by Dave Graybill, November 18, 2012

We are definitely coming into the winter season now. Temperatures have dropped and snow is at lower elevations. Some folks would call me crazy, but to me this is a good thing. Colder weather means lower water in our rivers and lower water temperatures means better fishing for steelhead!

I did get out again this week, and did have success, but I know it could be better if the water was a bit more chilly. My fishing buddy Rollie Schmitten wanted to get back up to Entiat and give the fishing off the mouth of the river in the Columbia another try, and also do some exploring further up river. So he, our friend Jim Passage and I launched Barb’s Boat once again at the City Park in Entiat and headed for the bar.

The three of us were rigged and ready with bobbers and jigs. The currents were a little different and although there were a lot of leaves on the water again, they were being swept closer to shore, and not as much of a bother as the last time we were there. We were getting sun blind starring at out bobbers in the bright morning light, and then Schmitten’s bobber acted strangely. He said it didn’t really look like a good bite, but it was enough for him to tighten up his line and when he felt some pressure give it a tug. The fish acted strangely, too. It didn’t really tear off a bunch of line, but wanted to stay deep. When he was able to get it close enough to the boat for us to see it under the water we thought for sure he had a king. It was a very large fish and had a lot of red on it. When he got it closer still, and on the surface we saw that it wasn’t a king after all, but a very large wild steelhead. The fish certainly had control, taking lazy loops from one side of the boat to the other and from the back of the boat to bow. When we finally got it close enough to contain in a knotless net we estimated its weight at between 15 and 17 pounds! That’s a big steelhead for our area. We celebrated its release and fish for maybe another hour before deciding to try some new water.

Schmitten wanted to try the Columbia in the area near Chelan Falls. It was a clear and sunny fall day, without any wind, and perfect for exploring. We put the boat in the water at the day use park and ran up river above the bridge. We began above the hatchery outlet and worked our way downstream. Schmitten dedicated himself to running the boat to keep our bobbers drifting naturally in the current, while Passage and I cast. We changed depths frequently as we plumbed this new water. We found the right combination as we passed the bridge pillar and my bobber took a dive. The result was a bright wild fish of 8 or nine pounds. Realizing we were onto a good thing we repeated this drift, and this time Passage hooked up. The fish was almost a twin of the one we released on the first pass. We tried a couple more drifts without success and although we did make some passes in some other areas in this part of the Columbia didn’t bring another fish to the net. Schmitten counted eight hits for the day and three to the boat. It was a decent day of steelhead fishing, particularly since we were in new water most of the day.

Later in the week I made a short float on the Wenatchee River with Kevin Winters of Leavenworth. We ran the river from below the town of Leavenworth to about Smallwoods Harvest. According to Winters the river is still running about 500 cfs higher than normal. I noticed that many of my landmark rocks were still deep below the surface. The water was still clear, though and we had high hopes of finding a fish that would chase down our plugs. We didn’t get a single bump during our drift. It was sure great to be out on the Wenatchee. It was cold enough for me to really think that this was steelhead fishing weather. It was just great to be outside, on the river with a good friend floating along and watching our rod tips bounce.

I just got some good news for steelhead anglers in the region. I had mentioned that the season may close early in November, but I got word from Jeff Korth, Regional Fish Manager with the Department of Fish and Wildlife office in Ephrata, that the season will run at least through Thanksgiving weekend. The department will evaluate where we are at the end of the month. It is likely they will close the steelhead season and reopen it sometime after the first of the year.

If you’re like me you’ve had to get a 2013 calendar to plan for things coming up early next year. I suggest that you go to the Home Page on my web site and click on the Pepsi logo on the right hand side of the page. There are dates for several boat and outdoor shows coming up in January and February. Take special note that there will be a sportsmen’s show in Wenatchee for the first time!

I hope you get a chance to get out and chase some steelhead while you have friends and family in town next week. I’ve had some very memorable days over Thanksgiving weekend in the past, and I hope to have many more to come.

By Dave Graybill

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