I heard that people have good luck catching cutthroat from the shore in Monument Bay on Lake Chelan, so I headed up there on Tuesday morning. When I crested the hill and could see the lake from the Navarre Coulee Road, there wasn’t a boat in sight. I expected so see at least a couple of boats trolling above the Yacht Club, but there wasn’t a boat on Lake Chelan anywhere. Can’t remember this sight, anytime of year on Chelan. Weird. I found a spot near the monument, put a Rooster Tail on my spinning rod and let fly. In the first 20 casts there were at least six cutthroat following my Rooster Tail or Little Cleo spoon back to the shore. They would come right to the bank and then veer off. On my third color of Rooster Tail—Wham. A nice cutthroat grabbed the lure and I hoisted it up onto the rocks at my feet. As soon as the tension left the line, the fish slipped off the barbless hook and flopped back into the lake! I guess my luck wasn’t so good, but this is something I want to go again. That cutthroat was at least 12 inches long and a beauty.
This was the color of Rooster Tail that the cutthroat finally hit from the shore on Lake Chelan.