The kokanee bite is early on Lake Chelan. I saw two guide boats at the Apple Cup restaurant when I was entering town a while ago. It was about 7:30 and they were already having breakfast! So, last Friday, I picked up Tom Verschuren in Dryden at 5 a.m. and headed for Chelan. When we passed Chelan Shores on the way to the Mill Bay launch, I could tell we were too late. There was at least 20 boats trolling on the lake. When we drove the boat down to the fishing area and got everything rigged and in the water, I passed a boat and asked how he was doing. He said the bite was good at 5 a.m. but died after the first hour, maybe less. Oh well, we were there and were picking up a fish every once in a long while. I was trolling my proven Kokabow blades and spinners, and in the back of my mind I could hear Alan Greenhalgh saying, “let the kokanee tell you what they want.” I switched to a pink hoochie and a High Octane Pink Ice Tail Feather on one rod and that was what they wanted. That rod lit up. Lesson learned.