I am looking forward to some really fun fishing. My daughter is coming over from Seattle, and we are going to fish for smallmouth bass on Banks Lake, and then fish for rainbow and bass on Lake Roosevelt. I plan to take some other family that haven’t been out with me for a while, and we are going to take advantage of the good weather and have a blast.
Anglers throughout the region are watching the fish counts at McNary Dam and planning trips to chase Chinook salmon in the Hanford Reach. Fall Chinook are passing over the dam at three to four thousand a day now, and it won’t be long before they show up in “fishable” numbers. The Columbia River from White Bluffs to Priest Rapids Dam will be crowded with boats for the most popular and productive salmon season in the region. For several years I spent a few days at “Fish Camp”, where writers and broadcasters like me were gathered at Biggs, Washington. Each day we got to fish for salmon off the mouth of the Deschutes or Klickitat rivers, or Drano Lake. I also enjoyed topwater fishing for smallmouth bass. The salmon fishing was very good for bright Chinook, and the smallmouth fishing was spectacular. There are more and more anglers traveling to this area on the Columbia to get these bright fish before they arrive in the Hanford Reach. There is great access to the water on both the Washington and Oregon sides of the river and plenty of places to stay and dine while there. I always enjoyed it.
I mentioned that I have enjoyed fishing in the fall in different areas of the Columbia, and I have done several videos with Shane Magnuson over the years that thousands of anglers have viewed on the Dave Graybill YouTube channel. Shane was always willing to take me along and share his expertise, and although these were done years ago, they still have value today. I wanted to tell you how to find these instructional videos as a way to “tune up” for your fall fishing adventures. If you go to the Dave Graybill YouTube channel and search under Fishing Fall Kings at Drano Lake, you will find one that is very timely, as that fishery is going right now. If you are planning to fish the Hanford Reach, there are three videos that you can watch. “Fall Kings at Vernita with Shane Magnuson” features fishing with eggs in this episode. “Using Eggs at Vernita with Shane Magnuson” provides even more information on egg fishing for kings in the Reach. “Fall Salmon at Vernita with Shane Magnason” is another video worth watching. I want to thank Shane again for helping me provide great information to all of you!
Many people consider the fall months the best of the year to be outdoors. The temperatures are very pleasant, and here in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho we are treated to many sunny days, with clear skies and no wind. One of my favorite places to visit in the fall is only about 20 miles from my home in Leavenworth. Fish Lake offers very good fishing for trout, triploid rainbow and kokanee in the fall, and perch are abundant in the lake. I have also caught some very nice largemouth on Fish Lake into October. It’s a great place to observe bald eagles and ospreys, that will often swoop down and pick up fish off of the surface of the lake. I have also watched otters playing along the shore, and they are known to steal fish off the stringers of dock anglers. Another reason I like to visit this lake is the incredible bloom of fall colors. The bright yellows, oranges and red colors of the trees that line the shore begin to appear now and become even more brilliant into the fall. It’s a place that reminds me of just how wonderful it can be outdoors this time of year.
The steelhead limit on the Tucannon River hatchery steelhead has been reduced. Beginning earlier this month, the limit was reduced to one fish per day, from the mouth to the Tucannon River Hatchery Road Bridge. The WDFW reminds anglers that barbless hooks are required in this fishery. The reason for the reduction is that the total steelhead return at Bonneville Dam is now 61,500 fish, which would be the lowest total return on record. The total includes 53,400 A-index steelhead, of which 17,500 are unclipped, and 8,100 B-index steelhead, of which 2,900 are unclipped. While the overall return is low, current return estimates for natural- and hatchery-origin steelhead are high enough to allow for some recreational fisheries to continue with reduced daily limits. Anglers are required to cease fishing once they have retained their daily limit. Two pole fishing is not allowed during this fishery. Coho and Chinook may be present during this fishery and must be released, without being removed from the water. The daily limit on steelhead on The Snake River has also been reduced to one fish per day, also due to the anticipated record low return.
I had a great time on Saturday, September 12th at an event that took place at the Rathdrum City Park at the invitation of the Northwest Guardian Riders. This group has many programs that benefit veterans and they also support a variety of programs that benefit the community of Rathdrum. They wanted to stage something that would attract youth to get them interested in fishing. Too many kids don’t get the chance to get outdoors and enjoy fishing, and they had organizations like Healing Waters there and Dan Plummer brought his bass boat. I took the Mark’s Marine Thunder Jet Luxor and parked near him to show the kids the boat and how to tie a knot and give them some souvenir buttons and lures to take home. There were many members of the Northwest Guardian Riders on hand, and they cooked up hotdogs and burgers and had a fun “duck river” to raise funds. I was able to visit with some of them and hear something about their experiences with their community support activities. They are planning to repeat Saturday’s effort to coincide with another popular fishing event for kids in the spring. I look forward to being at that one, too. This week’s photo is of the Mark’s Marine Thunder Jet Luxor displayed at the event.
