The SET-UP: Wow; the Public boat launch was FLOODED--- an amphibious operation had to be undertaken to get the boat launched. A GAP between where the pavement ends and where the cement of the actual boat ramp begins was an unseen, underwater obstacle that caught many a fishermans' trailer tires as they backed into the lake with a THUMP! then cause the 'backer-upper' to have to use MORE POWER to back the trailer wheels out of that gap (later in the season, the lake's level drops, and that 'gap' will be above water and easily seen). Another heads-up: The little grassy 'island' up from the boat launch is presently UNDER WATER, and presents a potential hazard to boats. It is presently NOT MARKED; beware!!
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The CONDITIONS: Hey---ANOTHER FISHING SEASON!! The weather was fishing-weather perfect: Cool, 5/10 skies, a little breeze, and LOTS of fish... and NO SNOW!!!! We arrived at 6:30 a.m. and there was a short line of fishermen/ fisherwomen (!) queue'd up for boat launching. We did our prep-work on the boat BEFORE getting to the boat ramp and--- presto! Onwards and upwards to fishin'! Lake water temperature: 46 degrees--- our extensive studies and records tell us that the fish start getting really rowdy when the water temperature reaches 50 degrees.
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The MULTITUDES OF BOATS--- I counted 10 boats near good ol' Tree 11... and lost track of boat-count on the lake when I got past 38. It was cool to see the guys that had their families fishin' with 'em... The familiar turkey buzzards were soaring above the lake west of the boat launch; our buddies, the osprey, kept wheeling in the sky just above us--- I did not see ONE of them attempt to snatch a meal from the lake during our fishing excursion. Also: A large white bird with a LONG NECK occasionally flew over us... A SWAN? Any lake residents know about this bird?
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The FISHING: Great. We planned for weeks what we were gonna do on the lake on Opening Day. Each of us were going to use different tackle; it turned out that it didn't matter what we used--- we caught fish. We fished the portion of the lake around the boat launch (far enough out that we DID NOT INTERFERE with the guys launching their boats). We caught our limits of 12" and 13" rainbows, in under 90 minutes.
Heck, we didn't even have to break-out the snacks!....which was a good thing, as I should not snack so much (I hope the fish give me an excuse to snack---occasionally!) Thanks, WDFW.
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fullybuilt2.0

4/30/2011 10:48:00 PM

Is there a lots of free fishing from the boat launch??

tomnordman

5/1/2011 3:05:00 AM

Pelican was the bird, much to my surprise after checking the internet Pelicans do live in this part of the county. I was watching the same bird. Beautifull bird.

hewesfisher

5/1/2011 7:09:00 AM

Tom you could be right, I saw a flock of Pelicans while fishing Sprague a few years back. Couldn't believe my eyes. Might also have been a swan, I've seen several this year. Great report Dave! Always enjoy reading of your adventures. :-)

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