by Uncle Wes, November 25, 2004

This week is part two of my interview of one of the top guides in the Northwest.



UW: How do you feel the re-introduction of Cutthroats will change the fishing opportunities there?



AJ: I am prepared to move to surface presentations and lighten my tackle if they become a dominate fish. With a giant predator like the Mackinaw already present, a pressured food base at the plankton and zooplankton level and an artificial lake level manipulation that hampers cutthroat spawning, I think the fisheries managers have an up hill battle trying to make them the pre-eminent fish in the lake.



UW: Do you think there will be any trophy size cutthroat available in the near future?



AJ: There already are in the Stehelin basin.



UW: Do you think this cutthroat fishery will be anything the guides will eventually start keying on?



AJ: If they become something you can count on day in and day out in the lower basin.



UW: With the salmon fishing in decline for the last several years on Chelan do you think it will ever make a comeback and be as big a draw as it was in years past?



AJ: There is a continuing effort to re-establish a Chinook fishery in the lake it has been an uphill battle. If we can raise fish in pens that can be released into the lake after both smolting cycles we will have it licked. Without that it will continue to be an uphill battle.



UW: What do you feel led to the decline of the salmon fishery?



AJ: It is pretty much agreed upon by the fishery biologists that four straight years of lousy spawning conditions when we were completely dependent on natural reproduction was primarily responsible. Starting with the 100 year winter of 96-97 we had four straight years when the eggs were washed into the lake from the uplake tributaries before they had a chance to hatch.



UW: Is there anything else you would like to add about the fishery at Lake Chelan?



AJ: We have one of the few if not the only year round freshwater fisheries in the Northwest that you can consistently catch fish that you measure in pounds and not inches. Also unlike Canadian Shield lakers that eat ciscoes and white fish, our shrimp fed lakers are delicious. You also have a genuine chance at an over ten pound fish any day that you go out.





I would like to thank Anton for this interview and for those of you that don’t know much about Lake Chelan I’ll fill you in. Lake Chelan is 55 miles in length and plunges to depths of 1500 feet in places to say that is a lot of water to cover is an understatement. To reach Lake Chelan take I-97 north from Wenatchee about 31 miles, to the south end of the lake, or turn left on Navarro Canyon road at about the 24-mile mark and follow it to Lake Chelan State Park, about a quarter of the way up the lake. I had the opportunity to fish Lake Chelan about 3 years back having been the first time to ever go there and also the first time I’d ever fished for these big lakers without downriggers I was quite pleased with getting one 4-pounder in two days. For those of you that want more information on how to book a trip with Anton contact Darrell and Dads Family Guide Service 1-509-687-0709 or visit his website at http://www.darrellanddadscom/. Once again I would like to thank Anton for this interview and his time. I hope you folks enjoyed this interview as much as I did. So until next time may the fish at the end of your line be the one of your dreams.