I had the opportunity to give steelhead fishing a try recently, and decided to take a couple of fishing buddies to Wells Dam, which is between Lake Chelan and Pateros on the upper Columbia River. The flow when we launched was perfect and the fish were willing. From about 8:30. to 10 a.m. we hooked five fish, and brought four of them to the boat. One was a rainbow, two were triploids, one broke off and the other was a wild fish that we released. The current really started to roll after ten, so we headed for the launch soon after. Not a bad morning though, we were pretty busy. The fishing here should really get rolling after the 1st of the year. The month of January can be outstanding for steelhead at Wells Dam, both above and below the hydro project. I talked to
Shane Magnuson, of upper Columbia Guide Services, before I headed to Wells and he reported that fishing at Pateros for steelhead was slow but steady. That means he’s getting fish, it’s just taking a while. Warmer weather is clearing out some of the ice on local rivers, but most are anglers at staying on the Columbia.