I have Washingtonlakes.com to thank for this. It was the website profile Failor that led me to try it out.

It was a calm day, so I started out by using what I call the 'au naturel' method.... a worm on a size 14 caddis hook and 3# test leader, no weight, just let it sink on its own No takers...so I switched to an inflated worm on a sliding sinker. That nailed a 12" cutt....who fortunately was mouth hooked,and so I was able to let him go, no problem.

Things remained slow where I was fishing, ( about 20 yards from the southside bank...but I had noticed quite a few fish rising towards the center of the lake, so I hauled anchor and moved over in that direction.

That did it. On my first cast, I hooked a 14" trip, using a sliding sinker...first one I ever caught. After several more casts, with only small takers, I switched back to the 'au naturel' rod

WHAM! Something grabbed my worm and took off like a bat out of hell. Then he jumped, and all I could say was 'whoa!'...BIG 'bow.

But...after one more run, I lost him. He didn't break off, just spit the hook, which mean he must not have been hooked too hard in the first place.

Long story short, I managed one more trip, 15" on the sliding rig...and one other bigger ( he felt like it, anyway ) that managed to wrap my line around something and break off.

But then, about 4:30, using the au naturel method...another freight train came to call. Spectacular fighter...many leaps and long runs. At one point I thought he'd managed to tangle my line in an underwater obstruction, but somehow, it pulled free. It took a good 20 minutes to boat this fish. He measured in at 24", and 5lb 1oz. ( The fellow who took the pic of me had a decent scale. )

All in all, a great day. Every fish I hooked put up a tremendous fight. becoming airborne as soon as the hook was set....even the small ones. For some reason, almost none of the fish I caught swallowed the hook, the exception being the two triploids that I kept. I also spied the biggest osprey I've ever seen; wingspan so large that at first, I mistook him for a heron.

Final word...if you're planning on fishing Failor, it closes at the end of October, and a WDFW vehicle permit is required for parking at the lake.

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