-866-360-1523)

Pinks

The Humpies are arriving in greater numbers virtually every day here in Marine area 9. Though they are not at their peak by any means there are enough around that one at least has a reasonable chance of catching them if you go out and target them. Most of the regular guys have been catching incidental pinks while they have been targeting kings this week. By this following weekend we should be up to our arm pits in pink salmon. The greatest concentration is still in the Straits to the ocean.

Edmonds Pier

After quite a long dry spell of virtually very few kings caught off the Edmonds pier the fishing has finally picked up the past couple of days. This AM there was a good bite with around eight kings landed. Yesterday was about the same! Hopefully, this is just the start of things and we will at least see some fish being caught the remainder of the month. The normal pier lures were the norm with Point Wilson Darts in pearl white landing more than their fair share.

Skagit Pinks

Since it's opening on August 1st the Skagit has been putting out some decent numbers of pinks for those fishing the lower river the past few days. The river has been a little on the high side and the color is good. There has not been a great deal of good bar areas to fish with the high water, but if you can find a spot to plunk some gear I am sure that you will be rewarded if you put in a little time. With the high water it will take 6 - 8 ounces of lead to keep your gear on the bottom. Most have been fishing a Spin N Glow and Shrimp combination (either sand shrimp or coon stripe shrimp). You can also use a TBS (thin Bladed Spoon) such as an FST or Dick Nite Spoon. this fishery will just get better and better in the next few weeks. Don't venture to high in the river yet, the Mount Vernon - Burlington stretch has been most productive though there are a few fish showing as hing as Sedro Wooley.

Humpy Hollow - Pinks Starting to Show

The Humpy Hollow section of area 8-2 and 9 (Mukilteo down to Picnic Point) has started to put out a few pinks the last couple of days. Though it is not red hot yet there are good fishable numbers of fish to be had. I am sure that by this weekend there will be not only good numbers of fish holding in this area but there will also be good numbers of anglers fishing them. This is just the start of the Humpy season here in Puget Sound and we should typically see this fishery last until mid September in the saltwater.

Pinks Hit Western Whidbey Beaches

The humpies have made a good showing on the beaches of western Whidbey Island. We had a couple of the guys in from Bush Point this AM that said there was a good bite and that almost everyone caught fish. With Bush being the last point of land before the fish make the turn to go into Puget Sound I am sure that Lagoon and Fort Casey also had good showings of fish also. For those of you that are not in tune with the beach fishery the most typically lures fished are 2 - 2 1/2 - 3L Buzz Bombs in hot pink, Wanabees in hot pink (this lure is my choice as it is a little flatter and sinks slower than a Buzz Bomb and has better action) and another Canadian Buss Bomb like lure called a Blizzard. Some folks add a small pink squid body to their offering for a little more enticement. I am sure that the beaches will be packed with folks when the word gets out by the weekend. It does not hurt that we are going to have a really nice weekend weather wise. I'll post a little more latter.

Nice Lake Chelan Lake Trout

Jeff Witkowski sent me this picture of Jolene Rhodes witha really nice 21.3 pound lake trout wich was taken on a Yakima Bait T-4 Flatfish in the purple glow finish. This was not the only fish they caught that morning as you can see by the rest of the stringer being held by Jolene and her daughter. The flatfish and Mac's Cha Cha Squiders accounted for the catch.

Baker Lake - Sockeye Reports

The Baker Lake sockeye fishery continued to put out good numbers of fish over the weekend. I spoke with a number of our regular customers that all did quite well this weekend. Everyone that did well all said the same thing. "Get there early, as the bite goes off around 7:30." The fish have been averaging a good 6 -7 pounds with a few up to 9. The fish have been still in a shallow mood with the greatest number being caught in the 15 - 25 foot range. Pink mini squids tipped with a piece of shrimp fished behind a #0 dodger in chrome, hammered chrome or chrome silver scalite finishes have accounted for the vast majority of fish. Make sure to fish slowly in the 1 - 1.2 mph range. This fishery should continue for quite some time as they are still trapping sockeye in the Baker River traps.

Skagit - Pink Salmon

The Skagit opened today, August 1st for pink and silver salmon fishing. I just spoke with Nick Petosa who was plunking on the lower river and said that there were a good number of pinks to be had at the present time. He said that they were plunking TBS (Thin Bladed Spoons) and managed to hook ten in just a few hours of fishing. For those of you that are not familiar with the term TBS spoons those are ones that are stamped out of thin material to give them lots of action. The most common spoons fished for pinks are those such as Dick Nites or FST spoons by Yakima Bait Co..

If you whould like to fish with Nick you can give him a call .

Petosa's Guide Service
(360) 854-0259

Chelan Reports - Darrells And Dads Family Guide Service

What’s heating up is the mid-morning bite on Lake Chelan’s Minneapolis Beach for nice numbers of eating sized lake trout. The Bar is still our early morning choice, but it seems to be cooling off as the sun climbs in the sky. The Sockeye Salmon bite below Wells Dam on the Columbia River is good when releases from the dam allow safe navigation.

We are “hitting the Bar” for 3 or 4 passes in the morning then running over to just below Sunnybank to troll around the point at Minneapolis almost to Pat & Mike’s along the South Shore. Depths of 120 to 170 feet are most productive there. In addition to our old standby’s, Worden Lures Luminous Chartreuse and Purple Glow Flatfish in U20 and T4 sizes, we have had nice success with some other presentations. Silver Horde’s Ace Hi Flies baited with a piece of Northern Pikeminnow have been good. Silver Horde’s Kingfisher Lite Spoons in Splatterback glow have also produced. Mack’s Lures Mini-Cha Cha Squidders baited with a piece of Northern Pikeminnow have been on fire off the outriggers.

We made a run up to the Yacht Club during the reporting period and had pretty good success there in the morning. Remember, if you are fishing for kokanee there and you get those ones with the spots and black gum line, they are immature Chinook. Please return them unharmed. Our future Landlocked Chinook fishery is in your hands.

Chinook and Sockeye Salmon fishing below Wells is picking up. Try those Super Baits and Plug Cut Super Baits in Hot Tamale behind a big flasher. Sockeye fishing can be great with Mack’s Lures hot colored mini Cha Cha Squidders behind chrome dodgers below Wells Dam. The Brewster Pool is still thin. We are concerned about the lack of a thermal barrier at the mouth of the Okanogan.

Your kid’s tip of the week is to keep those trips short for little kids. Sometimes running out there, getting them a fish or two and coming back in seems inefficient, but if you want that lifetime fishing partner, it has to be fun for them while they are young.

Your safety tip of the week is to pay attention to safe boating practices below Wells Dam. There is a great variation in the amount of water being dumped from hour to hour. Sometimes it is safe to cross the river straight from the launch to the Sockeye hole. Sometimes you need to hug the bank and go way downstream before crossing. Particularly the guys with shorter boats and lower freeboard need to heed that advice to avoid tragedy.

Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service
(1-866-360-1523 or www.darrellanddads.com)

Pictured: 7/30/11 - The Stewart bachelor party (from all over Western Washington) with their morning's catch of Lake Chelan Mackinaw.

Also Pictured: 7/27/11 - David, Greg and Tanner Evans of Mercer Island with their mornings catch of Chelan Lakers