Northwest Fishing Reports

Just moved to Central WA (Wenatchee area) and am not at all used to freshwater fishing. Fishing was always a thing to do in the ocean with dad and we mainly just jigged for surfperch and mackerel.

Now that I'm in Wenatchee, I've gone to a couple of the local shops and have been bombarded with lots and lots of advice (that's a good thing though!) I've tried the Columbia River by the Rocky Reach dam (no luck), Banks lake (minimal success with small perch) and Alta Lake (small trout). I've been skunked at Lake Wenatchee and Lake Chelan.

Basically, I'm a kiteboarder who sits around the water all day long waiting for it to get windy so I can play. In the waiting time, I like to fish. I've gotten pretty lucky kite surfing out at the Potholes Reservoir, but haven't really noticed any fishermen out. I've only hung out at the little "beach" over by the trailer park. At the advice of the local shop, I've got a tackle box full of a variety of softbaits and roostertails.

Questions:
Safe to assume that lakes will mainly be trout, perch and bass, whereas the rivers will be salmon? I'm just about having fun and passing time, not necessarily catching "the big one."

Trout/perch arsenal would be the roostertails, softbaits for the trout/bass...and also some "rapala" lures (I've got a suspended and a floating one)??

hate to sound completely green...but all the terminology starts to sound like latin...and a lot of it gets so "techy" that I end up with the good ol'e worm on a split shot...and when I'm feeling daring, I end up with a drop shot w/powerbait!

Thanks in advance,

--Just a chick livin' on the edge

I have a couple lakes that will be good fishing, but wont be too great for the wind. These lakes are pretty close to you as well. There is fish lake near levonworth and wapato and rosses lake near the town on manson on lake chelan.

Fish Lake in Chelan co. (Near Lake Wenatchee) can get some pretty good winds on it and I have always enjoyed the fishing there.
Your best bet might be just to combine using Google Maps and the lake listing for Chelan Co from this site (go to the Washington map on the home page and click on Chelan Co.). Look on Google for lakes that might be the size you want (I am thinking small lakes wouldn't be all that fun), then go check out the reports for those lakes on this site.

Don't feel bad about feeling "green" there is probably too many lures and gadgits out there designed to fool fish. The tried and true worm on a hook seldom fails. I moved from Quincy to NE washington last year and if you want wind look no farther than the columbia river from cresent bar to vantage. Be careful though as there are few roads that go down to the river between those two points. While you are waiting for the wind you can plunk a worm in the river and catch trout, bass, walleye, salmon, steelhead, and I imagine there are also perch in there also. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Thank you all for the advice...while waiting for responses, I checked out the lake reports section and ended up going to fish lake today, then caught some good wind on lake wenatchee...the dock at the Cove Resort was pretty crowded and I didn't wanna foul anything up or get in anyone's way, so I waited for some people to leave. Only got a half hour in because the wind picked up. I know they rent boats, but I don't have the coordination for a rowboat and after tipping over a dinghy in the sound, the motored boats were a bit intimidating.

I think I'll head to Alta lake tomorrow (really pretty and not very crowded) then the dock at MarDon over the weeken...but will definitely try the different suggestions you guys gave (thank god for gooogle maps) Hopefully some people I meet along the way will be willing to dish out some advice on rigging and gear (I know the basic stuff--Texas, Carolina, Drop Shot, Splitshot, crankbaits and spinner baits, just haven't figured out when to use what and other subtleties like how deep or where to go) At this point, I sort of try everything throughout the day then end up with the good ole roostertail catching perch or baby bass

Thanks again! Great website with lots of useful info and perfect for an insomniac like myself!

parrydog wrote:I moved from Quincy to NE washington last year and if you want wind look no farther than the columbia river from cresent bar to vantage. Be careful though as there are few roads that go down to the river between those two points.

Thanks Parrydog, I've driven through Quincy (at speed limit of course) and eyed the grassy/sandy beach in Crescent Bar, so good to know there's wind there