Washington Fly Fishing Forum banner

Can I save you some grief?

Tags
i
4K views 48 replies 24 participants last post by  Buzzy 
#1 · (Edited)
We all want to get out early and fish after a long and difficult winter. And no one more than me since I haven't been able to fish for the past couple of years. So the news that Coffeepot was finally ice free was enough incentive for me to make the 3 1/2 hour drive over and stay for a few days. I couldn't wait and I should have. The lake is fishing well for big fish providing you have a boat and can safely reach the far end. No one in their right mind would kick a pontoon boat up there given the vagaries of the spring winds. The lower end and specifically the forebay where we all launch was absolutely dead. I didn't hear of anyone catching a fish there in three days. So we were confined to the first half a mile or so of the lake but having fished it for 13 years out of a tube or 'toon I have never been embarrassed by the number of trout I caught. This year I was. And there were some well known flyfishers there that also concurred that the launch end was not fishing for shit.

The problem seems to be several fold-the ice just came off the launch area last week so there doesn't seem to be the numbers of fish there as usual. Yet. They'll be back but it might take a while this year. And the water is higher than I have ever seen it so with another 3-4' of water an already huge lake is even bigger and will take longer to warm up. I fished all of my honey holes I have marked over the years and especially some great chironomid water that has always been dynamite in the spring. Nothing. In two days I only caught 5 fish-about 2 hours worth of production on a good day-and only one of those was hot, the others just lame.

Okay, I know what you are thinking-I can outfish that guy any day of the week and I'm going! Well, there were some folks there that could outfish me and they didn't unless they motored to the far end. So just a word to the wise if you only have a pontoon or a pram give it at least two weeks for the water to warm, it was only 38-41 and with the wind chill in the air it felt more like 30. I have sacrificed 350 miles, 7 hours of driving time and endured three 20 degree nights to bring you this information. Take it for what it's worth and wait a couple of weeks. Then let me know how things are going, I'll be ready to go back by then.

Ive
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Just about every damned year I end up freezing my butt off and either catching zip or very few trout because I rush the season and try stillwater fishing a lake that is still far too cold to flyfish with hopes of any positive outcome.

This year I'm trying to hold off and wait for the temps to go up before embarking on a frigid and frustrating endeavor.
 
#17 ·
Mark, the mileage was just 16.3 towing a box trailer with my boat in it. I drove the whole length of Spokane on city streets, 70 mph on the freeway for about 30 miles and the rest on those tortuous twisting, climbing and dipping secondary roads along the lake and over the pass. The mileage wasn't great but the throttle response was and it shot up all those hills with little effort. I am running this tank on ECO mode and there is certainly a difference in performance going over the pass.

Coomba-keep me posted on the dates you are going to be there. I have a hunch that some other WFF members will be eager to get there in a few more weeks. I hope to take my new Crusin' Condo and bask in luxury for a few days.
 
#20 ·
Mark, the mileage was just 16.3 towing a box trailer with my boat in it.
Coomba-keep me posted on the dates you are going to be there. I have a hunch that some other WFF members will be eager to get there in a few more weeks. I hope to take my new Crusin' Condo and bask in luxury for a few days.
Using a box trailer for a camper? Always interested in your handiwork.
 
#18 ·
I got a heads up from 406Kid that you guys were there and I was going to go down last weekend but was grounded by the weather. Would have liked to meet you. Some of the best days I've had there were when ice was still present, but the last few years the fish counts have really gone down, and the influx of pressure has really gone up. Used to be my favorite lake about 20 years ago, and still can be good, but definitely not what it used to be
 
#19 ·
Agreed Fitz, it is certainly the new Chopaka and the parking lot and campground verify that. Like you say, it can still be good but weekend fishing is just a no-no. Expect a clusterf**k and you won't be disappointed. I usually make about 3 trips a year, 2 fairly early (too early this year!) and one the last week of September. I try to carefully pick my times and go when the least amount of traffic is expected. There are some other good fishing opportunities in the vicinity but few bother to learn them and take advantage of them. Would you believe 12'' crappies?;)

Ive
 
#23 ·
I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but it was always quite there in the past, and it seems about 1o or so years ago the word was getting out and more and more 206ers showing, guides showing, and the fish counts progressively have became much lower. I used to fish it a lot , from March to fall, starting in the mid 90's.
 
