This report covers our adventures for the spring kokanee derby at Lake Chelan. I purchased a new (to me) StarCraft Fish Master last fall and have proceeded to set it up the way I wanted for fishing. The first order of business was a new custom top from Jerry's Upholstery in Troutdale , Oregon over the Christmas holiday. Great top and as we were to discover very nice in the cold. The second major change was the addition of hydraulic steering to replace the existing cable steer.
Bryan Peck (fishdawg) and I arrived to Chelan State Park Thursday night and found 18" of snow and temperatures in the teens. Our site still had 4" of snow so we had to shovel out to get a path to get in the camper without dragging in too much snow. Sure glad for the four seasons camper that kept us snug. Had a few things to finish up on Friday AM so didn't get on the lake until around noon. Bright sunny day but cold with a high of around 30. Ran up lake about 18 miles and began fishing. Wind began to blow and all of the sudden hydraulic fluid was pouring out from the helm...YIKES! Sure glad we were trolling when that happened. Seems a cap on a T failed and we had to go back to the camp on the kicker; a mere 2.5 hour ordeal! Managed to have enough parts and tools to get the boat fixed once we got back to camp.
Saturday Derby day: Set the alarm for 3:00 AM as we had to get ready and go from the park all the way to Mill bay for a 5 AM Captains meeting. It was pitch black outside with temps in the teens...brrr. Can you imagine 50 boats trying to get in the water them milling around the launch area in the dark? Meeting done and fishdawg picked up from the dock we headed up lake to start fishing around 6:15 AM. Ran two downriggers with one stacked and the other single. Also put out my three color lead core and my famous Cyclops lure. Bang the lead core goes off....WOW! Then we caught some on the downriggers at 100' deep. Next it started to snow and the wind came up; a regular blizzard!! We managed to get out 20 fish in the boat by 10:00 AM and head back to Mill Bay to weigh them in. A whopping 6.9 pounds for the 20 fish. Never dreamed that would take fourth place in the derby!
All in all a great trip to one of the most beautiful lakes on earth. Thanks Bryan for inviting me.
Tight Lines all "The Experiment Must Continue" Alan