After my dismal catfishing trip Saturday, decided that I needed to rediscover that fishing is fun rather than just frustrating. Went to I82 Pond #6 with the pontoon in hopes of spiny rays, particularly bluegill. Didn't get there until probably 3:30 pm or so, and fished until sundown.

Fishing was fabulous ..... for 3-4" perch. That's all I could scrounge up for most of the day - it was slow. Never put much credence into solunar tables, but according to them it was a poor day for fishing. Coincidence? About a half hour before sundown the bluegill started feeding and hitting on the south side of the island, and I was able to salvage a meal out of the trip. Took home probably six nice bluegill, one nice perch. Caught and released a smallish bass, and caught about a billion small perch (or had bites thereof). The south side of the lake (unusually) didn't produce squat, nor did the east side. Didn't try the west side.

I'd noticed the large numbers of small (i.e. unharvestable) perch in this lake earlier this year, and it is kinda starting to look like one of the stunted lakes up in the Columbia Basin (i.e. smallish lake with poor predator-prey balance, and with a bajillion 3-4" yellow perch). Hope the WDFW stocks more largemouth bass and channel cats in Pond #6 to put the hammer on the perch explosion.

However, unlike yesterday, it was kind of a nice trip. Got to watch an osprey fishing in the lake, and it was nice and calm (if not a wee bit hot). The lights finally went on in terms of Jigmeister's jigs - they are incredible. Casting into the weedbeds would frequently produce a series of continual strikes during the retrieve. I can't wait to try them in Pond #4 or some other spiny ray lake without the irritating perch...