The Lake Williams opener was hotter than a pistol!

We worked all week getting the camper ready for the opener, loading it with food, gear and the car topper boat. Friday, the various work schedules came together and we collected the various combatants for the long drive and assault on Williams Lake by Cheney. It's been a favorite battle ground of mine for the opener for 4-5 years.

We arrived at Klinks Resort on Williams Lake about 23:00 and readied our gear and got into position on the dock waiting for the cannon fire that traditionally signals the beginning of the assault at midnight. The word was passed that the logistics guy failed to arrange to have the cannon in place to support the assault, he will be dealt with later! The Master Sergeant in charge of the Seattle Attack Group improvised by yelling "Boom!" at midnight, under cover of darkness, the assault commenced on time.

The first opposition force, a beautiful 16 1/4" rainbow, was captured a few minutes later by Monty Reed, a non combatant for the last 20 years. Monty had recently gone thru a retraining course provided by Master Sergeant Reed in preparation of the assault. The captured rainbow was interrogated and the whereabouts of his comrades was confirmed. Sergeant Robyn Dosono, in charge of the Chowhall, captured the second opposition force, a 15 1/2" rainbow. Many medium and large opposition troops were captured and interrogated for intel. The leader of the opposition force was captured at 01:30, an 18 1/4" rainbow, by Master Sergeant Reed. Power Bait off the bottom with about 18" of leader was the weapon of choice.

The first assault continued until 03:00, many opposition forces were captured. Our intel showed that this was a multinational force including kamloops, rainbow, brood stock, triploids and even a couple cutthroat. The Seattle Attack Group moved into position for the next assault scheduled at Bunkers Resort. The troops rested until 07:00. The Amphibious Assault Vessel, a cartopper john boat with wheels, was launched at 08:00. Two weapons were selected, a wedding ring and worm on one pole and a oooo dodger and worm on the other. Opposition forces were captured very quickly with both. The small and medium trout were released as we knew that large ones lurked about in the clear waters of Williams Lake. Limits of 15-17" trout were taken in just a few hours, releasing about five of the smaller ones for each of the bigger ones.

That evening the troops enjoyed a feast of opposition forces prepared by Sergeant Dosono. The trout were shaken in a mixture of pancake mix with garlic powder, onion powder, dill, salt and pepper, then fried in olive oil to perfection! Green beans, mac and cheese rounded off the feast. Plans were made for the next days assault.

Sunday brought about further limits similar to the previous attacks. The opposition forces moved around a bit but were located. Many forces were captured on this final day at the "killing fields." Intel on where to fish, lodging, gear, ect, can be obtained from both Klinks and Bunkers Resorts. Klinks supplements the State's trout stockings with kamloops, a tasty breed, I strongly endorse Klinks services! An internet search of Klinks at Williams Lake will bring you to their website for further info.

We departed Williams Lake before noon to rendezvous with family in Spokane and get started on our journey back to Seattle. It was a wonderful trip and I look forward to the opener next year on the docks of Klinks Resort. Hopefully the cannon guy will be there, an M-80 will probably be brought next year just in case. We all love the big boom to start the season off with a bang!

The fishing was "Awesome!"
Semper Fisherman

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