Took the day off from work and decided to finish up my kokanee season at Merwin Lake. This turned out to be a very good decision. I arrived at the lake at approximately 7:30 a.m. and there were only 4 or 5 other boats at Speelyai. The weather conditions were about as good as it gets for most of the day, overcast and very comfortable.

I started marking fish at 40 feet almost as soon as I arrived at my favorite area on the south side of the lake. I lowered my downriggers and had my first kokanee in the boat by about 8:30. It was pretty much non-stop action all day, unfortunately one of my downrigger cables had a fray in it and I forgot to bring pliers so I was limited to only one downrigger. UGH! Oh well, still managed to limit out on some very nice fish, biggest was about 15" and weighed in excess of a pound.

The water was very warm, probably pushing 80 degrees in some places. I think that's why most of the fish were found in 40 feet and below. Caught several pikeminnows in the shallower ranges that were quickly dispatched to the seagulls that were circling my boat.

A word of caution: the lake is low and if you are not paying attention you could easily hang your downrigger gear in the underwater obstructions or run your prop over something. Just pay close attention to your depth finder when trolling along the banks.

Tight lines! Now on to the ones I've been waiting for since the season ended two years ago....go pinks!!