Previous Next

Windy, wet and cccold! That is the story for Lake B this Saturday morning. Met friend Pete at 7:30, fishing off the pier shortly thereafter. Started out windy... got worse... then got wet too! Air temp was 35 degrees upon arrival, thin layer of ice on the pier... made walking an adventure! Water temp at 15' was 48 degrees. My target was Cutthroat and I began with Nightcrawlers w/ EZ eggs for floatation. Also put a Nightcrawler on a jig head and twitched it back in to the pier. Had one hard hit on that about 8:00, but the gusting wind made that kind of fishing very difficult. Pete started with Power Eggs, orange on one rig, chartreuse on another. At about 8:30 Pete had a hit on the orange and reeled in a feisty 12" Cutthroat, a buck as it turned out. I switched up to orange Power Eggs on one of my rigs and fifteen minutes later, "fish on"... reeled in a sleek 11 1/2" Cutthroat, a hen. I noticed right away that this fish had the classic look of a Sea-run Cutt... dark blue back and shiny silver sides. Reminiscent of the Sea-runs I used to catch on a fly years ago in Hood Canal, or on the Deschutes River. Wind made it very difficult to determine if we were getting subtle bites, but had nothing more until about 11:00, when I had a strong hit and reeled in a very, very chunky 12 1/2" Rainbow. Rain became more serious, Pete said the rain was coming in "sideways"... his back began to stiffen up and he left reluctantly at about 12:30. I endured for awhile longer, but the wind and rain became too much and I left the lake about 1:30 PM.
Interesting, upon cleaning the fish, found maturing egg skeins in the Cutthroat hen (put them in a cure, will use them at Green Lake later for the Browns). Also found two copepods (sea-lice) near the anal fin on the hen Cutthroat, belying the tale of the fish's life. Perhaps began as a hatchling in Lake Ballinger several years ago, migrated down McAleer Creek into Lake Washington, then into Lake Union, down the Ship Canal, through the Ballard Locks, into Puget Sound. Fattened up on krill and shrimp, then back the same way to spawn in Lake Ballinger this Spring.
Upon cleaning the Rainbow, I discovered it to be stuffed with small lake snails, first time I've encountered that at Lake B.!
All in all, a very challenging day on the lake, but very rewarding as well. Hadn't been fishing for two weeks, due to Holiday commitments! Almost more than a man can take! PTL!

tele_maniac

12/15/2012 11:24:00 PM

Nice fish. Thanks for the pictures and report.

The Quadfather

12/16/2012 10:52:00 AM

Nice fish! There is another parasite that looks a lot like sea lice, sorry don't remember the name. It has been identified and talked about on the forum via washingtonlakes.com. If you dig around you will find it. Always enjoy your Ballinger reports, Stan. Considering I grew up on that lake, and I just hate to fish it now. I have the worst luck out there, but I know it produces, as I follow your reports closely. Good work.

Stansjoy

12/16/2012 4:49:00 PM

Thanks Quad... and tele... Quad, I love this lake... it holds lots of mystery to me. I came back into this area about five years ago, had surgery about three years ago, and Lake Ballinger was a large part of my rehab. I grew up in the Wallingford area, and my friend and I would bicycle out to Lake B and fish the southwest corner... no houses there in those days. I checked the forum, couldn't find the reference you cited... certainly could be something else, but having seen thousands of the critters, sure looked like sea-lice. They were bleached a pale white, as I've seen on salmon that have been in a river for awhile... same "sucker" head. Oh well, I prefer thinking that these magnificent creatures make the epic journey year after year... maybe I'm just an incurable romantic... ha, ha , ha... Don't give up on Lake B! Will be great fishing again in the Spring! Would consider it a real honor to meet you out there someday! PTL!

N E 1 FISSION

12/16/2012 5:34:00 PM

Nice going again!! I am so jealous,...

Lake Chelan Adventures

12/16/2012 6:45:00 PM

The little critters are called Copepods...They will attach to the skin and also on the gills...Pretty common to see these on the Triploids at Rufus Woods...

The Quadfather

12/16/2012 8:11:00 PM

Stan.... "Copepods or Sea lice"...... don't let me take your visions away....

Leave a Comment:

Login

Flag

×

Why is this comment inappropriate?

Close Submit

Delete this comment? Provide reason.

No Yes

Edit

×

Cancel Save