Anglin' with Anglen - 1973

Editor’s note: For 27 years, beginning Feb. 8, 1973, Ralph Anglen of Bonners Ferry wrote an outdoor column for the local paper that was widely read and used as a source of fishing and hunting information. It was called “Anglin’ with Anglen,” and was the real deal, the genuine item, written by someone whose socks were wet, whose toes were cold and who pulled no punches. We will continue as space allows to reprint Anglen’s column solely for its pleasure and historical significance. Any typos, we leave as is. Readers are reminded that this column was written almost 50 years ago and conditions, including state fish and game regulations, have changed.

July 19, 1973

I had a very good and successful week; made it out four times and caught fish every time. We were on Brush lake early Tuesday morning, caught 29 bass on nightcrawlers and caught our weight limit of rainbow on salmon eggs while we were eating our lunch.

I went to Sinclair lake Wednesday, had heard it was fished out, but I found it just as good as it was on the first of the season.

This was my first trip in there since early May and I had my limit in forty-five minutes. Using salmon eggs again, I caught one twenty inches long and it weighed 2 ½ pounds. This is a good little lake and it has no other fish in it but trout; the ones I caught sure put up a fight.

I was on Dawson just at daylight Thursday and caught nine crappie, biggest 14” inches, and a small bass. The first cast I hooked a bass and never even slowed him down, broke my line. That is what I get for using that 4 pound test line.

Some days I can land almost every bass I hook on it, then other days I loose fish after fish, but I like to use it so suppose I will keep on doing it. I caught the crappie trolling a white lead head jig right out in the middle of the lake.

You see them rising out there but this is the first time I ever tried trolling for them. They are very tasty fish and I really like them, although my wife doesn’t care for them as much as our other fish.

After solving the way to catch trout in Brush lake I was in there early Saturday morning fished three hours and only caught three; they were nice fish but nothing big.

Went bass fishing and was lucky to get enough to eat I guess. I was using plastic worms and they just didn’t care for them. I got three, enough for dinner. As I have said before, I catch a lot of fish but there is just some days I don’t catch very many, which is the way it should be.

Scuttlebutt: My son and grandson made a pack trip up Canyon creek last week. They spent three days back in there and had a nice trip. Canyon Creek was too high for good fishing but they took two eastern brook out of Parker lake that were 18” long and a 15” cutthroat, besides some smaller ones.

The eastern brook were supposed to be poisoned out of there several years ago but I guess they missed some of them. I was on that lookout in 1940 and fished that lake.

In fact there isn’t hardly any place in the country I haven’t fished, but there are a lot of places I’ll never fish again.

They saw a grizzly bear track back in there, it is one of the most remote areas we have left I guess. The woods are awfully dry so please be a little extra careful with fire. There have been a couple of fires left at Snowcreek that could have been bad if they hadn’t been discovered.

Moyie is generally good fishing from the reports I get. I am wondering of a person could get kokanee at the mouth of the creeks now as they come in to spawn.