The Fishing Magician: December 26, 2025

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. Tumwater Canyon was closed, due to the road washouts. Now I am planning a sweep through the area to check on several fisheries.

I got way behind on my recent fishing plans. The storm has something to do with it, and there were some other necessary interruptions that kept me from getting too far from home and getting out to some of my favorite fishing spots. High on my list is fishing from the shore at Rufus Woods Reservoir. I like to fish at two different areas. One is at Brandts Landing and the other is at the middle net pens. Both places have provided me with some great catches in the winter over the years. I have had to cancel at least two trips to Brandts Landing, and I hope I can make the planned visit to the middle net pens site this week. I have tied up a bunch of leaders, got a couple of rod holders and stocked up on Power Bait and marshmallows and shrimp, so I am ready to go. I want to remind anglers that a Colville Tribal Access Permit and fishing license is not required to fish at Brandts Landing. However, at the Colville Net Pens site, a Tribal Access Permit is required and can be purchased at a kiosk as you enter. The cost is $20.00 per day, per vehicle. Your Washington State fishing license covers you at this site. Since the flow of the Columbia River is controlled by the dams, I don’t expect the high water issues that have plagued the other rivers in our region. I will let you know how I do. This week’s photo is of my friend James Lebow reeling in a rainbow at Brandts Landing last season.

Something I am always very interested in is the annual Columbia River Adult Salmon Returns report. The report forecasts what the Department of Fish and Wildlife expects to see in 2026 and also gives the numbers for last year’s return and forecasts. It has just been released and there is good news and bad news. Anglers who enjoy fishing for spring salmon can look forward to even better fishing than they did last year. The number of springers returning to the Columbia continues to climb. Not all tributaries in the lower river are increasing but the total return is up significantly. Up here in our region things are different. The return of summer salmon to the upper Columbia is anticipated to be up over last year, but not by much. How that season unfolds is something that we will have to wait and see. Hopefully, we won’t repeat last season’s difficulties and closures. The return of sockeye is also supposed to be lower than last season. Both Lake Wenatchee and Columbia River returns fell short of forecast last year. The return to Lake Wenatchee is forecast to be down by about 10,000 fish. The sockeye may surprise us, though, and come in stronger. Fishing for sockeye on the Columbia was brief and Lake Wenatchee sockeye fishing a challenge. I hope the sockeye are more in a biting mood next summer. I only landed about half as many as the year before.

When I see that there is a break in the rainy weather I think about where I would want to be if I could be out on the water. One of those places is fishing from the shore at Spring Canyon Park on Lake Roosevelt. The park is just a couple of miles out of the town of Grand Coulee Dam and there is easy access to water. I made my first trip to the beach here a few years ago and didn’t know what to expect. I cast out two rods baited with a marshmallow and shrimp and walked up the beach a ways to look around. I glanced back at my rods and one of them was skidding across the sand toward the water. I got to it before it got wet and reeled in a 16 inch rainbow. Not long after I got this rod rebaited and back in business, my other rod went off. I wound up with a limit of five trout in about an hour. Needless to say, I have been back to the beach at Spring Canyon many times. I can’t say that the action is always this good, but I can’t recall getting skunked. Spring Canyon is on my list to visit soon. I remember last year the water got so high on Lake Roosevelt that there wasn’t any beach to fish from. A good alternative is fishing from the shore at Crescent Bay, just down the hill from the town of Grand Coulee Dam. Anglers also fish from the shore near the boat launch just above the dam.

One of the benefits of the mild winter we are experiencing this year is that many of the lakes that are open year round are easily accessible. There isn’t the snow and ice that would discourage fishing we usually get in the early winter. There are a few very special opportunities on certain lakes that opened the first Friday after Thanksgiving and will remain open until March 31st. Due to the short seasons and since these lakes get less pressure during these cold months fishing should be good to excellent. Stradling Adams and Lincoln counties is 4th of July Lake. The only special rules on this lake is that no internal combustion motors are allowed. In Spokane County the lake with this special season is Hog Canyon Lake, and the lake received two plants of rainbow in October. Also in Spokane County, Williams Lake is open and it got two plants of rainbow in March of this year, prior to the closure. These fish have had plenty of time to grow and should be very good size this winter. In Stevens County, Hatch Lake is now open, and it was planted with rainbow twice in the month of October.

I will be posting several reports and videos of different locations when I hit the road. Be sure to check my website, FishingMagician.com and my Facebook page, FishingMagician.com to check them out.