Tuesday, March 27, 2012

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







What’s hot is trolling in the early morning above the Yacht Club on Lake Chelan for nice numbers of lakers. Also hot is trolling the upper trench for nice numbers of Mackinaw. I have been hearing mixed results from fishing on Roses Lake.

On Chelan, fish above the Yacht Club from the 240 foot contour out to 340 foot contour for best success early in the morning. When the bite cools off there, move down to the upper end of the trench and work water from 200 to 240 feet deep. In both locations fish speeds of 1.2 to 1.5 mph as close to the bottom as you can. Silver Horde’s Ace Hi Flies rigged with a smile blade and baited with a triangle of Northern Pikeminnow has been the “go to” presentation. Mack’s Lures Cha Cha Squidders similarly baited were also effective.

On Roses Lake, the reports have been inconsistent. The successful anglers seem to be the ones trolling flies with action disks in front.

Your fishing tip of the week is to look at small things to prevent line twist when deepwater trolling on Lake Chelan. First, consider upgrading your swivels to quality ball bearing swivels. Then check your rig for flaws. One thing that we found is that when you are trolling Silver Horde’s Ace Hi’s with a Mack’s Smile Blade up front, keep checking your tinsel to make sure it hasn’t plugged the hole in the Ace Hi or the beads.

The kid’s tip of the week is to be silly to keep their interest and enjoyment up. When I’m by myself, I spend a lot of time in quiet contemplation when I’m fishing. When I’m with kids, I am always doing silly things to make it fun for them. I had a family from Vancouver, BC, “eh!” last week that were a great demo for this. The Dad kept them engaged the whole time being excited, silly and upbeat. Middle aged guys are particularly resistant to this, but if you want your kids to enjoy fishing, consider it…

Your safety tip of the week is a repeat. Bring your waders to retrieve your boats at Mill and Manson Bays. With the lake level approaching 1083, the run out area is fairly shallow and flat in both areas. With most boats it’s a good idea to ease it onto the trailer now and extend your cable out to wind it on the trailer. Powering them on now could cost you a prop. Manson Bay is the better choice now. You can still launch and retrieve at the uplake lane on Mill Bay with smaller boats but keep your motor trimmed up and be cautious of those logs just beyond the end of the dock in the middle lanes.

Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service
1-866-360-1523 or http://www.darrellanddads.com/
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Pictured: 3-24-12: Bridget Siegel and Daniel Abel of Bonney Lake, WA with Ken Burrington and Kody Birch (8) of Roy with their days catch of Lake Chelan Mackinaw.

Also Pictured: 3/26-12: John Hicks of Gig Harbor and Tom Buinger of Port Orchard with their days catch of Chelan Lakers.