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Friend Pete had had great fishing at Martha earlier in the week, so it was off to Martha for my first time fishing there. We arrived at 5:30 AM, parked the rigs and walked over to the park pier. Two fishermen already on the pier. Stepping onto that pier and looking to the south brought a flood of memories. My father-in-law, whom I loved and was my long-time fishing partner, moved into a house on this lake nearly 35 years ago. I was living in Pierce Co. at the time, but we planned on getting well acquainted with this lake and fishing it often with my sons, his grandsons. Within a couple of months he was diagnosed with cancer and was gone by Fall... my mother-in-law sold the house a short time later, so I never got to fish Martha. Good thoughts of a great man and a terrific fisherman!
Back to the present... Sky was mostly cloudy early, very mild (53 degrees at 5:30)... water temp off the pier (at 10') was 58 degrees... clouded over with a few showers later in the morning. Started out with Power Eggs, fl. orange on one rig, chartreuse on the other... 3' leaders. Twenty minutes in, fish on... reeled in a nice Rainbow (fl. orange). Twenty minutes later, another... had my five by 7:30 and hung up my rods. Sat back and enjoyed the ZOO! By 7:00 there were fifteen fishermen (& women) on the pier, and I counted 22 lines in the water at one point. The fishermen kept coming!!! Baits, hooks, weights flying everywhere! Some were fishing with 12' salmon rods!!!... you've got to be kidding!!! I loved listening to the self-proclaimed "experts" sharing their wealth of knowledge... learned that steelhead are a salt-water fish and could never live in freshwater!!! wow... I guess all those steelhead I've caught through the years, in lakes and rivers, were doomed to die in freshwater! Lots of stories of huge fish caught in a myriad of lakes and streams... better than television! People were catching fish in all the chaos... saw three or four nice carry-overs of 15" to 17" caught. Pete was having a more difficult time this morning, lost a couple, landed his fourth about 11:00 and we left the lake a short time later.
Enjoyed watching the avian performers... the ospreys and eagles were putting on a show, and a Great Blue Heron the locals called "George" showed up on the pier... someone tossed him an 11" trout which he immediately downed, head first, naturally.
Park Ranger, Cowper showed up about 10:00 and checked everyone's licenses... all in order! Reminded everyone that when fishing with bait, legal limit is first five caught, even if they are returned to the water. Fish that swallow the hook are damaged internally, and will not survive, even if they appear to swim away.
One other thought, if anyone cares to read... it saddens me to see the fish spoiled by careless handling... trout spoil very quickly as the temperatures rise. It IS NOT good practice to put them on a stringer and dump them in the water. In most cases, water temps are higher than air temps in the Spring. Deterioration of the meat begins immediately... placing the fish in water leads to the breaking down of the cell walls, replacing the fish's natural oils with water, thus destroying the flavor and the meat quality. Further, the elevated temps in the gut cause bacterial contamination to occur almost immediately. Trying to keep the fish alive on a stringer is a poor idea, as the struggling fish uses up blood sugars which give the fish the flavor, and the increased adrenaline forces blood into all the capillaries in the flesh, which causes more rapid spoilage. When I catch a fish, I kill it quickly with a priest, then place it in a bag and get it on ice as quickly as I can. Have a great little volume in my library entitled, "Making The Most Of Your Catch"... excellent tips on preserving and cooking your catch.
I love the sport of fishing... It has given me so many marvelous memories, irreplaceable moments with my sons, their grandfather... new friends like Pete. I love the serenity and the peace that angling affords... I guess once in a while one has to experience a morning at Martha Lake to truly appreciate all the others! PTL!!

EFHutton

5/4/2014 7:56:00 AM

Nice Fish! I know the Zoo at Martha Lake all too well. I have chosen to skip fishing there until the rookies get tired and move on to other waters. One year I saw a kid launch a speed boat from the boat launch (on opening day, no less) and proceeded to struggle with trying to start up the gas powered motor for about 45 minutes. He finally gave up and took the boat out of the water. I can just imagine the trouble he would be in while trying to buzz the lake with 100 boats out there.
That lake can be a great one when the conditions are right and the fish are biting. I taught my daughter how to fish on that lake when she was 3 and now she out-fishes me every year!
Fish On!

jonb

5/5/2014 9:56:00 AM

I see people catch fish on pb or pe then rip the hook out of its guts and throw (like a football) the nearly lifeless fish back in the lake where it floats immediately then sinks to the bottom dead, one after the other, ill tell them its illegal, they typically dont care...there excuse for doing so is they only wanted to keep triploids(which dont even get stocked there) Its disgusting, but thats what happens on lowland lakes this time of year, i really wish there were more wardens in this state.

Stansjoy

5/5/2014 6:11:00 PM

Thanks, jonb... I'm just saddened by the fact that many have so little respect for the resource... these are incredible animals which give us great pleasure. The least we can do is to show them respect by honoring their lives by making use of them as food, not spoiling them away. btw, loved your post on Chitwood & Hanson Lakes!!!

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