Long time reader, first time to report, figured it was time to give back, that and life has finally slowed down a bit.

I will start off with a little about myself. My family (wife, 2 boys and a daughter) love fishing and have become obsessed with the great northwest since we moved up here in 2004. I have fished all over the U.S. and in some foreign countries but so far none have compared to the great northwest when it comes to variety, locations and scenery. Most days I could do without so many people but then again I like my solitude and I can’t blame all the others for enjoying what I enjoy so much.

Since salmon fishing was less than spectacular for me this year and I decide to stay a little closer to home this weekend. The boys and I loaded up the boat Sunday afternoon and made it out to Black Lake about 1400. Best part about fishing Black Lake this time of year is the lack of boat and Jet Ski traffic. We puttered around the lake watching along the drop offs for schools of fish to show on the hummingbird. Last winter we did well in the 25 to 28 FOW range. Yesterday the magic depth was 22 to 17 FOW. Well trolled (.08 MPH) small wedding ring style spinners (size 2 Colorado blade) tipped with a fake minnow off a 3 way swivel with 3/8oz of lead on a dropper. All the crappies were 10 ½” or better with the biggest coming in at 13. If we got in to any shallower water the perch and bass were there and aggressive, one little 8” LMB had to have started at the other side of the lake the way he hit, thought I was Coho fishing on the Big C. when he hit. We had a blast and there were times it got so fast and furious that we had to give up on the two pole endorsement and stick with one pole a piece. The boys tried multiple color and blade size combos and even dragged a few F07 raps around with little luck. The crappies were definitely picky when it came to size and color. All and all it was a great day on the water and the weather was a lot better than I expected it to be.

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