Lake Chelan Report From August 21st, 2015 From Anton Jones Of Darrel & Dad's Family Guide Service
LAKE CHELAN AREA FISHING REPORT FOR 8/21/15
Our mid-summer pattern of trolling for Lake Trout on Chelan early in the morning on the Bar with a sprinkling of big fish continues hot. Also continuing hot is trolling the face of Manson Bay in the evenings for numbers of Lake Chelan Lakers.
The big news of course is the group of wildfires that are burning in our area.
On the Bar, look for depths from 118 to 150 feet deep. That lower hump is covered with fish during the first hour of light. Evenings are best in Manson Bay in depths of 110 feet near Wapato Point and up to 270 feet deep in the center of the bay. As always, fish within 3 to 5 feet of the bottom and keep your speed from 1.1 to 1.4 mph. Jeff’s drift rig in green has worked quite well. Similar in profile, the Needlefish squid rig by Silver Horde / Goldstar has also worked. Bait these rigs with a chunk of Northern Pikeminnow.
I am going to dispense with our normal format since the big news has been the devastation created by the fires in our area. The first thing that I want to say is a heartfelt THANK YOU from the Darrell & Dad’s family to all the people that have fished with us during August.
In spite of the increasing smoke in the valley from Wolverine fire at the beginning of the month through the Chelan Complex Fire disaster last Friday, they kept coming and fishing with us. Like loads of people in the Chelan Valley, we are dependent on summer business to keep us afloat during the remainder of the year. Again, thank you.
Last Friday morning at about 5AM while I was waiting for customers and discussing which way the lightning was going with Jay Witherbee of KOZI the Butte, First Creek and Emerson Acres took direct lightning strikes that immediately ignited fires. Jeff & I waited out the lightning at the dock with our customers and fished the morning with them. That evening as the wind came up and shifted repeatedly the First Creek and the Butte fires ran wild. The Butte fire made a run at Chelan. Jeff stayed with his house getting bombed by retardant from a DC-10 at the critical moment to save his house and neighborhood.
Sandy and I watched horrified in the dark as houses uplake from Watson’s burned to the ground. We lost all power, cell phone reception and then the local radio station was knocked off the air. With no info available, and smoke around we prepped to evacuate and got our RV generator in operation to keep our freezers running.
By Sunday morning the PUD had power restored, Frontier had our internet connection up and AT&T restored cell phone coverage. The weekend trips had to be cancelled, but uniformly after that the customers came and fished. Some mornings were more smoky than others.
If you have respiratory problems wear a mask that is rated to filter smoke. They are available here in Manson at the Red Apple Market and at a variety of other locations throughout the valley.
The most devastating blow came later in the week as three firefighters were killed by the fire in the Methow Valley near Twisp. We are humbled by their sacrifice and pray for comfort to the friends and family.
Along with all the merchants in the Chelan Valley we are hopeful that the worst is behind us and we will proceed in a manner to try to normalize business. We have received many calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages filled with prayers, well wishes and other forms of empathy.
Thank you all!
Pictured: 8/15/15 - Jeff's picture of the retardant drop on his neighborhood that saved the day!
Also Pictured: 8/18/15 - Neighbor, Carl Davis with his grandson and Mr. Lesmeister with an epic morning catch of Mackinaw from Lake Chelan.
Finally Pictured: 8/18/15 - Deva Hartl of Auburn with a 15lb 11oz morning Mack.
DARRELL & DAD’S FAMILY GUIDE SERVICE
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