Fall fishing is the time of year for Cutthroat! Almost any Western Washington lowland lake with outlet streams that connect with downstream drainage systems will get an influx of Cutthroat Trout in the Fall. These fish are remarkable in their ability to navigate mere trickles of water to get upstream to their spawning waters. They are aggressive predators that will hit almost anything if they can see it. Headed to Blackman's where I've done well in the past for Cutthroat. Arrived at Hill Park about 7:15 AM and on the pier with lines in the water by 7:30. Temp at the outset was a very chilly 39 degrees, and I found a light layer of frost on the surface of the pier. Water temp was 57 degrees at the surface and declining temp to the bottom (15') of 53 degrees. Two fellows fishing on the pier when I arrived (in the dark), but left within minutes of my arrival... strange!? Began fishing with fl. orange Power Eggs on one rig (4' leader) and night crawlers on the bottom, on the other. The water was quite heavily stained, and visibility was very limited. Not a hit for the first two hours. No fish on the surface as fog rolled across the water as the sun rose higher during the morning. Tried several different presentations of PEs but figured that not my best bet. Went to night crawlers under a float about 10:00, but that produced nothing. Tried casting a silver and blue Kastmaster several times during the morning, nada! Finally, about 10:00, saw the tell-tale tap, tap, tap on the tip of my rod and was able to reel in a 7" Yellow Perch. It seemed that it took a while for the fish to wake up as the sun warmed the lake, but once it started, catching Perch was pretty consistent the rest of the day. Missed a ton of them, especially after a brisk breeze arose that made it more difficult to see the subtle "take" as they sucked at the worm and I reeled in a bare hook many times. Was able to bring in a total of seven Perch, from 6 1/2" to 8" during the day. About 1:30 my line went slack and I watched as it slowly moved to the right... I began reeling slowly until I felt resistance, set the hook and felt powerful headshakes and several dogged runs... took me a while to get the fish to the pier with my 8 1/2' UL spinning rod, but was finally able to net a fat, heavy 16" Brown Bullhead, a.k.a. Catfish. Did not have my digital scale with me, but at home and after hours on ice, it weighed in at 2# 6oz. About 2:00, I again began to cast the Kastmaster... almost immediately had a hard hit, but no hook-up. Within minutes, another hit... stopped reeling then reeled fast and the fish struck again. This time was able to land a beautiful sleek and silvery Cutthroat of 12". Missed two more Cutthroat in the next half hour, each of them hooked but tossed the hook as they leaped out of the water. Perhaps the most excitement of the day occurred when I had cast the lure and the line was settling on the water and a flock of Gulls flew into my line and one of the birds became entangled. I had a furious Gull trying to fly away, and a half dozen of its friends wheeling in the air and diving to the water, screaming their disgust at the plight their friend found himself in. It took quite a while to reel the bird toward the pier, and I wasn't quite sure how I would handle the situation if and when I got it to the pier... thankfully, in the struggle to get itself free, and only ten feet from the pier, the Gull was able to unwrap itself from the entangled line and suddenly flew free, screaming all the way down the lake, leaving only a few feathers and some down on the lake's surface. I left the lake about 3:00, with seven Perch, a beautiful Cutthroat and a monster Bullhead.
Had only four other fishermen join me on the pier all day, each spending only a short time before leaving. Saw perhaps three small boats on the lake all day. Saw no other fish caught, except for the Cormorant that I watched catch and devour a nice trout about 100' off the end of the pier. I think that the high, bright sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures have had an impact on the Fall fishery thus far. Waiting for some rain and cooler daytime temps to get the fish more active. Nevertheless, had a great day on the lake! I so enjoy the whole experience of "fishing"... enjoy interacting with my environment at the lake. Incredibly fulfilling to watch the ubiquitous waterfowl in their domain... to look closely at the beauty of my catch (even a 6 1/2" Perch)... to wonder at the cycles of life... how did that Cutthroat make its way to the lake? How many miles did it journey before coming to my lure? Sitting on the pier, smoking my pipe and wondering at these and so many other questions during the day... I think this is the stuff that has made the true Fisherman so dedicated to the sport he loves! "Catching" is such a small, small part of what we consider to be "success"! PTL!

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