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Dry Falls

2K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Olive bugger 
#1 ·
water temp 39/40 deg. cold cold cold =slow fishing and I only managed one to the boat on sunday. Fished from shore today got 2 from the shallows. Scott did better. Found a neat thing when we arrived . My southfork frame is broken/cracked . :mad:
 
#2 ·
Good and bad news? Good you got out, bad that the frame took a hit. Is it repairable? Spot welds? Internal or external tube sleeve repair?
 
#3 ·
Mumbles, Didn't they fire Lou Holtz because he was about to break Knute Rockne's record for wins or some such BS? They haven't had a real coach since. Once they pay Charlie the 18 million still left on his contract they should still be able to buy a good junior college coach.

Trout Master, that frame should be fairly easy to weld. Was it damaged at one point or just bad from the factory?

Ive
 
#4 ·
I believe it is from the way we have secured it to the trailer. Rachet tie downs. Ripped the one part from the frame right around the weld. Also cracked in the front. Sure it can be repaired but will have to straighten the frame also. It has served me well for 11 years. May fix it or as $$$ permit may get a new pontoon. By the way my yellow lab puke in the escalade on the way back then slept all night until this morning at 5. He had a good time:thumb:
 
#6 ·
A question on Dry Falls. I have not fished that lake in a number of years. The last trip I took was several years ago and the lake was covered with float tubes and small boats. Hard to find clear water. That being said, I understood that the WDFW planted the lake with brood stock and some pretty nice fish came out of the water. I caught only RB and no Browns. I see that the fish plant posting for the WDFW does not list Dry Falls. Do they still stock it? Did they ever stock it?
I don't recall ever seeing any spawning streams attached to it, but I might have missed something.
 
#7 ·
Dry Falls still receives plants. Here is a response I received to a question that I had about the water level of the lake. It has been dropping the past few years and in October was at the lowest level I have ever seen in the past 20 years.

Dear Don,

In response to your question regarding water levels of Dry Falls Lake, this is a natural body of water that receives no appreciable amount of inflow from Banks Lake. Diversions from Banks Lake occur into the Main Canal, located at the east end of Dry Falls Dam. The canal flows south from Dry Falls Dam into Billy Clapp Lake.

The natural chain of lakes in the lower half of the Grand Coulee, which runs south-southwest from Dry Falls and includes Dry Falls Lake, are fed from precipitation and some naturally occurring springs. There has been no demonstrable linkage between Banks Lake and the water levels in these natural lakes. As evidence of this lack of relationship note how Dry Falls Lake is going down but that levels in Banks Lake have not differed from historic levels.

The reason that Dry Falls Lake is lowering is tied to the very low precipitation the area has been receiving over the last several years. This is a natural climatic cycle. We can only hope for a few good, wet winters over the coming years.

John O'Callaghan
USBR Ephrata Field Office
509-754-0244
pocallaghan@usbr.gov
 
#8 ·
Olive Bugger:

Dry Falls can support a good number of people, it is good sized water, not quite sure why you couldn't find "clear water". If you look at stocking report, you will see that they do stock it. There are bows, browns & tigers to be had, and some very nice ones, at that. I picked up my biggest fish of the year there this last November.

DJ - Thanks for posting that. I noted that it was very low this past fall.

MB
 
#9 ·
Open Water was a bit of a stretch, but there were a lot of boats and tubes last time I was there.Of course that was when the lake was producing a lot of fish so it stand to reason that a lot of folks would visit it. Perhaps I can squeeze out a trip over next summer or Spring.

Thanks for the information.
 
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