Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I had a great experience the other day. I had stopped by Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee and ran into someone that I knew from Lake Chelan.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I was invited to join Austin Moser to do a two-lake adventure on Monday of this week.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Steelhead seasons on the main stem Columbia the tributaries are closed for the year now, but there are lots of alternatives available to anglers in the region. On April 1 dozens of lakes open in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge near Othello.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

The Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced the closure of the steelhead season on three locations in our region. Now closed to fishing is the main stem Columbia River from the Highway 173 Bridge at Brewster to 400 feet below Chief Joseph Dam. The Okanogan River from the mouth …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

If you want to be part of the group that is going to Loreto, Mexico we would like to hear from you right away. We still have room for a few more people, and want to lock in our group air fare.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

If you haven’t heard, my wife Eileen and I are going to host another fishing trip this spring, and this time we are going Loreto, on the Baja, Mexico. I have yearned to fish the Sea of Cortez for years. I even flew down to Loreto a couple of years …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I finally made it up to Lake Chelan to try the kokanee fishing. I met Jeff Witkowski, of Darrell and Dads Family Guide Service, at the Mill Bay launch at 7 a.m. last Tuesday, and we headed up lake. Witkowski has been fishing above the Narrows, below Mitchell Creek, and …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I ran up to Fish Lake to see how the ice was holding up and how anglers were doing. It was a very scenic drive up the Tumwater Canyon, and the gauge in my truck was reading in the high 30s. I was actually surprised to see quite a few …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Austin Moser of Austin’s Northwest Adventures invited Eric Granstrom, of Gaboon Productions, to join him for a day of fishing at Lake Roosevelt for big kokanee and we jumped at the chance.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I have been reporting on a lot of ice fishing and other cold water pursuits lately, and it makes me think of warmer climates and particularly the trip planned to Belize this coming May.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I know it is only January, but kokanee fever is already taken hold here in Central Washington. Lake Roosevelt is famous for producing kokanee of state record size and did you know that kokanee have been caught in December this winter on Lake Chelan?

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Happy New Year everyone! If I have a fishing season in 2016 even half as good as I had in 2015 I will be a happy guy.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

The Wenatchee River had dropped into fishing shape after the heavy successive days of rain in the region.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

If you want to fish for steelhead you had better plan on fishing the main stem Columbia River for a while.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I was invited to come down to the opening of Grant County PUD’s new visitor center at Wanapum Dam recently, and I was really glad that I took the time to be there.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I have wanted to get down to Rocky Ford to give it a try, and so went last Monday.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I’ve been thinking about Rocky Ford Creek, near Ephrata.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 8 YEARS, 12 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

The free seminars on steelhead fishing at Pateros are less than a week away.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

As many of you know, my wife Eileen and I have traveled to Belize many times and have hosted trips to Ambergris Caye.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

As I mentioned in my last report the walleye fishing continues to be very good at Potholes Reservoir.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS AGO

Dave Graybill, The Fishin' Magician

My wife Eileen and I made a run down to fish the Columbia River below Wanapum Dam.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

The Fishin' Magician: Dave Graybill

Mike McKee, owner of Mike’s Meats and Seafood, invited me to join him and a friend to fish for walleye on Potholes Reservoir.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I mentioned in an earlier report that I had been in the Columbia River Gorge fishing for steelhead and salmon.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Every run of fish up the Columbia has been early this year, and the return of fall salmon to the Hanford Reach is following the pattern.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

If you are looking for a place to catch a bunch of fish, Banks Lake would be a good choice right now.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

The Fishin' Magician

I just got some disappointing news. The sockeye fishery on Lake Wenatchee is closing on Sunday, August 16.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Good news for fans of sockeye fishing at Lake Wenatchee. It appears that at least 40,000 fish have made it over Tumwater Dam and the season is going to be much longer than earlier anticipated.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

The Fishin' Magician

While many anglers are heading up to Lake Wenatchee to take advantage of the sockeye season that just opened, others will be chasing king salmon on the Brewster Pool during the annual Brewster Salmon Derby.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Fishing pressure on the Brewster Pool has fallen off and I am hearing that the catch rate is down.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

The Fishin' Magician

Fishing for sockeye salmon on the Brewster Pool has been nothing short of fantastic this season.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

The warm weather has been a benefit to the fishing for sockeye and kings at the Brewster Pool this season.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Typically the early salmon season starts below Wanapum Dam, but this year things are different.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

It's Father's Day weekend on June 20, and many families have plans to get together with Dad.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: Fishin' Magician

We just finished with a big weekend, with the Memorial Day Holiday, and now we are coming upon another weekend that celebrates fishing.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Summer has officially started now that Memorial Weekend is behind us, and there are so many great fishing opportunities for anglers it is impossible to name them all. Two come immediately to mind, though, and that is the walleye fishing at Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake. Both of these walleye …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

If you want to beat the crowds for Memorial Weekend, consider a trip to Buffalo Lake near Coulee Dam on the Colville Reservation. My fishing buddy Rollie Schmitten and I just spent some time at Buffalo Lake and had it almost to ourselves. It is a big, scenic lake, with …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

As you make plans for the long weekend coming up here are a couple of things I learned last week.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Walleye fishing continues to provide excellent action for anglers on Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Spring salmon fishing has been keeping anglers busy on the lower Columbia River for some time now.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' magician

Wow. It's May already! Hey, that's a good thing.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

The opening of the lowland lakes trout season is just a week away, and I hope you have your license, got the camping gear sorted out and made sure your boat is running.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

Good news for anglers that like to catch trout in the region.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

The early spring weather has anglers out on the water much sooner than most years, and fishing for a variety of species is very good already.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

The Manson Business Association is conducting a trout derby on Lake Chelan Saturday, April 11th with a different twist. Sure there will be prizes awarded for the biggest rainbow trout caught in both adult and youth divisions, but everyone that enters the derby has a chance at winning $50,000.00!

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

This Sunday is a big day for trout anglers. It's the March 1st opener of many lakes in the Quincy Wildlife Area, and several others in the region.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

I had heard of good ice and great fishing for perch at Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee, so I ran up there last Saturday to see for myself.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

The big news at the NW Ice Fishing Festival in Molson this year was that people caught fish! Yup. During the Festivals of 2012 through 2014 there were no fish caught at all. This year's event was moved to January 17th and it made a huge difference. There was 14 …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Dave Graybill: The Fishin' Magician

On Tuesday of this week I traveled to Bridgeport and met with Pat Phillips, hatchery manager at the Colville Tribal Salmon Hatchery, and Casey Baldwin, Senior Research Scientist for the Colville Fish and Wildlife Department. This gave me a chance to see the facility up and running with fish being …

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 9 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Fishin' Magician: Dave Graybill

One of the newspapers I write for, the Columbia Basin Herald, is a Hagadone newspaper, and they provide me with a couple of night lodging at the Coeur d' Alene Resort every year. I have always enjoyed staying here, just hanging out, but had never gone in the summer.

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO