After lots of sunshine on Memorial Day and a great picnic at Edmonds' Marine Park, I thought that I would have some luck trying for some Rainbows on an overcast morning at Blackman's Lake. I guessed right! Headed for Blackman's at o'dark thirty, arrived just before 5:00 AM and lines in the water by 5:15. Temp at the outset was 56 degrees, cloudy, with a bit of a breeze out of the west. Fishing off the southernmost pier at Hilltop Park. Water temp off the pier at 20' was 58 degrees. Began fishing with Power Eggs... I figured that the fish would be holding, up, off the bottom, so I started out with fl. orange on one rig (4' leader) and pink on the other (6' leader). Didn't have long to wait... at about 5:30 had my first hit, a violent, rod tip bender without a hook-up, on the pink PE. Then at 5:45, another strong hit (pink PE), this time the hook stuck and I reeled in a beautiful 13" Rainbow. Had a great surprise as the trout struggled as I tried to get it to the net... a Largemouth Bass of at least five pounds, maybe more, darted out from under the pier and tried to grab the trout. Through the next couple of hours, I had a couple more hits without hook-ups, but also landed four more Rainbows, the smallest at 12 1/2" and the largest at just over 14", all on the pink PE on a 6' leader. Tried several other colored PE on the 4' leader, but not a hit! Was done fishing by 8:30. Every Rainbow was beautifully colored and extremely feisty... lots of aerial displays. A great morning of fishing AND catching! Smoked my pipe, watched the birds... eagles nesting in tall Douglas Fir in the park... only complaint, morning ended way too early!

Saw another eight fishermen (and ladies) on the piers at the park, saw only two other fish caught on the northern pier, while I was there. Saw another half dozen fishing at the WDFW site across the lake. Two small boats also on the lake, saw one of them bring out a net in the middle of the lake.

Love these kind of Spring mornings... won't be long before the Summer heat will put an end to the trout bite, so I hope to get a couple more successful trips to fill the smoker. The trout caught in the lake today were prime, the flesh turning a pale to dark orange... filleted the largest one for dinner tonight! PTL!

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