Bass Fishing at Chief Timothy State Park on the Snake River

For my husband and me, Saturday afternoons are for fishing when weather and commitments permit us. Today we launched Pisca-Dory at Chief Timothy State Park on the Snake River. Bass thrive here, and the warmer weather has activated them significantly.

We caught three Smallmouth bass between us–Vic caught one and I caught two. The scenery and the pelicans added beauty and enjoyment to our excursion.

Pisca-Dory is comfortable and the scenery is refreshing.

 

We go under a railroad bridge and into a lagoon, but catch nothing there. It’s quiet and lovely, but we head back to the broader River.

 

Pelicans are so marvelous!

 

Our catch. I caught the largest and the smallest Smallmouth, and Vic caught the mid-size model. We had two more nibblers who got away–a good thing, because they were so small.

Vic took all the photos.

 

Our 4th of July Fishing at Soldiers Meadow Lake

We enjoyed fishing at Soldiers Meadow Lake so much on the Fourth of July last year that we decided unequivocally to return. We caught five fish between us–my three trout and Vic’s Kokanee salmon and one trout. The Kokanee has beautiful silver and pink bands, and, like all salmon, pink meat.

I’m holding our 1,300-pound dory while Vic parks the truck and boat trailer.

Vic dubbed this as “Picnic Bay” because we anchored there to eat our lunch.

I’m reeling in one of my three trout.

Our five fish: At the top is Vic’s Kokanee, then my small trout and two large ones, and then  Vic’s trout. The day withheld its rain and we enjoyed a lovely day of fishing on this beautiful lake.

Back on the river again: Our happy anniversary

Today for our 22nd anniversary, Vic took the day off from work and we chose to go fishing in the sunshine. We didn’t catch anything, although a minnow did grab my lure and keep a fair pace for a minute. He freed himself before I could free him.

We fished and ate lunch and enjoyed the Snake River aboard Pisca-Dory, the beautiful 19-1/2 foot dory Vic built from 2016-2017.

                                        Pisca Dory at Pony Island in the Snake River

Huge pelican flocks added to our enjoyment. Pelicans are my favorite birds; their grace in flight is wonderful to observe.

                                                                 Vic at the helm

                            Here we are, the happy 22nd anniversary cruising couple!

A walk up Asotin Creek

We hadn’t expected a beautiful, clear sunny day, but there it was, and we decided on a walk along Asotin Creek, a nearby and fairly frequent destination.

         The trail was slick with melting snow, but we sustained no casualties.
The green disc is more likely an artifact than Neptune wandering from its orbit.

Effie demonstrates the elements of a Good Day

First is the Yawn. . .

followed by the Stretch. . .

and finally, the Nap.

With careful timing, this method of bringing about a Good Day can start in the morning and last well into the afternoon, especially when frosty weather may limit the fun of bounding about on frosty ground outdoors.

–Inspiration by Effie

 

Prairie frost, and Effie

Before noon the sun and earth had escaped the freezing fog. The sun illuminated the frost and rose the temperature to a pleasantly brisk 28°F. Effie paced Effieland’s perimeter for quite a while, stopping to lick icy droplets from the tall prairie grasses, and simply enjoying her sun-gilt holdings.

Our field and frontage were also bedecked with luminous frost, which I found supernaturally beautiful as I went up to fetch the one egg our six chickens had produced, and down the other side of our property to put the trash can out for collection..

Saturday: Back in Pisca-Dory

We took Pisca-Dory out fishing on the river Saturday–her first outing in six weeks! The day was lovely and we were so happy to be back in our dory (my husband was recovering from surgery and hefting the boat onto the trailer was out of the question).

We didn’t mind a bit that we were skunked again. We saw a steelhead jump, his brawny pink middle and head teasing us. He was back in the water in a second, and there was no time to take his photograph.

We enjoyed the scenery along the river in our beautiful boat for 3-1/2 hours.  My husband took all the photos. I was fishing a tad obsessively.

Heading out

Basalt

Colors

Drift

Fishing

Snake River colors

 

Back to the River

After five weeks, we returned to the Snake River upstream of Asotin to fish for bass. I caught an 11-1/2 incher on my first cast, and after about an hour and a half, neither of us caught any more, though I lost two lures to hungry rocks.

The day was spectacularly beautiful: sunny, with contour and light accenting the basalt hills across the water.

My husband took all the photos.

Fields Spring State Park

Fields Spring State Park is four miles south of Anatone, Washington (pop. 38). The Park’s vistas, pleasant walking trails, and clean rest rooms ensure our return visits at least once a year.

Red vine maple, an attractive accent along the trail. . .

 Fields Spring vista

Craig Mountain Panorama

A fallen fence provides scenic entropy.

Holiday fishing on the Snake River and Tenmile Rapids

Finally some fish wanted to come home with us. Vic caught three smallmouth bass, 13, 11, and 8 inches.  I caught two that were 5 and 6 inches, and I promptly returned them to the river to grow up some more.

We went upstream through Tenmile Rapids to get to some pools where we had not been fishing before. From the Rapids, we went another mile or so upstream to do some more fishing, but no more fish came on board. The day was sunny, a little windy, and beautiful on a surprisingly uncrowded holiday.

Pisca-Dory awaits launch at the ramp while Vic parks our truck.

My first bass of the day was about six inches, which we thought was odd, because we saw a humongous bass swim right by us just a couple of minutes before the little guy grabbed hold. I released the little fellow to return home and grow at least another four inches.

Vic reels in his 13-incher.