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Fishing News
It's not all about big-lake Macks around Chelan
Hit the town of Chelan, and it's pretty hard to ignore its namesake lake. After all, there's a 55-mile stretch
of crystal-clear water sitting right there, holding everything from state-record class lake trout and
Kokanee to small-mouth bass and Burbot.
But if you're looking for much smaller water, the kind you can kick around in a belly boat or small
pontoon raft, check out the surrounding little lakes.
Roses Lake, just beyond the little town of Manson, has always been a consistent rainbow producer, and
this year it's off to a faster start than usual.
"I wanted to try out a new pontoon float, so I went up there around the middle of March," says Manson's
Terry Allan at Allan's Guide Service (509-687-3084).
"I really like the new M.F.T. 210 Rooster Tail, with a reddish metal flake blade, so I trolled one back and
forth across Roses. I must have caught at least two dozen nice-sized rainbows."
If you don't want to drag your boat along or even a float tube, Roses has plenty of shoreline access to
plunk baits or flip a spinner. Allan suggests casting from shore with those same Rooster Tails.
"Remember to bring it in slowly, just fast enough to keep the blade turning, then periodically give it a
jerk, so a curious trout thinks his meal is trying to get away," Allan advises.
If the chance to nail an oversized brown excites you, move further north and give Antilon Lake a try.
Usually it's iced over until late spring and doesn't really turn on until early summer. Of course, this
season is much warmer, so look for good action in early May.
Terry's Rooster Tails work here too, but you can also try a variety of plugs, such as Rapalas and
FlatFish.
- Leroy Ledeboer
Lings, laker's hit jigs on Chelan
"For years we thought of lingcod as a winter fish only on all of Lake Chelan," says guide Terry Allan
(509-687-3084) of Manson. "Then we started experimenting with jigs, figured out how to catch both the
lake trout and the lings in the same water at any time of the year. Actually, this just makes sense
because both species are down there feeding on the huge balls of mysis shrimp. Right now our catch
rates are running about 60 percent laker's and 40 percent lings."
Lings and laker's are spread out over vast parts of this huge lake, but few anglers feel the need to leave
the lower basin. Allan has been going right out of Mill Bay, fishing in 110 to 230 foot water, and finding
fish.
"The brine (mysis shrimp) rise to the top at night, then start dropping fast as the day goes on. Right now,
by around 10 a.m. They're right down near the bottom. A lot of anglers go back to where they've caught
fish before and start fishing, but I depend on my sonar, a Bottom Line Tournament Master H.R., to first
find a school before ever wetting a line. If the fish aren't where they were yesterday, it's time to move."
To get into depths that often exceed 200 feet, Allan uses 2-ounce leadhead jigs with a Mister Twister
Exude split-tailed grub, in green, blue or white, and adds a chunk of pikeminnow, sucker, herring or
chicken liver.
Although jigging has become his favorite technique, Allan does switch to trolling if that's what his clients
prefer. Then he breaks out the salmon rods, uses 20-pound Maxima Ultragreen line, a No. 2 dodger
trailed at 30 inches by a hoochie with a fillet of pikeminnow or herring laced into the tandem hooks.
"I recommend trolling right along the edges of the main trough, 10 to 15 feet off the lake bed," Allan
says. "We're running about 80 feet of line behind the ball and right off the bottom. When I graph fish, I'll
bounce the ball hard off the bottom, which seems to draw in the lakers, then they see that flasher coming
up and go for it."
Although Chelan kokanee aren't huge, they're fairly plentiful and a five-fish limit gives you a savory meal
or two. Allan's main method is to troll MacLures 4 Blade Flashlight about 18 inches behind a Wedding
Ring spinner baited with white corn, worm or maggot. Recently he's been replacing these baits with a
small piece of sponge soaked in Pro-Cure's minnow or shrimp oil.
- Leroy Ledeboer
In August of 2001, Terry's client Lyle R. Smith of Tacoma,
WA landed a state record Mackinaw (Lake) Trout.
The fish weighed 33.65 pounds, and measured 41.75 inches long with a 25.5 inch girth. It was caught on
a #2 Les Davis Dodger double glow dark lime green hoochie with a trailer hook tipped with Mister Twister
Next Generation Extrude "Rocket Red Roe". The previous record was set in 1999, and prior to that 1966
Then on December 31st, 2001, client John Hossack of Redmond,
WA landed the newest state record Mackinaw which weighed in at 35.7 pounds and measured 40 inches
long with a 30.25 inch girth. The fish was caught with a 5" pearl white Mister Twister Exude grub tipped
with herring at a depth of 205 feet. Check out the write up in the Seattle Times by Mark Yuasa. For more
information about the state record visit this site! Local Fisherman News
Currently Lake Chelan is a great jig fishery for Mackinaw and Burbot until the end of March.
Lake Chelan has set the standard for Mackinaw in the state, having produced two state records that
were caught by our clients. The most recent record was landed by John Hossack of Remond on
December 31rst, 2001, and weighed 35 pounds and 7 ounces. Mackinaw feed on mysis shrimp which
migrate at 100 hundred feet per hour downward. Jigging with a thicker line and appropriate equipment
will get your bait down to where the mack's and Ling's are feeding at a depth of 100 to 300 ft. Also bait
should be chosen specifically for the type of fish your targeting. Herring, squawfish, and suckers will
attract mack's, while bloody baits such as chicken livers and nightcrawlers will attract Burbots. Whether
you're trying to catch a trophy mackinaw or looking forward to a meal of the great tasting Burbot, now is
the perfect time for fishing on Lake Chelan.
