by Dave Graybill, May 27, 2013

The Memorial Weekend saw thousands of people visiting our area. The weather was mild and families were able to enjoy a terrific three day weekend over here. I made a trip to Moses Lake to try to do better than the dismal success I had last time I fished for walleye here. I did, too, but just barely.

I was actually encouraged by a weather forecast that called for overcast skies and wind; what I call good walleye fishing weather. The last time I fished Moses Lake for walleye I had clear skies and flat calm. For the first time ever I didn’t put one fish in the box at the end of the day. My fishing partners Brian Nielson and Eric Granstrom and I worked hard all day, and although we did get our night crawlers chewed in half a bunch of times, we had nothing to show for our efforts at the end of the day.

This time it was different. Joining Brian Nielson and I on this trip was Kevin Winters and Dave Moazed, both of Leavenworth. After launching at Connelly Park we ran down to the area known as the Horse Ranch. We saw nets out on a couple of boats around us and saw some fish landed. We hadn’t had our gear out more than 15 minutes when my rod shook with a very good strike. I reeled in a good keeper, and we celebrated. This is how a day of walleye fishing should start!

Then it got slow. I mean really slow. We got a couple of bites in this area, but we didn’t put another fish in the box, and we didn’t see anymore fish landed. One angler mentioned that he had limited three days in a row in this same spot. Well, that was before Sunday. We made a couple more loops through here and then decided to look elsewhere for walleye.

We looked and we looked and even when we found some good marks on the Lowrance, we couldn’t get them to bite. Dave Moazed caught a dandy perch, but that was it. I have never covered as much water as we did last Sunday on Moses Lake, and I still wound up having the second worst day ever here. I guess it’s just me. I hope not. I will give Moses Lake one more try before I move on and focus on Banks Lake.

I hope the anglers participating in the Moses Lake Walleye Classic have better luck than I have had. I am sure they will. The tournament attracts some of the best walleye anglers in the state, and this is one of the best annual tournaments in the region.
There is some big prize money being handed out this year, and if you want to get a piece of it, you can still enter. To get all the details, call Ron Sawyer at Cascade Marine in Moses Lake, at 509-765-6718.

Families with kids age 5 to 12 can expect great trout fishing at the annual Free Kids Fish In Day at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery on Saturday, June 1st. The raceways at the hatchery will be loaded with hungry rainbow. Kids will get stamps as they pass through some information and education stations, and then are handed a rod and reel. With the help of volunteers they will be provided bait and instruction and get to catch two fish. The trout will be cleaned and bagged with ice for the trip home. Families must register for the event and select the time they wish to fish, and it can all be done on line. Just go to www.friendsofnwhatcheries.org, and follow the links to the registration form. It just takes a couple of minutes and you’ll be set. This free event is brought to you by the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, the Wenatchee Sportsmen’s Association, the Central Washington Bass Club, the Go Play Outside Alliance of Washington (GoPaw) and the Icicle Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

What the depth sounders can do and how easy they are to operate will be the focus of the free seminar at Bob Feil Boats and Motors in East Wenatchee on Thursday, June 6th. Mike Campbell of Lowrance Electronics will there to describe some of the advances that are available to sport anglers, and answer questions about how to take full advantage of the units they now own. I will also be at the seminar and will be talking about kokanee fishing in the region. In addition to the great fishing at Lake Chelan this year, there are many other lakes in our area that offer angling. The seminar will begin at 6 p.m. and there will be plenty of parking available at the dealership on Sunset Highway. For more information you can call Bob Feil Boats and Motors at 509-884-3558.

On Saturday, June 8th, the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery opens its doors to fishing families. There is a brand new fishing pond this year. When kids arrive, they will get a fishing day passport. Kids get to choose the locations they want to visit, get a passport stamped, and then head to the pond for some great fishing. Angler related activities and education are half of the fun at this event the other half is the chance to catch a rainbow trout. Families should bring their own fishing gear to this event. It is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. For more information call 509-996-2424.

There is great fishing to be had throughout the region and some great events coming up. I am going to try to take in as much of all of this as I can!

By Dave Graybill

FishingMagician.com