Chelan Fishing Report From Lake Chelan Area For 12/2/2014
AKE CHELAN AREA FISHING REPORT FOR 12/2/14
Winter fishing for Mackinaw continues to be hot on Lake Chelan during the Thanksgiving holiday. Also continuing hot is bank fishing and trolling for planter Rainbow Trout on Lake Chelan. Roses Lake continues to provide hot action for planter sized rainbows for open water anglers.
Our fall pattern has continued into the early winter. We troll for these mostly eating sized Lakers from 220 to 245 feet deep. Fish within 3 to 5 feet of the bottom and keep your speed around .8 to 1.3 mph. Glow in the dark Smile Blades from Mack’s Lure continue to be the go to attractor here on Lake Chelan. Put those in front of a 4 inch needlefish squid rig by Silver Horde, bait them with a piece of Northern Pikeminnow and scent everything with Pautzke’s Krill Juice to keep yourself consistently into the fish. These fish are completely jammed full of Mysis shrimp. This in turn makes the meat especially delectable. While we find those mysids in our Lakers all year, this late fall / early winter time really concentrates that feed in the lower basin to fatten up our fish.
Rainbow trout on Lake Chelan 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.
Pautzke’s Fire Bait will also work well from the shore on Roses Lake for planter sized Rainbow Trout. WDFW planted approximately 16,000 fish that were 2.4 fish to the pound. Those are about 9” fish. Roses still hasn’t frozen over and shore anglers are limiting in less than an hour.
Your fishing tip of the week is to keep thinking to improve either your location or presentation to eliminate unproductive stuff to become part of the 10% of anglers that catch 90% of the fish. What part of the presentation is most important? That is an interesting question. When you can answer that with some degree of confidence, it will allow you to develop presentations or locations that are favored by your intended prey. On Chelan, we think the Mysis Shrimp connection takes the fish to the bottom. Since there is little light there and Mackinaw are a cruising fish with a prominent lateral line, we think vibration is the most important part of the presentation. Columbia Steelhead are looking for the break or seam in the current and are very visually oriented. Getting the right color presentation into a seam is critical there. Think!
The kid’s tip of the week is to remember that inactivity is leading to a national obesity epidemic. Further, the most common correlation between active and inactive kids is the activity level of the parental figure in their home. You’ve got to get them out and interact with them. Getting them out with their friends in the outdoors and being actively involved is important. Besides it is a great way for you to get rid of a few of those Turkey pounds… Check out the picture of 13 year old Cody Dobbins of Kennewick with his North Shore Bighorn. He should be hooked for life.
The safety tip of the week is to check your gear for launching and retrieving boats on snowy / ice ramps as well as being prepared for breakdowns in bad winter weather. Chains for your tow vehicle as well as a shovel and sand could be very useful. Enjoy the early winter in our beautiful valley.
11-26-14 - Darryn Wiersma of Marysville with his mornings catch of Lake Chelan Mackinaw.
11-27-14 - Cody Dobbins (13) of Kennewick with his North Shore Bighorn
11-28-14 - Tabatha, Jess and Stephen (14th birthday!) of Hoquiam with Stephen's fish for the morning
DARRELL & DAD’S FAMILY GUIDE SERVICE
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