It's not all about big-lake Macks around Chelan
Hit the town of Chelan, and it's pretty hard to ignore its namesake lake. After all, there's a 55-mile stretch
of crystal-clear water sitting right there, holding everything from state-record class lake trout and
Kokanee to small-mouth bass and Burbot.
But if you're looking for much smaller water, the kind you can kick around in a belly boat or small
pontoon raft, check out the surrounding little lakes.
Roses Lake, just beyond the little town of Manson, has always been a consistent rainbow producer, and
this year it's off to a faster start than usual.
"I wanted to try out a new pontoon float, so I went up there around the middle of March," says Manson's
Terry Allan at Allan's Guide Service (509-687-3084).
"I really like the new M.F.T. 210 Rooster Tail, with a reddish metal flake blade, so I trolled one back and
forth across Roses. I must have caught at least two dozen nice-sized rainbows."
If you don't want to drag your boat along or even a float tube, Roses has plenty of shoreline access to
plunk baits or flip a spinner. Allan suggests casting from shore with those same Rooster Tails.
"Remember to bring it in slowly, just fast enough to keep the blade turning, then periodically give it a
jerk, so a curious trout thinks his meal is trying to get away," Allan advises.
If the chance to nail an oversized brown excites you, move further north and give Antilon Lake a try.
Usually it's iced over until late spring and doesn't really turn on until early summer. Of course, this
season is much warmer, so look for good action in early May.
Terry's Rooster Tails work here too, but you can also try a variety of plugs, such as Rapalas and
FlatFish.
- Leroy Ledeboer
Lings, laker's hit jigs on Chelan
"For years we thought of lingcod as a winter fish only on all of Lake Chelan," says guide Terry Allan
(509-687-3084) of Manson. "Then we started experimenting with jigs, figured out how to catch both the
lake trout and the lings in the same water at any time of the year. Actually, this just makes sense
because both species are down there feeding on the huge balls of mysis shrimp. Right now our catch
rates are running about 60 percent laker's and 40 percent lings."
Lings and laker's are spread out over vast parts of this huge lake, but few anglers feel the need to leave
the lower basin. Allan has been going right out of Mill Bay, fishing in 110 to 230 foot water, and finding
fish.
"The brine (mysis shrimp) rise to the top at night, then start dropping fast as the day goes on. Right now,
by around 10 a.m. They're right down near the bottom. A lot of anglers go back to where they've caught
fish before and start fishing, but I depend on my sonar, a Bottom Line Tournament Master H.R., to first
find a school before ever wetting a line. If the fish aren't where they were yesterday, it's time to move."
To get into depths that often exceed 200 feet, Allan uses 2-ounce leadhead jigs with a Mister Twister
Exude split-tailed grub, in green, blue or white, and adds a chunk of pikeminnow, sucker, herring or
chicken liver.
Although jigging has become his favorite technique, Allan does switch to trolling if that's what his clients
prefer. Then he breaks out the salmon rods, uses 20-pound Maxima Ultragreen line, a No. 2 dodger
trailed at 30 inches by a hoochie with a fillet of pikeminnow or herring laced into the tandem hooks.
"I recommend trolling right along the edges of the main trough, 10 to 15 feet off the lake bed," Allan
says. "We're running about 80 feet of line behind the ball and right off the bottom. When I graph fish, I'll
bounce the ball hard off the bottom, which seems to draw in the lakers, then they see that flasher coming
up and go for it."
Although Chelan kokanee aren't huge, they're fairly plentiful and a five-fish limit gives you a savory meal
or two. Allan's main method is to troll MacLures 4 Blade Flashlight about 18 inches behind a Wedding
Ring spinner baited with white corn, worm or maggot. Recently he's been replacing these baits with a
small piece of sponge soaked in Pro-Cure's minnow or shrimp oil.
- Leroy Ledeboer
In August of 2001, Terry's client Lyle R. Smith of Tacoma,
WA landed a state record Mackinaw (Lake) Trout.
The fish weighed 33.65 pounds, and measured 41.75 inches long with a 25.5 inch girth. It was caught on
a #2 Les Davis Dodger double glow dark lime green hoochie with a trailer hook tipped with Mister Twister
Next Generation Extrude "Rocket Red Roe". The previous record was set in 1999, and prior to that 1966
Then on December 31st, 2001, client John Hossack of Redmond,
WA landed the newest state record Mackinaw which weighed in at 35.7 pounds and measured 40 inches
long with a 30.25 inch girth. The fish was caught with a 5" pearl white Mister Twister Exude grub tipped
with herring at a depth of 205 feet. Check out the write up in the Seattle Times by Mark Yuasa. For more
information about the state record visit this site! Local Fisherman News
Currently Lake Chelan is a great jig fishery for Mackinaw and Burbot until the end of March.
Lake Chelan has set the standard for Mackinaw in the state, having produced two state records that
were caught by our clients. The most recent record was landed by John Hossack of Remond on
December 31rst, 2001, and weighed 35 pounds and 7 ounces. Mackinaw feed on mysis shrimp which
migrate at 100 hundred feet per hour downward. Jigging with a thicker line and appropriate equipment
will get your bait down to where the mack's and Ling's are feeding at a depth of 100 to 300 ft. Also bait
should be chosen specifically for the type of fish your targeting. Herring, squawfish, and suckers will
attract mack's, while bloody baits such as chicken livers and nightcrawlers will attract Burbots. Whether
you're trying to catch a trophy mackinaw or looking forward to a meal of the great tasting Burbot, now is
the perfect time for fishing on Lake Chelan.
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