Sport fishing column for Sept 10 to 17, 2012

A few weeks back I told the tale of our experience fishing Central Washington's Methow River. That was only one day of our week spent just outside Winthrop. The rest of that week was spent at Pearrygin Lake. We picked Pearrygin after reading the promise of hefty trout in the publication, "Camping Washington." Further investigation revealed that Pearrygin held a large population of resident and Tripoloid rainbows to five pounds.

As stated at the beginning of this series, this year's vacation was a learning experience. I was the only fly fisherman on the lake during our stay; aside from the odd troller, the other anglers opted for float or bottom fishing. The fishing was productive, with a consistent 6 to 12 fish, for each two to three hour session of angling, this consistency was shared with all the other anglers I talked to. My complaint was the size of fish; 10 to 12 inches, no larger were seen. What struck me strange was that the other anglers were happy with their catch. The contrast between the appreciation these anglers displayed and the size dissatisfaction I would expect from my colleges, brought me to the place of questioning. Has our bounty left some of us spoiled and unappreciative? How does one know when his or her cup runneth over, unless they step outside the vacuum created by their peers? I tip my hat to my American brothers, for reminding me that we each need to be thankful for all that is provided.


The Report

Our lower mainland lakes are fishing fair to slow. For wet (sinking) fly trout fishing try: Coachman, Zulu, Wooly Bugger, Dragonfly Nymph, Damsel Nymph, Sixpack, Doc Spratley, Pumpkinhead, or Baggy Shrimp. For evening dry (floating) fly trout fishing try: Tom Thumb, Irresistible, Royal Coachman, Renegade, Elk hair Caddis, Black Gnat, Griffith Gnat, or Lady McConnel. For kokanee try: Red Ibis, Double Trude, Blood Worm, San Juan Worm, Red Spratley, or Red Carey. For bass try: Zonker, Clouser's Deep Minnow, Lefty's Deceiver, Dolly Whacker, Big Black, Wooly Bugger, Foam Frog, Poppers, Chernobyl Ant, or Crayfish. For panfish try: Wooly Bugger, Micro Leach, Bucktail, Dolly Whacker, Bloodworm, Chironomid, Poppers, Turks Tarantula, Tom Thumb or Irresistible.

Fishing on our interior lakes is good. For wet fly fishing try: Chironomid, Halfback, 52 Buick, Pumpkinhead, Big Black, Micro Leach, Coachman, Green Spratley, Damsel nymph, Dragon nymph, Carey Special, Souboo, Sixpack, or Baggy Shrimp. For Dry fly fishing try: Lady McConnel, Black Gnat, Double Hackled Peacock, Griffith Gnat, Black Gnat, Elk Haired Caddis, Irresistible, Sofa Pillow, or Tom Thumb.

The Fraser is fishing slow for cutthroat, Dolly Varden, and spring. For cutthroat try: Rolled Muddler, Professor, Anderson Stone, Zulu, American Coachman, Renegade, Tom Thumb, Black Gnat, Chez Nymph, and Irresistible. For dolly varden try: Zonker, Eggo, Clouser's Minnow, Big Black, or Dolly Whacker, in sizes 4 and 8. For spring try: lead-heading with size 4 to 2, Eggo, Big Black, Flat Black, Wooly Bugger, Kaufmann Stone, Squamish Poacher, or Red Spratley.

The Harrison is fair for cutthroat.

The Vedder is slow to fair for rainbow, and cutthroat. For rainbow try: Kaufmann Stone, Big Black, Black Gnat, Souboo, Zulu, Renegade, Tom Thumb, Chernobyl Ant, Foam Hopper, or Irresistible.

The Thompson is good for rainbow.