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Well talked the better half into going back to Riffe for fathers day weekend. After our trip there for memorial week, I had the itch to chase some more salmon and so did she.
We didn't launch until around 9:00 am from Taidnapam North, but headed right down the lake to the same area we fished last time there.(about 1/2 a mile west of Kosmos) Set up dodger and wiggle hoochie on hers, dodger and copcar spoon on mine, both tipped with shrimp, both 125' back and 8' down. 5 minutes in and hers pops off the clip, nice fat 15" coho, bonked, bled, and on ice. 20 minutes later and hers goes off again, this time its a runt about 10", he gets released alongside the boat.
1 hour of boat riding with no action so I switched back to a cowbell with a pink wedding ring with a bright tiger striped blade, 3/4 ounce weight up front and still 125' back. 5 minutes and the pole starts dancing and so did the fish. Nice fight and several aeronautical displays later it was in the net. As I'm taking care of this fish I notice first it has spots on both lobes of the tail, and secondly it is a clipped fish.
So is this an escaped Chinook from the hatchery? Now I go to put my gear back in the water and realize this girl has nearly destroyed my cowbell, the cable that it is strung on is kinked in about 10 places. Oh well the blades still spin fine so back in it goes. 10 minutes later fish on again, another Chinook about 16" but not quite as fat and it has all its fins. Set the wife up with a similar setup as mine but without similar results. I had 4 more takedowns in the next couple hours but got nothing else in the boat.

Lamprey01

6/19/2017 12:02:52 AM

Definitely a rainbow trout. Chinook will have a black mouth (easiest way to tell when they are young). Nice fish!

JAYDOG

6/19/2017 5:45:57 PM

The black mouth is what was throwing me off too. But the sides had no color to them other than chrome.

cobrar543

6/19/2017 10:03:32 AM

Are the lauches open? State Campground is reporting launch closed to lake level still on its website

Toni

6/19/2017 1:47:57 PM

Looks like a very healthy rainbow. Doesn't look like a black gum line that a chinook would have

"due to changes to Riffe Lake levels in 2017, the Taidnapam swim area and boat launch are closed. The Taidnapam North boat launch is open; it has two lanes and a dock servicing elevations down to 720 feet." Mossyrock "The boat launch is open; two lanes are usable (one to 723 feet, the other to 737 feet). We are exploring temporary and permanent improvements to the boat launch."

riverhunter

6/19/2017 3:16:01 PM

Yup that a rainbow. Nice one for that

JAYDOG

6/19/2017 5:58:06 PM

I didn't realize they planted rainbows in Riffe.

JAYDOG

6/19/2017 6:12:54 PM

I did know it held rainbows. Just surprised by a clipped fish.

JAYDOG

6/19/2017 6:56:16 PM

I did know it held rainbows. Just surprised by a clipped fish.

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