#27 ·
This is why we keep searching the lesser known lakes for good fishing. The fish don't have to be huge as long as they are willing and the crowds non existent. But for every 10 of us that find such a lake and keep mum about it there is at least one asshole that will film the lake, show it's fish, brag about how many he is catching and how nobody is there and publish his discovery to the entire internet community. I am unaware of any possible benefits of such behavior but enough guys do it that it must fill some sort of need for them.

Over the years I saw the hordes increase exponentially on Crane Prairie and Hosmer to the point they were no longer worthy of the long drive to fish. A lot of the folks there were from California. I watched the Deschutes decline into a circlejerk of guide boats with clients standing in every decent run-less recreation and more consternation. I was around when the many SW Washington steelhead streams made the transition from good runs of fish to fishermen outnumbering the fish. I fished Chopaka back when there might be one or two other campers on the lake and fishing was just magic. And the situation at Coffeepot is similar to other over loved and over hyped waters that have deteriorated over the years. It's only a matter of time till the experience is no longer worth the hassle.

So meantime we'll continue to probe some obscure lakes that possibly contain a good fishery. Some will be duds and some will be pleasant surprises. What they won't be is advertised where we do the leg work and some guy from 400 miles away shows up and blabs to the whole world where they are and how they fish. During WWII we were always told: "Loose Lips Sink Ships", nowadays loose lips kill fishing.
 
#30 ·
I have to wonder if the blame for such things is truly fishing reports, or perhaps the little fact that there are just a few more people in this world than there were back in "the good old days".

I get not wanting to invite the crowds but I've honestly never been bothered by fishing busy lakes. Never really phased me.

Better get used to it though, with the state of our salmon and steelhead fisheries more and more folks will be turning to trout in lakes.
 
#31 ·
I have to wonder if the blame for such things is truly fishing reports, or perhaps the little fact that there are just a few more people in this world than there were back in "the good old days".

I get not wanting to invite the crowds but I've honestly never been bothered by fishing busy lakes. Never really phased me.

Better get used to it though, with the state of our salmon and steelhead fisheries more and more folks will be turning to trout in lakes.
As long as they don't turn to bass:D
 
#37 ·
What a butthead....there are BMW dealerships in Richland and Spokane. I looked at buying a BMW SUV in Spokane years ago....pretty much of a crap SUV. Awful, vehicle....I ended up buying a Honda Pilot.

Interesting story in the Spokesman-Review years ago.

It turns out that Spokane had one of the highest per capita ownerships of Mercedes vehicles in the US. It is really hard to find a Mercedes in Spokane. The Spokesman-Review finally came to the conclusion that people were so embarrassed by owning a Mercedes that they parked in their garage and only ran it at night so their neighbors wouldn't talk!!! Of course, those folks owing the Mercedes kept a beat up pickup truck in their driveway to fit in.....

BTW....my sister moved from Silicon Valley to Spokane. She worked in the brokage industry. The average account in eastern Washington was THREE times the average account in Silicon Valley.

Reminds me of the time I was hunting pheasants and ran across a small farm house in the Palouse. Poor guy....looked like he was barely making it from the looks of his house. Then I noticed his house was at the end of a private airstrip and the hanger was pretty spiffy. I guess he really didn't care about the house.
 
#43 ·
Bass are a invasive spices, the wild fish people will soon be calling for thier elimination
They are already doing it....no limits on the Snake River system for bass.

A few years ago, I was talking to our fish biologist and bitching about the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge and their policy on fishing. He pointed out to me that rainbows were not native to the refuge.

I pointed out to him that WATER was not native to the refuge. In fact, water outside the Columbia River is not native to the Columbia Basin.

This is my problem with the deep ecology folks.....just because GOD made a management decision at the time, does not mean it is the correct decision at this time. Though I have to admit, even I, tend to a first glance side with GOD.
 
#49 ·
Ive -
My son in law is quite a car buff and seems to be able to spot (or is it hear?) cars from quite a distance (sort of like what has happened to this thread you started). We were all out walking Sunday when Kazu pointed out this Lamborghini coming our way. The sound of that V12, the car..... all that raw power, I guess just the potential. Not something you see here in windy Ephrata.

Pat
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top