Hey Rick,
Yup its that time of the year. FYI..its $20 to launch at Allen Yorke no matter if your young, old, military or disabled. The only thing that ticks me off down there is that the folks with the car top boats or kayaks pay nothing to put their boats in the lake. Later. Maybe see you on Sunday ? I've got the white Alumacraft and black F-150. If I'm by myself I'll take ya out with me..what ya think? Pm me. I'm going down to Mayfield this morning so i'll check when I get home. hit me up man! Later hombre'..todd

I should also have mentioned, the $15 fee is at North Park. Sundays is when mama and I go to church. Having the benefit of being retired, I usually stay off the lakes on weekends for obvious reasons. Because of the increased fee I will probably be spending more time fishing American Lake, which was my main smallie lake until I started fishing Tapps, which is closer to where I live. American doesn't put out the numbers that Tapps does, but the sizes run larger, with 2 to 4 lbers being the norm. The only problem is the rock bass bites in American can be a real annoyance. Too bad. I usually fished Tapps at least twice a week, but now that would be pretty spendy. Thanks for the offer, Todd. Maybe some time we'll get together. In the mean time I'll keep an eye out for your boat. I fish out of a small 12 ft mini bassboat, and drive a blue F150.

rickyd- is that a county park/launch? I have never fished Tapps but have the annual permit that I bought for Spanaway (75 bucks). Also works at county launch at Tapps. If so, maybe worth looking into:)

Yes, North Park is a county park. And your permit is valid there. Unfortunately, even though my home is only 15 minutes from Tapps, I live in King County, and the same permit will cost me $150. I will probably bite the bullet and buy it because I fish there so much. What has me confused is a posting on the internet, dated April 17, 2012, lists the North Park launching fee at $5 for seniors 62 and older. Something I will ask about before I make the purchase. But if the launching fee is $15 to everyone, that will be too bad. There are a lot of seniors out there on limited incomes that will go elsewhere to fish because of the raised cost of launching at North Park.

Ricky...you're 62? Really? You look way younger. Honestly I haven't seen that many seniors launching boats. I would reccomnd you calling Pierce County Parks and calling them out on it. May help you out..idk. $15 isnt that bad..like I said Allen yorke is $19-$20. Thats a disgrace! but it doesnt stop all the big boater owners from launching there. Maybe its the rich folks up there that can afford it? I understand your point about the county park. But the money goes to the district and honestly, the park manager does an excellent job with the up keep and it gives the youth jobs for the summer. And he runs North Tapps and Spanaway Park. So maybe support the park by buying the yearly pass and lets keep the park open? Yes? Its kinda like if you wanna play you gotta pay? See ya, Todd

I gotcha, rickyd. Yeah, everyone is wanting more and more. That does suck but kind of good in other ways. I used to always say, and I even said it on here, that I would not ever pay to launch. Then I did. Then I bought the season permit and my thought was that gas cast so much and that fishing a lake 5 minutes away would pay for the permit in just a couple of visits. I also did not realize that if you lived out of the county that the price was more. That is not fair, not at all. Good luck to you and your decision.

Haha, I said "gas cast so much", I got fishing on the brain...

You guys are right. The park is kept up well, and the worry of truck break ins are next to none, compared to public launches. And like arniejl said, you have to figure in gas. Tapps is only 15 mintues from my home. Much closer than other lakes I fish. Am going to call the parks dept. today and get the skinny. But if I have to I will pay the $150 annual fee. Thanks guys for the response. Oh, and muskyhunter. I'm actually 66.

Just called the parks dept. Well, that was alot of excitement about nothing. Turns out the woman at the North Park pay booth was all wet. The Parks Dept told me that nothing has changed. It is still $5 for seniors 62 and older. I asked if Pierce County parks can set their own individual rates. She said no. There are only two county parks in Pierce County they regulate, one being Spanaway Lake, the other North Park, and the Parks Dept sets the rates charged at both. So that is good news. On my next fishing report I will make the news known.

Great! Good deal for you. That is like a touchdown!!!