Methow Valley Fish Report

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Methow Valley Fish Report

Lakes are open and fishing well.  Opening day proved to be fruitful to those who made it out.  Big Twin and Pearrygin lake produced some big lunkers.  Slowly retrieved black and red chronomids were the top choices.  I used a sink tip with a green wooly bugger to start out and did well.  When chronomid fishing, use a 5wt rod with floating line.  Cast and let the flies sink slowly.  Slowly retrieve the flies back while keeping an eye on the fly line.  If the fly line begins to straighten out, strip set and hopefully a fish ate your bugs.  Experiment with colors and sizes to dial in what the fish want.  Ill be fishing each of the lakes listed below and have detailed reports to come.  I have also added more detailed info on the lakes to help you decide where to fish.  Check out Keller’s limit of trout he caught on Sat.  He is starting to out fish me.  If you have any questions about my report, reply to this post down below.  I will answer your questions as soon as possible.  Tight Lines – Greg

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Chewuch River – OPEN May 25th

Methow River – OPEN May 25th

Twisp River – OPEN May 25th

Alta Lake – OPEN Apr. 27.  Statewide size/daily limit on all game fish.  Closes Sept. 30.  Surface – 187 acres.

Big Twin Lake – OPEN Apr. 27.  Catch-and-release recommended.  Daily trout limit 1, no min size.  Other game fish statewide size/daily limit.  Internal combustion motors prohibited.  Good boat launch.  Closes Oct. 31.  Surface – 77 acres.

Black Pine Lake – OPEN.

Buck Lake – OPEN.

Campbell Lake – OPEN All game fish.  Apr. 1st – Aug. 31 Catch-and-release.  Selective gear rules.  Internal combustion motors prohibited.  Sept. 1 – Mar. 31 statewide size/daily limit.  Steep boat launch, ok for small craft.  Surface – 11 acres.

Cougar Lake – OPEN All game fish.  Apr. 1st – Aug. 31 Catch-and-release.  Selective gear rules.  Internal combustion motors prohibited.  Sept. 1 – Mar. 31 statewide size/daily limit.  Tight boat launch, not suited for larger craft.  Surface – 9 acres.

Davis Lake – OPEN All game fish.  Apr. 1st – Aug. 31 Catch-and-release.  Selective gear rules.  Internal combustion motors prohibited.  Sept. 1 – Mar. 31 statewide size/daily limit.  Good boat launch.  Surface – 39 acres.

Leader Lake – OPEN.  Mixed bag of bass, trout and bluegill.  Surface – 159 acres.

Little Twin – OPEN Apr. 27.  Catch-and-release recommended.  Daily trout limit 1, no min size.  Other game fish statewide size/daily limit.  Internal combustion motors prohibited.  Good boat launch.  Closes Oct. 31.  Surface – 24 acres.

Patterson Lake – OPEN.  Statewide size/daily limit on trout.  Mixed bag of bass, trout and perch.  Surface – 143 acres.

Pearrygin Lake – OPEN Apr. 27.  All game fish statewide size/daily limit.  Good boat launch.  Closes Sept. 30.  Surface – 192 acres.

To find out how to get to any of the mentioned rivers and lakes, use our fish map to point you in the right direction.  The map is free online at www.flyfishersproshop.com or pick up a printed copy at the Flyfishers Pro Shop (located in the lobby of the Mt. Gardner Inn) or at The Carlton General Store.  Sign up for this blog and receive the fish report every week click here.

Stop by the fly shop for more information and any equipment needs.

Tight Lines,
Greg Knab
Flyfishers Pro Shop 509-996-2832
www.flyfishersproshop.com

Before you go out fishing check the regulations and have a license and catch card. Call Flyfishers Pro Shop at 509-996-2832 for more information on current conditions.

Ban on barbed hooks expands on Columbia River, tributaries May 1

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WDFW NEWS RELEASE 
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091 
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

April 23, 2013
WDFW Region 5 Office, (360) 696-6211

Ban on barbed hooks expands on Columbia River, tributaries May 1

OLYMPIA – Starting May 1, anglers fishing for salmon or steelhead on the Columbia River and most of its tributaries downstream from Chief Joseph Dam will be required to use barbless hooks.

The new regulations, adopted today by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), expand on a similar rule currently in effect on the stretch of the Columbia River that constitutes the border between Washington and Oregon.

The new rules extend the ban on barbed hooks another 250 miles upriver on the Columbia River and to dozens of its tributaries, including the Cowlitz, White Salmon, Klickitat, Snake, Yakima and Okanogan rivers.

Anglers fishing those waters will still be allowed to use single, double-point or treble hooks, so long as the barbs have been filed off or pinched down.

