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Dave Graybill - 3/21/2005
The March first opening of dozens of lakes in the Quincy Wildlife Area and the Columbia Basin Wildlife Refuge attracts anglers from all over the state. This year, spring weather came earlier than usual and the lakes were clear of ice and conditions were perfect. The weather has cooled and in spite of recent rain and even snow, the Seep Lakes are still drawing big crowds of trout anglers.
There are so many lakes under the general banner of "Seep Lakes"; it’s hard for an angler new to area to figure out where to start. Fortunately, Jeff Korth of the Ephrata office of the Department of Fish and Wildlife provides pre-opening prospects report, and then follows up with a creel census on the opener. This helps me direct anglers to the better producing lakes for the early season.
A couple of lakes that anglers can always count on are in the Quincy Wildlife Area. Burke and Quincy lakes always get a good shot of planters prior to the opener, and last fall each of them got 5,000 catchable-size rainbow. Opening weekend anglers were greeted with near-limit catches of rainbow at these lake that ran from 8 to 13 inches. Fishing continues to be pretty fair at both of these lakes.
There is good bank access to both of these ponds, and boaters prefer Burke for trolling. Bank anglers will use a variety of Power Bait, egg and mallow combinations or nightcrawlers. You could survey each boat to see what they were trolling and find something different on each rod, but if you pulled a Wedding Ring baited with a worm you’d do just fine.
One of the standout fisheries in all of the Seep Lakes this year is the return of excellent fishing at Dusty Lake. Dusty was rehabbed in the fall of 2003, and the reports I am getting this year are consistently very good. It takes a hike to get to Dusty, and there are selective fishery rules in place here now, so the fishing for rainbow of up to 18 inches should continue to be very good through the early season.
Down south in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Refuge, the best producing trout lake in the early season was Upper Caliche. There were 2,000 catchable rainbow added to this lake in early February, and anglers were pulling limits from Caliche in about 20 minutes on the opener. Most of the rainbow were in the 11- to 15-inch class with a very few to 18 inches.
Next on the list of top producers was Martha Lake. This pond got a plant of 2,700 catchable rainbow in November and an additional 500 catchable rainbow in February. The trout averaged between 11 and 15 inches for opening weekend anglers, with a very few fish to 18 inches.
I have yet to hear anything very exciting from the quality lakes like Lenice, Nunnally and the fishing for Lahotan cutthroat at Lenore has yet to really take off. Early April will be a better time to fish all of these.
I want to pass along an important note that effects quite a number of the popular lakes in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Refuge. The following lakes were rehabbed in 2004 and will not have fishing available until spring of 2006. These lakes include: Upper and Lower Hampton lakes, Hen, Coot, Para-Juvenile, McManaman, Pillar, Gadwall, Shoveler, Lemna, Poacher, Snipe, Cattail, Sago, Hourglass and Widgeon lakes.
If you would like a decent map that includes special regulations on the Seep Lakes in the Columbia Wildlife Refuge, stop at Mar Don Resort which located at the bottom end of Potholes Reservoir. They also have a very good topographic map of Potholes Reservoir. There is a link to their web site at the top of my Photo Page on www.FishingMagician.com.
I know that a lot of anglers are waiting for the annual perch bite on Moses Lake to start, and so far, it just isn’t getting in gear. I have had a very few reports of anglers having any success at all. It is a sad sight to see the parking lot at the Forest Service near the I-90 Bridge empty. I am anxious for this to develop. It is a lot of fun, and Moses Lake produces the best catches of good-sized perch in the region when it gets going. A recent drop in water to fill area canals stalled the action here recently.
Good news for fans of Fish Lake near Lake Wenatchee. The ice has been off the lake for a couple of weeks now, and fishing for rainbow and brown trout is already underway. Recent snow may have stalled the activity here, but it will be brief. Dock anglers who fish early are filling stringers with fat rainbow to about 14 inches. Hit this one before it is planted in mid-April for the statewide opener.
I recently made a sweep through the Seep Lakes area and due to cold and very damp weather found most anglers huddled under shelter. This can happen this time of year; but the prospect of bringing home a cooler full of firm, spring rainbow keeps anglers coming.
Keep an eye on the weather this spring. Don’t let a little rain stop you. Prepare for the weather and plan on a great weekend of early-season trout fishing on the Seep Lakes.
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