There is good news and bad news for salmon anglers here in Central Washington. The good news is that the fishing for Chinook salmon on Lake Chelan has been great. According to my brother Rick Graybill, who was a guide on Lake Chelan for many years, the fishing is the best he has seen in 25 years. He is trolling different areas in the lower basin and catching kings to 8 pounds or better. The kings are attracted to plug cut herring behind size 0 dodgers. A leader of 20-pound fluorocarbon is recommended for these fish. Rick is tying leaders with a size 1 hook lead hook and a 2/0 trailer. The size orange or yellow herring is best, and you need to get a very tight spin to get these kings to bite.
He is finding fish from 30 to 90 feet deep on Chelan. The bad news is that just when anglers are allowed to use bait to catch summer Chinook on the Entiat River it blew out. I just got some photos of the river and it is running mud as a result of the fires upstream in the Entiat Valley.