by Dave Graybill, December 20, 2011

I can’t believe the weather we’ve had. It hasn’t snowed for weeks. It is cold, but not nearly as cold as it was at this time last year. Conditions are great for those that like to get out and chase steelhead on our rivers or triploid rainbow on Rufus Woods. I don’t think my daughter has forgiven me for taking her fishing over the Holidays and nearly freezing her to death. It will be different this year.

Our available fishing areas have shrunk a bit over the past couple of weeks. The Okanogan River always freezes very early each winter. It will be pretty much out of business until sometime in February or early March. When the ice comes off it will offer some of the hottest fishing of the steelhead season. The estuary at the mouth of the Methow has been frozen for a couple of weeks now, and it will stay that way until we get some very warm weather. The same is true at the mouth of the Entiat. There are pockets on the Entiat but they are very far and few between.

The good news is that when these rivers start to freeze up the steelhead move out into the main stem Columbia and the fishing gets even better out here. Fishing near the mouths of the smaller rivers and at many of the other popular locations on the Columbia will be very good now. I have had good reports from anglers fishing on the main stem from Wenatchee all the way up north.

Also, I was about to give up on the Methow but got word that the shelf ice that was becoming a real problem on this river has receded. Some of the runs are still almost impossible to fish, but others are fishing just fine. I still wouldn’t recommend fishing the Methow at the crack of dawn. It takes a while for the slush ice to clear out as the day warms. It also seems that there is more opportunity from Twisp down on the Methow.

A couple of the things I have learned over the years of bobber and jig fishing for steelhead on the Columbia and other rivers in our region is to change jig size when it gets cold. I start the season using 1/4th ounce and 1/8th ounce jigs and do just fine. When water temperatures drop, I also drop down on jig size. I have seen 1/16th ounce and 1/32nd ounce jigs work better than larger jigs lately, even when the larger jigs have been tipped with shrimp.

When fishing in the smaller rivers, like the Methow, the fish are not in the same place that they were earlier in the season. These fish are in an energy saving mode in the chilly water. They are going to be in the slower runs and the softer water at the head of pools where they don’t have to work as hard to keep their position in the current.

I have talked to some folks that have been fishing at Rufus Woods, and I am getting mixed reports of success. People are catching fish, but some times it takes a while. One angler caught a fish on his first cast and he and his party waited for two hours before getting his next bite. Those that are anchoring and waiting for the fish to come to them seem to be having this kind of luck. Those that move around, cast to the shore while trolling and work their way up the reservoir are taking more fish. Sure, it’s more work, but it pays off. I know that this is the strategy of Joe Heinlen, of Lake Chelan Adventures, and I am planning a trip with him soon to shoot video for the new television show. I am very excited about spending a day on his boat and seeing him work his magic on Rufus Woods.

I may be making a trip down to Rocky Ford before I get out on Rufus Woods. This can be a great time to fish the Ford. There are some great sunny days and the big rainbow down there can be very active on a sunny winter day. They will even hit dry flies at this time of year. I usually offer the fish down there a combination of a leech and a scud, but may fall back on fishing a scud under an indicator if the fish are being lazy.

I may even be ice fishing before my next trip to Rufus Woods. I got word that Patterson Lake, which is near Winthrop and one of my favorites, is freezing up nicely and ice anglers are already venturing out on it. I have been fishing Patterson for the past three years and have found it to be worth the trip from Leavenworth. There are big perch in Patterson and good numbers of them. I have also seen rainbow to 16 inches taken through the ice. I have been checking the web cam at Fish Lake every day. I have a friend coming over for New Years and he wants to give it a try. If you want to check on Fish Lake yourself, there is a neat web site where you can do it. Log onto www.lakewenatcheeinfo.com and you will find the web cams listed. One of the lakes I will be watching this winter is Rat Lake near Brewster. This lake fished very well this fall, so it could be excellent this winter.

I hope you all get out and have some fishing fun over the Holidays. More than anything I hope you get to spend time with your families. Enjoy!

Dave Graybill - The Fishin' Magician