Coulee Country

For many of the last 10 years @Irafly and I have taken our kids on an annual camping trip in the central Washington coulee country. I’ve been visiting myself for over 20 years. It’s a unique landscape that really is at its best in early autumn. Besides the fish we saw mule deer, quail, peregrine falcons, and great blue herons. At night we saw bats and heard coyotes and owls. I told my 14 year old that he will always be welcome to join us on this annual trip even after he leaves home for other adventures.

The fishing was excellent this year. Trolling a leech on a fast sinking line was consistent all day. For pure numbers you wouldn’t need to do anything more. But the opportunities to work the margins and identify the ideal combinations of depth, structure, and vegetation to hold larger fish is what makes it worth coming back.


This year the kids were less interested in fishing but wanted a boat to cruise around in. That gave me and Ira more time to fish and we took full advantage.

 

[BDD]

I told my 14 year old that he will always be welcome to join us on this annual trip even after he leaves home for other adventures.

This line really hit home with me, with my youngest being a senior this year in school. Well stated.

 

[Florida Man]

Some great looking trout.

 

[mcswny]

This line really hit home with me, with my youngest being a senior this year in school. Well stated.

I’m not crying YOURE crying

Gotta go tell this to my 4 year old now

 

[Irafly]

Friggin @troutpocket crushed me for smallest fish again.

 

[Billy]

Friggin @troutpocket crushed me for smallest fish again.

changing of the goat?

 

[Cabezon]

Nice sculpin! [Note: I am not hazarding an opinion on ID as the freshwater Cottus are some of the most challenging fishes to identify in North America - nightmare (see "A molecular taxonomy of Cottus in western North America").
Steve

 

[BDD]

I’m not crying YOURE crying

Gotta go tell this to my 4 year old now

Yeah, I don't know what this means but whatever.

 

[Sam Roffe]

Sounds like a nice trip. I totally agree, fall is the best time to be in that country. And our kids are grown, and will also always be welcome to camp with us. Sometimes though,... they're being more responsible than their old man.

 

[troutpocket]

Nice sculpin! [Note: I am not hazarding an opinion on ID as the freshwater Cottus are some of the most challenging fishes to identify in North America - nightmare (see "A molecular taxonomy of Cottus in western North America").
Steve

Interesting observation from a conversation with people who have spent a lot of time on that lake over the last 20+ years: The sculpins are a relatively new addition. Maybe they were there at a much smaller population size and something changed that caused them to be more successful? Seems weird that a lake without a proper inlet/outlet would end up with sculpin as an introduced species.

 

[Pink Nighty]

Interesting observation from a conversation with people who have spent a lot of time on that lake over the last 20+ years: The sculpins are a relatively new addition. Maybe they were there at a much smaller population size and something changed that caused them to be more successful? Seems weird that a lake without a proper inlet/outlet would end up with sculpin as an introduced species.

Do sculpin spawn in the shallows? If so, dont discount birds transporting them. Duck raids a sculpin nest, flies a bit down the line and drops a few eggs in the next puddle. It happens pretty regularly with bass and panfish.

 

[Cabezon]

Do sculpin spawn in the shallows? If so, dont discount birds transporting them. Duck raids a sculpin nest, flies a bit down the line and drops a few eggs in the next puddle. It happens pretty regularly with bass and panfish.

For the freshwater sculpin species that I'm familiar with, a male will establish a territory with some rocks within its border. He entices a female into the nest. She lays a mass of sticky eggs on the rock surface. The male then enters the nest and fertilizes the egg. Females have to be careful because if she is much smaller than the male, she may just as easily end up as his lunch. The male then protects / cares for the fertilized eggs until the larvae hatch out. Multiple females can spawn in the same male's nest. Females prefer males that are already guarding an egg mass. This may be because it indicates that they are doing a solid job guarding them and not eating them.
Steve