Fishing V. Catching

There’s a code: you don’t give away fishing spots. Not in print. Definitely not on the internet. Those are the rules, and we play by those rules. 

That said, there are some things we can put out there. First (curveball for a meditation on fishing): Leavenworth isn’t famous for its fishing. You won’t read about it, or see folks booking trips here the way they do for Alaska or Patagonia. And that’s fine. 

What Leavenworth does have, if you’re willing to work for it, is catching.

Catching is different than fishing. Fishing is hours spent on the river. Often long. Often without fish. Lots of casting. It’s meditative, slow. Lots of wading. Lots of internal work. There’s good stuff to be had there. But for it to be rewarding, there generally has to be the promise of something unique (read: large!) at the end (ideally just enough times just to make it worth it but not so often that it feels easy).

Catching is just that, catching. Catching ignores the scarcity, intentionally! Catching is the “Type 1 Fun” of fishing.

There’s plenty of catching near Leavenworth. I once brought a friend who had never picked up a rod before, and she caught twenty trout in a half day. She walked away laughing, soaked, and ruined for life—in the best possible way. That’s what this place can do.

Where should you go? Well, I can’t tell you that. But I can point you in a direction: the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife has 53 lakes in Chelan County marked as “overabundant.” Translation: the state is practically begging you to take fish home. Hike into one of those lakes and you’re not just fishing, you’re catching (a lot!), and (per WA DFW) you’re doing a community service.

Not into lakes? Those blue, squiggly lines: creeks, rivers, alpine streams—they all hold possibility. Again, not gonna tell you where, but will confirm: a lot of catching.

Not into small fish? (ok, verging on the gray area here) Are there some lunkers around here? Maybe in some of the lakes up high? Well, I'm not going to tell you, but I'm sure not going to tell you otherwise. 

So grab a rod. Get adventurous. Around here, the fishing is good enough. The catching? Even better.

-Chris