Wednesday, Jan. 26

I traveled over the passes and attended the Seattle Boat Show

last week, and I was totally unprepared for what I saw. It was

huge! I was in awe of the size and scope of the show. It is billed

as the largest boat show on the West Coast and I don't doubt

it.

Wednesday, Jan. 26

I traveled over the passes and attended the Seattle Boat Show last week, and I was totally unprepared for what I saw. It was huge! I was in awe of the size and scope of the show. It is billed as the largest boat show on the West Coast and I don't doubt it. There were over 1,000 boats, vendors for an incredible array of accessories and other things crammed into the three acres of the Qwest Field Event Center, which is right next to Safeco Field. I was there with the folks from Bob Feil Boats and Motors and Jetcraft, and I never even saw half of what was there. I didn't even get the time to take the free shuttle to south Lake Union where some really big yachts are moored. There is one that is 100 feet long with a price tag of $7.2 million tied up to the dock there. There are lots of things for families to do at the show. There are games, drawings, seminars and tours going on and even a trout pond like the ones you see at the outdoor sports shows. The show ends on Sunday, January 30th and I can't wait to get back over there.

Friday, Jan. 28

I was relieved to find a good safe layer of ice on Fish Lake last week. I was meeting a film crew to tape a segment on the sport of ice fishing and was worried that with all the warm weather and rain the ice had gotten thin. I wasn't the case though and we got some good footage. Fishing wasn't great, but we caught some "stunt" fish to show off for the cameras. I did get a report from Evan Eichler, a fishing buddy of mine that the ice was still good last Sunday, and the perch bite was pretty good. He went home with a near limit of fat perch. Anglers who had been enjoying excellent fishing for large perch and some walleye at Moses Lake have called it quits, though. The ice just isn't thick enough to step out on right now. From what I saw there earlier this winter I have high hopes for the shore fishing this spring. I think that anglers that visit the rip rap shoreline near the I-90 Bridge will have very good success catching perch when the ice clears off. This just came back last year after some scarce years for perch in the spring.

Monday, Jan. 31

Mark your calendars for Friday, February 4th, and plan to attend the Free Friday event at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Bill McGuire will be there from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and he will be showing everyone that attends some examples of his rod building and gunstock making skills. A collection of McGuire's photographs, trophies and other items have been on display at the museum since December, and if you haven't seen this exhibit this would be a good time to do it. In the Gold Room are just some of the hundreds of trophies and awards he won for his feats in tennis, skiing, fishing and shooting. He is best known for his fishing locally, but internationally he better known for his craftsmanship in building gunstocks. I will be bringing along an eleven-weight fly rod McGuire made for my 60th birthday, and there will be other fly rods to see that evening. There will also be examples of his gunstocks to view at the event. This is the perfect time to meet McGuire and see his work. The exhibit will close at the end of February, so don't miss this free evening at the Wenatchee Valley Museum.

Wednesday, Feb. 2

High and colored water continues to frustrate steelhead anglers on the upper Columbia River and the tributaries in the region. Warm day-time temperatures are melting snow and all of the rivers are dirty, and flows on the main stem Columbia are heavier-than-normal for this time of year. Bobber and jig anglers watch their gear fly down stream, with little chance for a waiting steelhead to get a fix on them. Some anglers have switched to plug fishing with limited success. Steelhead anglers know that the rivers are full of steelhead, but conditions are just too difficult to be effective. One stream to watch is the Okanogan. If the weather trend continues, the ice on this river will break up and anglers will be able to fish this steelhead-loaded stream. Fishing can be off the charts on the Okanogan right after it sheds its ice. More and more anglers are heading for Rufus Woods to do their winter angling until river conditions improve. If you haven't had a chance to go ice fishing, better hurry. Ice is thinning on many area lakes. Lakes at the highest elevations are still have good ice, though.