Keep up with Dave Graybill and his weekly fishing adventures...
It is great to see so many people out enjoying the spring weather. There are families fishing the year-round lakes and boaters looking for trout and walleye on the big reservoirs in the region.
I was out and about this past weekend and I saw anglers everywhere I went. There was great turnout for the Quincy Chamber of Commerce Trout Derby on Burke and Quincy lakes, and I saw a lot of fly fishers on Lake Lenore and Dry Falls Lake on my way up to Coulee Dam. The parking lot was packed with trucks and trailers at the Northrup launch on Banks Lake.
I did some looking around our area last week, and spring is changing things. The irrigation canals are bringing water to popular lakes like Billy Clapp near Soap Lake and Evergreen Reservoir in the Quincy Wildlife Area.
I was convinced that we were going to have a very early spring this year. However, Mother Nature had a different idea. We had a snowstorm here in Leavenworth that dumped several inches on us, and we weren’t alone.
It sure has been nice to have clear and sunny days throughout the region for many days. There is even more daylight with the change to daylight savings time. It’s a great time of year, with springtime changing the hills to green and soon the balsam root plants will decorate them with bright yellow flowers.
It was great to see so many people out and about when several lakes in the region opened to fishing on Sunday. The parking areas were packed with vehicles and the shores were lined with folks eager to make their first casts of the season in hopes of getting a bite from a hungry rainbow.
The big news for this week is the opening of several lakes in the region to trout fishing. Every year anglers celebrate trout fishing by making their first trips of the year. It’s a good idea to check through the Washington Sportfishing pamphlet to see if any of the lakes near you will be opening on March 1st.
We had another week of mild weather and that was a blessing for those who like to fish open water. Ice began to disappear from the surface of some of the lakes in our region.
Just a week ago I was reporting on the results of ice fishing derbies and talking about the ice fishing at Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee. Well, things are different now. The warm winter we are having has kept anglers looking for places to fish as conditions change.
The ice prevented anglers from getting at the good numbers of perch near the I-90 Bridge on Moses Lake probably won’t last long. The forecast is for very warm weather for February, so the ice here and other lakes in the region may either thin or disappear.
I made a couple of trips around the region recently, to check out the conditions on some of the lakes in the area. I wanted to see if any of them had frozen over. I also went to the lower end of Rufus Woods Reservoir and did some videos of the fishing accesses there.
Sunbreaks have been less frequent this past week, and fog has shrouded the highways and many of the destinations that anglers visit this time of year. Conditions sure are different. We usually have much more snow here in Leavenworth in January.
I have always liked to fish places I have never been to before and share what I learned. Last week I made my first trip to the Snake River for steelhead and will tell you all about it. I also checked on the perch fishing at Moses Lake. It’s still going strong!
I can report that the trout fishing is still very good for nice sized trout at Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee. With the late winter and fairly mild weather, there should be good fishing for trout on many of the lakes in our region.
Happy New Year everyone. I am eager to get this one started. I have big plans for the coming year that I will be sharing with you as they unfold. The weather and the Holidays have kept many anglers close to hearth and home, and with the Holidays behind us and some cold but clear weather ahead they should be venturing out to try some of the better fishing opportunities this winter.
Things are finally getting back to normal here in Leavenworth, after the storm that knocked us out of electricity and downed huge trees all over town. The usual Christmas Lighting crowds didn’t show up, as travel over the passes was very challenging.
Ever wondered what it would be like to have no electricity, cell phone service or internet connection? Well, I lived that for several days last week here in Leavenworth.
I made a trip to one of the lakes not far from me here in Leavenworth and had a great time. There can be excellent trout fishing at many destinations in the region.