by Dave Graybill, March 02, 2014

Winter weather kept most anglers off the water this past weekend. Many of them wanted to be indoors anyway. The 2nd annual Wenatchee Valley Sportsmen’s Show was going on at the Town Toyota Center, so they chose to talk and learn about fishing instead. There are good reasons for anglers to get out on the water, though.

Interest in the kokanee fishing is very high again this year. I heard that there were at least ten boats on Lake Chelan on Saturday. I am getting reports of kokanee being caught, too. There are limit numbers of them being taken, and they are very large again this year. Of the kokanee being taken, many are in the 17- to 18-inch class. I expect the number of boats out on the lake to increase dramatically when we get some calm and clear weather.

My brother, Rick Graybill, spoke to standing room only houses at his seminars on fishing for kokanee on Lake Chelan at the Wenatchee Sportsmen’s Show. His new booklet was available at the Hooked on Toys booth. The booklet is printed in color with lots of photos of the gear to use, like the dodgers and lures, as well as a map of the lake with fishing location identified. There is a lot of detail on how to fish for big kokanee on Chelan, too. Sales were brisk at the show, and anglers can pick up a copy at the store in Wenatchee now, and you can order one by calling the store at 509-663-0740.

I have received word that the 4th Annual Tagged Trout Derby at the Quincy lakes has been moved to the second weekend in March. Organizers of the event have been checking on the ice conditions on Burke and Quincy lakes, where the event is to take place, and they want to be sure that they are ice-free. Right now it doesn’t look like they would be able to release the tagged fish into the lakes, and that anglers wouldn’t be able to get at them. Conditions on the mountain passes should be better by the second weekend in March, too. Many of the derby participants come from the west side of the mountains and traveling should be much easier a week later as well. I want to remind everyone that there will be twice the number of tagged fish worth up to $2,000.00 in this year’s derby. The prize money has doubled as they are putting fish in both Burke and Quincy lakes, and they are also paying $100.00 for each tagged fish that isn’t one of the big money winners. So, everyone mark your calendars for March 8th, and plan on fishing for tagged trout and big dollars at the 4th Annual Tagged Trout Derby in Quincy.

I’m not done with the shows yet. This weekend I will be traveling to the Tri-Cities. I will be at the new Great Outdoors Expo, sponsored by Chief’s RV, at the TRAC in Pasco. I am very pleased to be at the new show and excited to see everything there. I will be doing a couple of seminars, too. I will be sure and include fishing for kokanee at Lake Chelan as one of them. I did a couple of presentations at a small theatre next to the Bob Feil Boats and Motors booth at the Wenatchee Sportsmen’s Show, and the one on Lake Chelan kokanee was by far the best attended. I hope that those of you that read my column in the Nickel Nik that is distributed in the Tri-Cities will stop by and say hello while I am there at the show.

This show will have lots of outdoor-related exhibits and vendors and guides and outfitters and other outdoor products. A special feature at the show will be the Walk on the Wild Side exhibit showing a wide range of exotic animals, including lions, tigers, porcupines, reptiles and more. There is a schedule of seminars Saturday and Sunday, and I will be doing a few of them myself. I will be talking about Kokanee Fishing in our Region at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and at 11 a.m. on Sunday the seminar will be on Rufus Wood Triploids, and at 2 p.m. my presentation will be on Lake Roosevelt Rainbow. The show opens at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and adult tickets are just $5.00. You can learn all about the show by logging onto tcgreatoutdoorexpo.com or click on the logo on my Home Page.

I talked to a number of anglers that were eager to learn about the fishing for triploid rainbow at Rufus Wood Reservoir. Fishing has been slow since the release over a month ago. Everyone is waiting for the most recent release of big triploids to show up at the bottom end of the reservoir above Chief Joseph Dam. I understand that the reservoir has been low and the flows slow. That may account for the delay in fish reaching the lower reservoir. Be patient, they will get there.

I want to get the word out now so you can make plans to attend the next seminar at Town Ford, which will take place on Wednesday, March 26th. I will have my brother Rick there to talk about fishing for kokanee on Lake Chelan, and there should be some current reports on the fishing to share then, too. He will provide very detailed instructions on how to be successful fishing for kokanee, and if you have an interest in this fishery you’ll want to be there. Also giving a presentation will be Shane Magnuson, Upper Columbia Guide Service. He will be talking about fishing for spring salmon on the Icicle and Wenatchee rivers. Yes, I said Wenatchee River. There have been rumors of the Wenatchee opening for spring salmon fishing for years and it hasn’t happened. However, the Department of Fish and Wildlife has new permits in place, and all we need is enough fish to show up for a season. The forecast for this year’s return to the Columbia is double what it was last year, so everything looks very good.


There is warmer and calm weather in the forecasts for the coming week, so I hope you can get out on the water. I am eager to do some late winter fishing myself!

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