Interview with “Mr. Washington Lakes” himself, Mike Carey Karen from Lacey said she would like to see something different. Karen this column is for you. Doing the amount of traveling I do to different western Washington trout lakes and the price of fuel constantly rising over these past several years, I have found that it is imperative for me to do research on each and eve...

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Excess rain can muddy the water and make fishing difficult… In the spring when the lakes get a lot of extra rain, and are already full from rains over the long winter and the water levels are way up if not overflowing or even flooding, it can really turn the water conditions muddy. Between the muddy water and all the cold fronts moving in and out of the area, it makes bass fishing a challengin...

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THE SEEMINGLY ALMOST HUMAN LIKE INTELLIGENCE OF THE SPIKE BULL ELK, THE BEAUTIFUL, REMOTE SNOW COVERED FOREST AND THE LONG BACKPACK MADE THIS HUNT HARD TO FORGET. The morning was dark and damp from recent rains and the chill of fall hung in the air as we loaded our gear into the station wagon. It was about 2:00 AM and my hunting partner had just finished working the s...

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UPPER COLUMBIA STEELHEAD – THIS ISN’T THE SKYKOMISH! They may be called summer steelhead, but on Washington State’s Upper Columbia River, October through March is the prime time to catch this ocean going rainbow trout! The Department of Fish and Wildlife varies the starts and closures, but over the last 5 years the runs have been good and the dates consistent. This is big water. The f...

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The Year in Review, 2010 Another year come and gone! It’s been a fun year here at the web site with not a lot of huge changes, just steady growth and friendships shared. This year we watched our Registered Members on the site grow from around 8,600 to 14,201. Our Premium Members grew as well, surpassing 400. We’d love to see that number grow more as the Premium Members have some nice addi...

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WITH MILES OF THE BEAUTIFUL, WILD, SCENIC SNAKE RIVER TO EXPLORE, ANGLERS CAN TEST THEIR SKILLS ON SMALLMOUTH BASS, STEELHEAD, WHITE STURGEON, RAINBOW TROUT, CHANNEL CATFISH AND MORE. Imagine a place with plenty of warm sunshine, miles of beautiful, unspoiled scenery and a river with whitewater rapids and deep quiet pools filled with a variety of hungry fish species. Many northwest anglers mi...

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One of the fringe benefits of running a fishing web site is getting to rub elbows with various writers, guides, and outdoor company reps. This year's Fish Camp put on by walleye guide Ed Iman (Ed Iman Guide Service 541-298-3753) was another great event. Four days of fishing, food, and fun at Peach Beach RV Park on the Columbia River near Goldedale, WA (509-773-4698). Aaron and I got to meet with q...

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Attention to the details can pay off big time in the game of fishing… Strict attention to such details like ultra sharp hooks, the correct way to rig a bait, the right way to hang a trailer hook, tie a good knot or adjusting a crank bait eye so it runs true will make the difference between catching a few bass and catching more and bigger bass. If you were to look at any professional bass fishe...

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Tubes and to some degree creature baits were once called gitzits… I’ve often wondered how the name Gitzits came about. It’s a long ways away from tube bait, grub and creature bait stamped on the covers of the packages of today’s products. It’s one of those little life’s mysteries I’ll file away somewhere and solve it one of these days. But according to a resent survey, a Carolina rigged creatu...

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Why we choice the lures we do… When it comes to choosing the right lure for the right time, the right situation and the right conditions for that set of circumstances you are in at that moment on a lake you’re at, you have to take in a lot of details. Probably one of the most important details other than depth is what the bass like to eat and what is available at that time of year in that lake ...

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As a full time guide on Lake Chelan since 2000 and having had an interest and passion that will remain throughout my life, it is my desire that this fishery be viable for generations to come. Yet, because I make a practice of posting pictures of retained lakers from Lake Chelan, I have received comments from enthusiastic catch and release anglers that would indicate that I do not have the continu...

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The Year in Review 2009 Hello and welcome to our 2009 “Year in Review”, my annual attempt to summarize everything that’s been going on at WL.com. It seems every year I could say this, but this year was BUSY! Our biggest event by far was the launch of the Premium Member section in 2009. This all new addition to WL.com was the final leg of my original vision from over ten years ago, to have...

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