If you’re knowledgeable enough about fishing to know a crankbaits not a potion used to attract guys with ugly dispositions, chances are you’re also aware it’s wise to shut up and listen when an experienced guide tells you how he catches fish.
I’d like to have you meet one of those guides. He’s Curt Welch, a full time angling mentor, who hangs his hat in Moses Lake, Washington. Curt may hang his sombrero in the central part of the Evergreen State but he fishes all over the place.
I’d heard from friends that Curt is a guy who can back up what he to has to say. I’ve done some checking and that’s exactly how it is. Curt Welch puts his customers onto fish. Of particular interest to me was that he often uses Mack’s Lure products to get the job done.
One of the spots Welch fishes a good bit isn’t some seldom-fished lake way off in the boonies. Then where is it? Let’s consider Lake Washington right smack in the middle of Seattle. I knew that Curt had established an enviable reputation at catching both yellow perch and cutthroat from this metropolitan pond. He has let me in on some of his secrets. I’m fixin’ to share them with you.
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| Here's the Mack's Lure Wedding Ring that's Curt's favorite for Lake Washington cutthroat angling. He tips his hook with a short piece of a nightcrawler's tail. |
If you’re a trout angler yourself, Curt’s choice of lures probably won’t come as a surprise. The Mack’s Lure Wedding Ring spinner is his first choice in fish-catching hardware. Trout anglers who’ve trolled long enough to wear a couple of calluses on that portion of their anatomy due west and slightly south of their bellybuttons probably use Wedding Rings themselves.
I don’t know how many tens of thousands of these sparkling little fish-getters have been sold since the McPherson’s first brought them to market years ago. I do know, as do experienced trout anglers everywhere, that you’re not going to lay hands on a trout trolling lure that is as productive day in and day out as the Mack’s Lure Wedding Ring.
But I’m not doing the talking here, Curt Welch is. Here’s what he told me where lures are concerned: “ Stan,” he said, “you name it and I’ve tried it. The Wedding Ring beats ‘em all. I favor the classic standard Wedding Ring. I use a hammered gold blade when it’s cloudy and a hammered nickel when the day is bright.”
As I’ve said many times in previous columns at this web site, knowing what lure is best is one thing---knowing exactly how to use it is something else. Let’s take a close look at some of the proven tactics this likeable Moses Lake fishing guide uses.
“For starters,” he says, “I cut my Wedding Ring leader down to 24-inches in length. I attach a ball bearing swivel to the front end of my leader and I run the Wedding Ring behind a Les Davis gang troll. I fish this set up with an electric Scotty downrigger.”
The Washington cutthroat catcher uses a long line between his downrigger and his lure. “I use at least a 100-feet,” he says, “and sometimes as much as 150 to 200-feet. The farther back your lure and bait is the better. It can make a huge difference in the number of hits you get.”
Probe Curt’s approach to cutthroat angling and you’ll find he has definite convictions regarding the size of the nightcrawlers he uses with his Wedding Rings. “I use only a short piece of ‘crawler,” he says. “I use the tail end of the worm and I never use a piece that’s more than 2-inches long.”
I wanted to know why. Curt’s response was quick and short. “The Lake Washington cutts,” he said, “just won’t hit a longer worm. “I’ve tried longer worms, but they just don’t produce.”
Welch says some Lake Washington cutthroats are the sea run variety. “ Washington State fish officials will tell you sea runs don’t get into Lake Washington,” he says, “but I know darn well they do. I say that because I’ve caught them when they still had sea lice all over their bodies.”
Catch fish as consistently as Welch has in a spot like Lake Washington and word soon gets around. Some of the Seattle outdoor writers call the “Slayer of Cutthroat. He’s also been dubbed the “Prince of Perch.” Yellow perch are another species found in Lake Washington. In a future column I hope to tell you how he goes about catching those good eating panfish.
I’ve just touched on a few of the basics Curt Welch uses in his search for Lake Washington walleye. We’ll take a look at some of the other tactics he employs in my next Mack’s Lure column. Watch for it beginning June 15.
-To Be Continued-
