Headed to Chelan for the holiday weekend and camped nearby at Alta Lake. Targeted Macks on the lower basin for the morning with little success. Hooked one decent cutthroat and no macks.

Headed to Manson Bay dock to let the dogs stretch their legs and pee and was fortunate to run into guide Jeff Witkowski who gave us a tip to fish near the yacht club. He was also kind enough to spare one of his custom Jeff Drifts lures that worked so well when we hired him earlier this year.

We trolled at 1 mph 3-5 ft from bottom at depths of 130-180 fow. Landed 7 and lost a couple others. Caught 1 kokanee on a pole we paid little attention to as we were busy working the riggers to stay deep. 4 caught on Jeffs Drift and 3 on a large hoochie with a smile blade and dual hooks. All lures tipped with a chunk of Pikeminnow on the proximal hook caught from Merwin Reservoir on an earlier Kokanee trip. Turns out those squawfish are good for something!

Then the fun came to a crashing halt, almost literally, when the winds picked up. Roughest water my 16ft Smokercraft has been in by far. It took teams of volunteers at the boat dock to help get large and small vessels off the water without injuring both boats and boaters. Saw one report that winds hit 45 mph. Absolutely nuts!

Battled the ski boats again on Monday to put two more macks in the cooler before calling it quits. Much more debris in the water and fish seemed further downlake of the rockslide.

All and all Melissa and I had a great time and walked away to talk about it. Thanks to Jeff Witkowski for the tips and thanks to those brave souls who helped at the dock!!

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