Jim Scott, assistant director of the WDFW Fish Program, said the new rule will contribute to ongoing efforts to minimize impacts on wild stocks while maintaining opportunities for anglers to harvest abundant hatchery fish.

“Anyone who’s ever fished with barbless hooks knows they are easier to remove from a fish’s mouth than a barbed hook,” Scott said. “That’s important in fisheries where anglers are required to release wild fish unharmed.”

Fishing regulations requiring the release of wild salmon and steelhead are common in the Columbia River Basin and other Washington waters, especially in areas wild salmon and steelhead are protected by state and federal laws. In those cases, only hatchery fish marked with a clipped adipose fin and a healed scar may be retained.

“Anglers fishing for salmon and steelhead in Puget Sound and ocean waters have been required to use barbless hooks for years,” Scott said. “The new rule on the Columbia River is consistent with our state’s longstanding commitment to sustainable fisheries.”

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, a nine-member citizen panel that sets policy for WDFW, endorsed the barbless-hook requirement as part of a broad-based policy designed to support the recovery of wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin.

That policy, adopted in collaboration with the Oregon commission in January, also set the stage for gradually shifting non-tribal commercial gillnets to off-channel areas of the river and developing new, more selective types of commercial fishing gear.

Before taking action, Washington’s commission held a series of public hearings on barbless hooks and other provisions of the policy in the winter of 2012. WDFW also conducted public meetings on barbless hooks during the 2013 North of Falcon process, where statewide salmon-fishing seasons were set earlier this month.

With only a few exceptions, the rule requiring the use of barbless hooks will be in effect on rivers and streams where a Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement is required in addition to a current fishing license.

Those waters are clearly marked in WDFW’s 2013-14 Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet, now available online athttp://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/ . The paper version of the pamphlet will be distributed to recreational license dealers around the state by early May.

Methow Valley Fish Report

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Methow Valley Fish Report

Lakes open next Saturday April 27th.  There are some large trout that have been planted in the local lakes.  I would use a 130 grain sink tip with a green wooly bugger to start out.  Experiment with colors and sizes to dial in what the fish want.  Also try varrying speeds when retriving the fly.  Once you find what they are hitting keep using it.  If you need to get some fishing in before the opener, Omak Lake is open year round and has been fishing well.  The unique Lahontan Cutthroat trout cruz along the shore line in packs making for fun sight fishing.  Use a floating line with 12′ of leader and a size 10 bead head prince nymph.  Also Jeff and I found that a sink tip with a small size 10 green wooly burger work well also.  You will need a Tribal fishing license available at Walmart in Omak.  If you have any questions about my report, reply to this post down below.  I will answer your questions as soon as possible.  Tight Lines – Greg

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Chewuch River – OPEN May 25th

Methow River – OPEN May 25th

Twisp River – OPEN May 25th

Alta Lake – OPEN Sat April 27th statewide size/daily limit on trout.

Big Twin Lake – OPEN Sat April 27th statewide size/daily limit on trout.

Black Pine Lake – OPEN Sat April 27th statewide size/daily limit on trout.

Buck Lake – OPEN Sat April 27th statewide size/daily limit on trout.

Campbell Lake – OPEN Sat April 27th statewide size/daily limit on trout.

Cougar Lake – OPEN Sat April 27th statewide size/daily limit on trout.

Davis Lake – OPEN Sat April 27th statewide size/daily limit on trout.

Leader Lake – OPEN.  Mixed bag of bass, trout and bluegill.

Little Twin – OPEN Sat April 27th

Patterson Lake – OPEN.  Statewide size/daily limit on trout.  Mixed bag of bass, trout and perch.

Pearrygin Lake – OPEN Sat April 27th

To find out how to get to any of the mentioned rivers and lakes, use our fish map to point you in the right direction.  The map is free online at www.flyfishersproshop.com or pick up a printed copy at the Flyfishers Pro Shop (located in the lobby of the Mt. Gardner Inn) or at The Carlton General Store.  Sign up for this blog and receive the fish report every week click here.

Stop by the fly shop for more information and any equipment needs.

Tight Lines,
Greg Knab
Flyfishers Pro Shop 509-996-2832
www.flyfishersproshop.com

Before you go out fishing check the regulations and have a license and catch card. Call Flyfishers Pro Shop at 509-996-2832 for more information on current conditions.

Flyfishers Pro Shop Web Site Update

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Flyfishers Pro Shop has a redesigned web site with more videos, photos and fish reports.  We also have a shopping cart so you can purchase our t-shirts, stickers and unique fly fishing products.  Check out our new Facebook page.  Like us on Facebook, Ill send you a free 3″ sticker.  Just email me your address at info@flyfishersproshop.com and Ill send you one.

Thanks for your support.  Let me know what else we can do to make the web site better.

Tight Lines – Greg

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