Charter Fishing Recommendations
Fishing is good, but different through out the fishing season. The size, type and species of fish and the techniques use to catch them change with the seasons, the weather and the water conditions. If you haven't done this type of fishing before and are contemplating a fishing charter, the information on this page can help to make an informed decision. These decisions should be based on when you can go and how many people to bring, how long a charter to take, what species you prefer to catch and your travel time to our location. The following information should help you in that process.
Spring
Pattern (May thru early/mid June)
The spring season has proven to produce the fastest paced fishing.
We generally are surface fishing with planer boards. All fishing gear is in prime target
area. Near shore, in shallow water, baitfish are spawning and are feed for the
larger fish, especially Coho Salmon.
These Coho are in large numbers and are the prevalent catch, but other species are
mixed in with them. At first the water is cold, but as the water warms, the baitfish move
off shore. The other game fish tend to follow them. The Coho start separating into smaller
packs and are joined by Rainbow Trout. Both now become the prevalent catch. This
fishing period
usually produces more limit catches than any other. This is an ideal time for all,
especially youngsters, to be introduced to this lucrative fishing! My recommendations:
any size charter group, any charter or package. AM/PM charters due equally well. Full day
charters for larger groups or if you want to try to target some of the bigger fish
along with the others!
Summer Pattern ( mid/late June thru July)
Fishing and fish have moved into deep water. The King Salmon, Brown Trout and Lake Trout are progressively getting heavier in the mix of fish! Kings are showing up early mornings to feed on the "Hill". Our primary fishing technique is now the downriggers and dipsy divers, but still use some planer boards. As fishing gets beep, the number of rods in the smaller prime target area is reduced to lesson tangles and so as not to "spook" the fish! Baitfish are now scattered in smaller schools at various depths of water. All of our targeted fish are larger, stronger and take more time to get into the boat. Most of them are feeding deeper down in the cooler water and will fight you to stay there. It now takes fifteen to thirty minutes or more to get them in! The daytime temperatures are from the seventies thru the nineties, but the cool waters of the lake acts as an air conditioner, usually keeping things comfortable. Travel times to/from fishing grounds and setup times have increased to about an hour overall, reducing the fishing time, but the variety and size of the fish make it well worth while. It is not uncommon to have a "Grand Slam", all five of the species caught! We recommend full day trips, deluxe packages or an overnight package with a group of four or less for best catch results.
Later Summer/Fall (August thru September )
At first most fishing is still out in deep waters, but the Brown Trout start moving in and out of the shallow water. The King Salmon are showing up in increasing numbers on the "hill" and in the shallows in late August. They are getting ready for the fall spawn and are the biggest at this time of the year! The Coho have gotten illusive and show up anywhere at any depth they feel like, but the King Salmon have replaced them. The fishing started out deep and in what seems like overnight, has also started in shallow. Fishing techniques are similar to the previous types and are dictated by where we fish for the day! The lure selection is what changes at this time. Usually we are fishing in deep waters through the first three weeks of August and have a choice of shallow or deep afterwards. We still have the restrictions as noted in the summer pattern, but these even bigger fish take even longer to retrieve!! We recommend full day trips, a deluxe package or an overnight package with a group of four, or less for fishing Kings along the shoreline on 1/2 day charters.
Summary
Generally the Spring fishing is fast paced, fish are very abundant close to shore with a chance of hooking up a big trophy. The fish get progressively bigger as the season progresses , but are not as consistently abundant in close as in the Spring. The fastest paced fishing is in the spring, so if you are looking for a lot of fish with a smaller chance of a Trophy fish, this is the best time. The Summer fishing is in deeper offshore waters and has a great overall mix of size, quantity and species! Full day trips are highly recommended at this time. The Fall fishing usually nets the largest fish and can be quite rewarding. Consider taking an early season trip for fast paced action and a later trip for the "BIG" fish. As always, the choice is yours! Good luck and good fishing to all!