The Fishing Magician: December 19, 2025

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. This was a minor inconvenience compared to what some people had to deal with, like flooded homes, cars and homes crushed by falling trees.

The floods in our area are the big news. High temperatures of near 70 degrees and winds over 70 mph hit the town of Leavenworth and the surrounding area. The rain that fell preceding this had soaked the soil and the wind blew down trees all over the place. The trees snapped power lines and people here lost power from 4 p.m. last Wednesday until Saturday night. Mud and rockslides continue to keep the Tumwater Canyon and Stevens Pass closed, even the Christmas Festival was cancelled for that weekend.

Last Wednesday I had decided to shoot video at a couple different areas near Leavenworth, the boat takeout, lower Icicle River and the Tumwater Dam. I didn’t know the power had gone out and our cell phones wouldn’t work. My wife couldn’t track me down and was worried. When she found out what I had been doing she was irate. She thought a tree had fallen on me or could have been stuck in a landslide. Check out the video on the FishingMagician.com Facebook page, and another one I did on the boat launches in Wenatchee. You can also find them on the Dave Graybill YouTube channel. You may also want to download the free Currents App found at www.ChelanPUD.org. It shows water levels and flows at several locations. This week’s photo was taken of Icicle Creek last Wednesday.

According to a news release from the WDFW, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, all anglers age 15 and older must purchase a Columbia River salmon and steelhead endorsement (CRSSE) to fish recreationally for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and many of its Washington tributaries. The CRSSE is an annual requirement in addition to a valid recreational fishing license. License year 2025-26 endorsements are available to purchase now. Those endorsements are valid until March 31, 2026. License year 2026-27 endorsements are also available to buy now. Those are effective beginning April 1, 2026, and run through March 31, 2027. Licensed anglers fishing in the Columbia River or its Washington tributaries who are targeting species other than salmon or steelhead (e.g., sturgeon, trout, shad, walleye, or bass) do not need the CRSSE.  The total cost of the endorsement after transaction and dealer fees is $8.75 for resident and non-resident anglers age 16 and older. The endorsement fee is $7.10 for 15 year olds and resident seniors (age 70 and older). Anglers can purchase the CRSSE anywhere fishing licenses are sold. I am glad to see this program back. I served on the original Board, and it funded things like monitoring that was required in order to conduct fisheries for salmon and steelhead. This time around, according to the language in the bill that was passed by the legislature, “Expenditures from the account may only be used to facilitate recreational salmon and steelhead selective fishing opportunities on the Columbia River and its tributaries, including but not limited to, monitoring, hatchery production, pinniped removal, and enforcement. Only the director or the director’s designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures.”

I have always enjoyed fishing flowing water. Whether it’s on the Columbia River or a small stream, casting and drifting a fly or bait has appealed to me. A special season that many forget about opens this time of year and offers just this kind of opportunity. Several rivers scattered across the region open to the fishing for whitefish in the winter. These are the mountain variety of whitefish and can range in size from 10 inches to a few pounds. The Kettle River in Ferry County has been open for over a month and I have caught lots of whitefish while fly fishing for trout on this stream. Several streams opened on the 1st of December, and they include the Methow and Similkameen rivers in Okanogan County, and the Entiat River in Chelan County. Anglers who are interested in giving this a try should look up these streams in the Washington Sport Fishing Rule pamphlet, as there are certain stretches of these rivers where fishing is allowed. Also, there are special rules about hook size and hook gap that you must follow. This would be a fun thing to try, and whitefish are particularly good table fare when smoked.

I just received the latest book written by Rob Phillips, who is known for his outdoor columns in the Yakima Herald newspaper. I have known Rob for many years, and he has even come up and fished with me for sockeye on Lake Wenatchee. Some years ago, he started writing fiction novels about the adventures of Luke McCain, a Washington State Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer. This is the ninth book that Rob has written that chronicles the incredible scrapes that Luke gets entangled in while conducting his duties of protecting the fish and wildlife of the state. I find the novels especially fun, as the landscapes they take place in are here in Washington and I am familiar with them. Being from this area isn’t necessary to become enthralled with the stories, though, and his latest book, Cascade Renegades, is very relevant. It deals with the on-going controversy of the management of the gray wolves in Washington. When I served as a Commissioner for the WDFW, it was constantly on our agenda, and you will find yourself drawn into the controversy as you follow Luke’s investigation as the issue takes a deadly turn. I really enjoyed this book, and you can get this one and the others in the series through Amazon.