I talked to Robin Stice, organizer of the Ninth Annual Northwest Ice Fishing Festival in Molson recently, and she said everything is going full steam ahead for this year's event. There will be tons of prizes available to participants, and they can count on a great breakfast and Italian Dinner at the Grange Hall again this year.

I attended last year's event and had a ball. The Molson community really turns out to make the event something special, and even if you don't catch a single fish it is worth being there for all the good food, friendly folks and fun.

Fishing has been very poor the past couple of years, but after talking to Bob Jateff at the Department of Fish and Wildlife, I learned that conditions have improved at Sidley Lake, and it looks like fishing could be good this year. The lake level is up, the ph level is better and anglers have already taken some 2- to 3-pound rainbow from the lake this winter.

You can learn all about what is planned for this year's festival by going to the Contact Page on my web site and clicking on the Oroville Washington banner at the top of the page.