This was more of a shakedown cruise for my new Minnkota troll motor and new electronics and some ongoing research/rehab on this lake. After completing 3 hours of plotting and GPS overlaying and note taking and fish counting, I broke out my new crappie rig and really put the electronics to work. I caught more fish in one hour than I have ever done on this lake previous including catching the biggest perch I have yet taken from this lake. My Vexilar is now fine tuned for open water and it works so darn well I am just tickled. I found the Crappie, they were few and small and very thin, I think they are just having a hard time making it in this lake and I am hoping all my research will help improve their lot. The LMB's here are HUGE, this time of year you will not find them much in the shallows, they hang right on the bottom anywhere there is structure, you have to thump em on the head, they bite light, but upon hookset they come alive. I found my homemade tube jigs worked best in white and red and white. I threw everything back except the perch which strangly enough were all males and made for a fine dinner this evening.

bob johansen

2/23/2010 9:06:00 AM

BMGW - Is that little campground still open at Leland?

BMGW

2/23/2010 12:20:00 PM

Hi Bob, it was closed when I went by it, not sure if that is just for the off season it is a county park and may not be open year round, with the current economic climate one never knows for sure. I would call Jefferson County before making any plans for an overnight stay. Nice little park it is..

bob johansen

2/24/2010 8:30:00 AM

Thanks BMGW - I have camped there a few times in the past. Would like to try Leland again for lunker bass. Used to catch some nice ones in nearby Crocker Lake but it has been closed for some time now.

BMGW

2/24/2010 8:50:00 AM

Let me tell you about Crocker lake: The state poisioned the lake after blaming the sportsman for putting northern pike in there that got into the Snow Creek and threatened the salmon run. Truth be known, told to me by the head of the fisheries program now defunct at Peninsula College: When the State put the Perch in Lake Crocker they accidentally had Norther Pike minnows in the planting... Typical State of Washington mismanagement of our fisheries. Thank God we do not get all the government we pay for!

Big Smooth

2/24/2010 2:47:00 PM

Wow! that sucks (comment 4). Thanks for the report. I'm still learning how to target crappie that aren't under the Mardon dock :)

BMGW

2/24/2010 3:10:00 PM

Hey Big Smooth, learning is half the fun! I guess when it comes to Crappie, their strength is their weakness... It's all about finding them, once you do that you can catch em even in the middle of the day when they supposedly have lock jaw. Keep reading up on em and watch videos and above all keep fishing. :)

jbball50

2/25/2010 11:10:00 AM

I still don't get why they haven't restocked that Crocker Lake with trout and bass. Wish I could've had a chance at those pike when they had them in there though but we never did fish that lake when we were up at Leland fishing.

BMGW

2/25/2010 11:35:00 AM

You know it was much the same with the Sprague Lake deal. The Walleye fishery had become one of the best in the state and then for some reason the State wanted to turn it into a premier Crappie fishery. So instead of letting the sportsman help out by putting a bounty on the Walleye, by just saying ok fellas go get em, no limit on those pesky Walleye... But nooooo, their answer is to poision the entire lake, therefore the entire ecosystem... Wait 10 more years to see if it worked! I gotta say we have idiots running our State!

fishnislife

2/25/2010 2:32:00 PM

Great report BMGW. Glad to see a report come from Leland. I fish it maybe once or twice a year and it has been hit or miss for LMB. But I do know it is way under fished and has some big girls roaming around.

jbball50

2/26/2010 12:43:00 PM

How big was the perch you caught?

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