I fished Chelan many times as a kid but never went to the Manson side and fished Wapato. Me and the boy hit the lake at about 8am and rented a boat from the campground. I set us up with 1/2oz egg sinkers with a dodger and Rocky Mountain Tackle Squid in pink for me and Mojo Melon for him. I had my line in the water and trolling in 40ft of water with 100ft of line out while my boy was tying his setup. Within 15 minutes I had a fish on and it felt like a lunker! Sure enough, a good 14 inch fat boy. I get my line reset and get the boy's in too and continue trolling in 40-60ft of water with 70 to 100ft of line out....then the wind picks up. We battled the wind and whitecaps for about an hour and gave up as we couldn't keep the boat straight. There were some HUGE fish showing up on the finder and we didn't want to give up.

We went back to the house and ate lunch, went into Chelan and played some mini golf while I recharged the trolling battery. I convince the boy that we should try again since the wind had died down a little. We got our lines setup before we got in the boat and had both lines out immediately. The wind was still making it difficult, but we were doing okay. About 20 minutes later, he hooks into a brute and lands the biggest fish he has ever caught, and on a 5.5ft ultra light rod too. Another super fat 14" rainbow. His spirits are lifted and he is all smiles after that. I end up hooking another fat 14" trout before we have to head back to the house.

I wish we had more time on the lake and the wind wasn't an issue. There were a ton of fish in that lake at 20 to 40ft deep and based on the size and quality we caught, they are fun to catch and tasty to eat. I can't stress it enough, these fish had some massive girth, the picture doesn't do them justice! All three had nice dark pink meat. I will definitely come back and try for the behemoths that are lurking in the deep!

---