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