Mike Carey and I have been trying to get together all summer for a fishing trip and it never seemed to quite work out. Mike was going to film a future TV episode with Lance and Christy of Washington Guide Services "Stehekin Kokanee Of North Chelan Lake". He called and asked if I wanted to go along and also bring a friend. Boy did I !! I invited my brother in law Dan to come along. Got the last camp spot in Lake Chelan State Park, loaded up the camper, and headed out Friday afternoon. Boy oh howdy was it ever smoky in Chelan!

Got up at 4 AM to meet up with Mike and Lance at Twenty-Five Mile Creek State Park at 5 AM. Lance had the boat in the water and Mike arrived shortly. Mike had a family emergency and informed us he need to go back home immediately. Lance and Christy graciously agreed to take us fishing anyway. It was windy and we had a great boat ride up the lake 25 miles in Lance's 23' Custom Weld hard top powered with a 300 hp Mercury Verado. There was lots of floating wood and Lance deftly piloted his way around it. Just a SAFETY note here; DO NOT attempt to go 25 miles up lake to Stehekin unless you have a boat capable of making the trip safely. The waves can get BIG and there are miles where the mountains drop straight into the water with no beach in sight! Better yet book a trip with WGS at 509-981-9052 or go on line at WashingtonGuideServices.com to book a trip and do it safely. Besides he has this great boat with top end Cousins Rods and all the good stuff to catch kokanee. It's awesome to say the least!


The water was flat when we arrived at our destination and Lance got the rods in and set up at various depths to 100 feet on four downriggers. Fishing was not fast and furious but we finally found an area where they were willing to bite. The kokanee are just starting to change for the fall spawn. If you look at the pictures there are three size classes to around 15" that we caught. All fish are fat and spunky; always a blast to catch on lite tackle. They seemed to like greens today and I caught some on my famous Cyclops behind an Arrow Flash Moon Jelly dodger. The wind then arrived and we could no longer fish so we went to the Steheken Lodge and looked around. A very interesting place indeed. We departed and made the 25 mile trip back in the waves stopping along the way at a beautiful waterfall for some pics.


This was a first class trip with beautiful scenery and great fishing with Lance and Christy on the Washington Guide Services Boat. Give them a call to book a trip.


As always "The Experiment Must Continue" Alan - iFishSolutions.com