by Dave Graybill, December 29, 2013

The really cold weather we got caused a shift in the habits of anglers in our area. Very few are out chasing steelhead on the areas that remain open for fishing this winter. Not many are on the large lakes looking for rainbow trout, kokanee, triploids or lake trout. Now the frozen lakes are getting most of the attention, and it appears this will be the case for a while.

Fishing still remains good on Moses Lake. Anglers are drilling holes in the ice up lake from the I-90 Bridge, and the catch of perch is holding up. I chatted with one angler that had made the trip to Moses Lake from Wenatchee, and he said he had an interesting time there. Their group didn’t get a limit of perch, but got enough of them to make them want to go back. He also reported that he helped pull a man from the freezing water that had broken through the ice. The man and his son had chosen to fish in an area that appear to be current or wind line when the ice formed. This was very near the bridge, and I remember seeing this spot on my first visit to the frozen lake. Rescue was quick, and both father and son were safe but wet and very cold. This was a reminder to everyone that even when there are lots of people out on the ice, caution should be taken.

One of the lakes that I hear most about people going through the ice is Roses Lake, at Chelan near Manson. I have talked to two people who have taken a chilling plunge at this lake in the winter. When I visited Roses Lake earlier this week, it wasn’t safe. I could see where there had been some test holes drilled in the ice next to the dock at the boat launch, but there was no sign that anyone had actually gone out on the ice. I could see some very soft spots with water on top of the ice just above the dock, and there was a large area of open water at the bottom end of the lake. Even if this area of open water has closed up, I would still approach Roses Lake very cautiously. One of the people that I had talked to about going through at Roses years ago, still took a boat cushion with a good length of rope wrapped around along whenever they went ice fishing. It was a good thing that someone had some rope along at Moses Lake. It made it easier getting the man that had broken through get back up on the ice.

The clear ice that was present on Fish Lake when I stopped by there earlier this week now has a thin covering of snow on top of it. There is a layer of about five inches of ice under the snow, and by checking the time lapse web cam on lakewenatcheeinfo.com, I could see that quite a few people were out fishing on the ice at Fish Lake over the weekend. Although temperatures at Fish Lake will be below freezing through most of this week, there was a day that it was above freezing and even rained. This is a reminder to keep an eye on the weather forecasts and always be certain there is enough ice on any lake to support you and your group before stepping on it to go fishing.

Temperatures got out of single digits in the Methow Valley, and I know some of the guides were going to try to fish some sections of the river for steelhead. They are very eager to get at them, as they should still be available in good numbers in the upper river. Many of the fish in the lower river will move back down into the Columbia when we get very cold temperatures and heavy ice on the Methow. This can often mean better fishing for steelhead in the Pateros area and even up to Bridgeport. I did talk to one of the guides in this area, and this might be true, but no one is going out on the river in boats to find out. One of the guides, Shane Magnuson of Upper Columbia Guide Services, did get out earlier this week and managed to take a limit for two clients. He was drifting bobbers and jigs near The Rocks, just down river from the mouth of the Methow River, near the town of Pateros.

According to Anton Jones, of Darrell and Dads Family Guide Service, the bite for mackinaw is holding up on Lake Chelan. He is getting big catches of then off Rocky Point. Most of the fish range in size from 2 to 5 pounds, with a few to 10 pounds thrown in. He also says that fishing for rainbow is good off the shore near Mill Bay. Some of the trout are up to 20 inches long. Trolling for them would be productive he suggests.

I am still waiting to get my Holiday-busy schedule clear to make another trip up to Lake Roosevelt. I want to take the boat and maybe spend the night so I can get some serious time on the water on Roosevelt. I have caught rainbow from the shore at Spring Canyon, up to 22 inches, and I would really like to get some of the big kokanee that can be taken this time of year.

I am hoping everyone had a good Christmas, and I wish you all a Happy New Year!

By Dave Graybill

FishingMagician.com