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Chelan Lake Report
Chelan County, WA

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05/02/2015
66° - 70°
Trolling
Kokanee
Sunny
All Day
51° - 55°
05/09/2015
5
1418

This report is for the weekend of the Northwest Fishing Reports (Washington Lakes) Camp out and get together May 1st to May 3rd.

First of all many thanks to Mike and JoAnn Carey for putting together another great event. Like last year, this year was great fun meeting fellow NFR members and putting names to “handles”. Also thanks to Aaron and all of the staff from NFR. A huge round of applause goes out to Randy (rseas) and his family for cooking salmon fish tacos, BBQ salmon and all of the other goodies for the pot luck meal Saturday night.

Thanks to all of the sponsors for the free tackle! Mack’s Lures - Lance, Kekeda Flies – Dave Browning, Wanna Fishalure - Tony, Gary FWG, Money Maker and Heavi Beads.

Met up with Fish Dawg (Bryan) from Maple Valley and camped at the beautiful Chelan State Park. The event will be held there next year. What a place for sure. Fished the Monument area Friday. Marked and caught Kokes in the 50’ range. Then Bryan says HEY I’m hooked on the bottom! Soon the fish was trying to leave with all of the line on the little kokanee reel. Had to chase it down and then the dilemma….no big net; managed to get ½ of it in the net and drag the 12 to 15 pound laker in the boat. High fives all around.

Fished Saturday in the same general area and the smallest rod in the boat went off again and the fish was leaving. Head shakes this time; could it be a Chinook? Ended up chasing it down and sure enough it was a beautiful 6 to 8 # Chinook…yahoo! Caught some kokanee too and finished the day Saturday with the NFR potluck.

Up bright and early Sunday. Cooked up a great camp breakfast and headed out to fish before going home. Went up lake this time and got 6 kokanee 50 to 125’ deep. The Moon Goo Simon dodger with a Herzog hoochie special was the hot lure for the trip.

Tight lines all – see you on the reports and next year at Chelan. - Alan


Comments

afk
5/9/2015 6:04:00 PM
Well Alan, looks like Bryan had a great Captain!!! It was great to see you guys. I'm already looking forward to next year. Andy
Mike Carey
5/10/2015 6:41:00 AM
Thanks for joining us for a great weekend!
homewaters
5/10/2015 8:47:00 AM
I've enjoyed following all the Chelan reports recently. Is it just me or does there seem to be a pattern that Chinook catches are on the rise in the big lake? And the catches are incidental given anglers are targeting other species. A few years back, Joe with Lake Chelan Adventures posted a thread about the failing Chelan Chinook hatchery program. Checkout Lake Chelan Adventures post from June 13, 2012. Mike Carey, maybe you know how to get the link in this thread? The facts don't lie. It appears it's the Mac's eating all the hatchery Chinook when released? But back to what appears to be an uptick in Chinook catches, seems to be the wild population. But do we know for sure if the hatchery Chinook are clipped before being released into the lake?
downriggeral
5/10/2015 12:50:00 PM
I like to think Darrell & Dad's has some impact by the amount of lakers they take out over the year while supporting their families and life style. Based on the size of the one we caught I'm sure it could eat a mountain of minnows and fish to at least 8" or more. A real predator for sure. Chinook also gobble minnows by the bucket full.

A lake with a good balance of fish works in harmony; can't kill all the predators without stunting the rest of the remaining population. The kokes in Chelan are really nice for a reason, in my opinion. Chelan is a very magical place. We are so blessed and privileged to partake of it's bounty and beauty. - Alan
homewaters
5/10/2015 3:02:00 PM
Well said Alan. I couldn't agree more with everything you said. The Puget Sound is my backyard and home waters, but Chelan is one the quintessential fisheries in my opinion. I've fished along side the guides there many of days and will again in July. Where else can you catch, Trout, Kokes, Bass, Lakers, Kings, etc., in pristine crystal clear water, all in the same day with generous bag limits? But the elusive Chelan Chinook definitely captivates my imagination. If it's true that WDFW is feeding Lakers, then what is the point? Seems like a wasted resource, especially if the wild population is on the up and up? It's hard to believe not one clipped Chinook every shows up in the catch. The time, energy and money could be put to better use like getting MA 10 reopened in future years for King retention. Anyway, thanks for the report. Mario
Froggie
6/6/2015 9:36:00 AM
Thanks for the info as we will be fishing there this coming week.
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service

Phone: (509) 687-0709