I had an amazing end to my week. I have a new boat now and was very eager to get out and do some fishing on some of the lakes and rivers in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. It sure is set up to give me the best advantages to catch fish!
Thursday was a hallmark day for me. I traveled to Hayden, Idaho and took delivery of the Mark’s Marine 20 foot Thunder Jet Luxor! I had seen what the graphics looked like, but to see the boat rigged and ready was amazing. They walked me through how the networked Garmin electronics worked. There are three screens, a 12 inch at the helm and two 9 inch units that are mounted in a custom bracket at the transom. It also has the most advanced Gamin Live Scope available. It is mounted on the offshore bracket and operated by remote control! They introduced me to Rick Schmidt who took me to Lake Pend Oreille, where we launched the boat for a check out drive. Rick was extremely thorough, testing everything from operation of the Minn Kota “Instinct” bow mount, electronics, live well, washdown and the switches. He put the 200 horsepower Mercury through its paces and made sure the kicker worked as well. I can’t say enough about how much attention to detail the folks at Mark’s Marine put into their boats, and I am sure every boat that leaves their dealership receives the same treatment. I am very proud to be associated with them. This week’s photo is of the new boat.
Over the years, every time I got a new boat my wife always got to go out on the first trip. We considered several options about where to launch last Saturday. Our first choice was to fish for triploids below Chief Joseph Dam, but we thought it would be too smokey. We thought about a few other places and decided to put the boat in at Roses Lake, near Manson at Lake Chelan. It was still smokey, but not as bad as other areas. She was excited to get the first ride and also wanted to be sure everything was on board when I took it out with others. She made sure there were enough lifejackets, fire extinguisher, horn, first aid kit, etc. She knew the engines on the Thunder Jet Luxor from Mark’s Marine in Hayden, Idaho were working, as I was taken out for a test drive when I picked up the boat, and the Minn Kota Instinct bow mount worked perfectly. I launched the Garmin Live Scan pole, as well, and that worked great. She was duly amazed at all the features on this boat and is eager to get out and really do some fishing on it.
This year’s Buoy 10 fishery opened Aug. 1, with thousands of anglers expected to travel to the mouth of the Columbia River in pursuit of fall Chinook and Coho salmon. Preseason forecasts anticipate 636,500 adult fall Chinook returning to the mouth of the Columbia River, which is less than last year’s actual return of 685,512. The projected adult Coho return to the mouth of the Columbia River is 358,700 fish. The Buoy 10 fishery, which extends from Buoy 10 to a line on the west end of Puget Island, is open through Sept. 2 with an adult daily limit of two salmon, but no more than one may be a Chinook. According to the news release: Through Aug. 9 and Aug. 25 and through Sept. 2, anglers may keep Chinook (hatchery or wild) and hatchery Coho only. From Aug. 10 through Aug. 24, anglers may keep hatchery Chinook and hatchery Coho only. Between Buoy 10 and the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line, Chinook must be at least 24 inches long and Coho must be at least 16 inches long to keep. The fishing boundary extends from Buoy 10 to a line on the west end of Puget Island. Please read the news release pertaining to the Buoy 10 fishery on the WDFW website for complete information.
According to an article by Andy Walgamott of Northwest Sportsman Magazine, an investigation into the WDFW Commission partially corroborates allegations against certain members of the citizen panel overseeing WDFW and its director. The findings substantiated in part violations of the Public Records Act, Open Public Meetings Act, commission rules of procedure, and mistreatment of agency staff and retaliation against Director Kelly Susewind but did not substantiate improper timekeeping and compensation accusations against one commissioner who claimed to have worked on fish and wildlife business in some fashion nearly every day over a 400 plus-day stretch. “To the extent any formal corrective action with respect to individual commissioners is considered, it should be determined in consultation with legal counsel and with consideration of both applicable statutory authority and the full record, including the systemic conditions and mitigating factors documented herein,” the 68 page report concludes. “The report reveals serious issues and even potential crimes committed by WDFW Commissioners. It’s nice to see all the evidence the Sportsmen’s Alliance brought forward more than a year ago was taken seriously, and that the wrongdoing is now substantiated and on display for the citizens of Washington,” said Brian Lynn, the organization’s Spokane-based vice president of marketing and communications. “Now it’s up to Governor Ferguson to hold these commissioners accountable.”
I want to thank all of you that have subscribed to the FishingMagician.com Facebook page. It may not seem like much, but it really helps keep me on the road and afloat to do the reports that I do. You will soon be seeing information about fishing opportunities in north Idaho, in addition to the areas that I have been covering for years. All of this costs. The time and travel, fuel and licenses, etc. I also wanted to let you know that I have recently produced a series of videos that include reviews of some of my favorite products. These will be available only to subscribers to the FishingMagician.com Facebook page. Things that I personally use when I am fishing for the different species available to us in this region. There are some tips and tricks that I share with subscribers as well. If you like what I do and want to learn more about what I use to catch fish and the products that I personally prefer, just click on the Subscriber button on my page. Thanks in advance!
