Chelan Area Fishing Report From Anton Jones

LAKE CHELAN AREA FISHING REPORT FOR 10/20/16

    Continuing hot is our late fall pattern of trolling the Barrens and the Trench for Mackinaw on Lake Chelan.  Also hot is trolling for Lahontan Cutthroat on Omak Lake. 

   We troll for lakers from 185 to 245 feet deep.  Fish within 3 to 5 feet of the bottom and keep your speed around 1 mph.  Jeff Drift’s with a piece of Northern Pikeminnow will keep you consistently into the fish. 

    WDFW will soon make it’s annual fall Rainbow trout plant on Roses Lake. They will put in about 20,000 fish that are 2.5 fish to the pound.  They can be caught by a variety of methods.  Catch them from shoreline locations with Pautzke’s Firebait in American Wildfire using a 30” leader on a slip sinker rig.  You can also catch them trolling using Mack’s Lure Mini Cha Cha Squidders behind a Mack’s Lure 0000 Double D Dodger.  Bait those mini cha cha’s with a piece of worm or a small nugget of Pautzke’s Fire Bait. 

   Also, smokin’ hot, as usual is trolling for Lahontan Cutthroat.  Jeff and his buddy Jim caught and released 227 Cutts in about 2.5 days of fishing.  An unbaited Jeff drift was the most successful of the twenty some presentations that they caught fish with. 

    Your fishing tip of the week is to make a plan and WORK the plan.  Making those changes when your first presentation or location doesn’t work is the hardest thing to do.  You know, “it worked yesterday”…  Maybe something changed.  On Chelan, somewhere between 45 minutes and 1 hour and 15 minutes without a bite is my limit.  Then you have to change something.  Don’t cross over that line from being appropriately persistent to just stupid / stubborn. 

    The kid’s tip of the week is to get them to those shoreline locations on Roses Lake for those planter trout between school and dinner.  You’ll make memories and stave off early cabin fever onset. 

    Your safety tip of the week is to take a minute and check your hose from the gasoline fill to your fuel tank.  Over time it can develop cracks and allow gasoline to pour into your bilge.  Not good…  Enjoy the fall wildlife viewing opportunities in the valley this time of the year.