How I found WashingtonLakes.com

[fishaholictaz]

I was referred here by Becky at Offut Lake Resort she insisted I try it out and I thank her all the time

[bassmasterderek]

I stumbled across WL while browsing the internet for fishing sites. I read reports for about two years. This year I found the forums and decided to give it a shot.

I really enjoy reading everyones topics/posts. Not sure why it took me so long but I can't wait to fish with as many of you as possible, and learning the million different tactics/techniques everyone has to share.

[beerman1981]

I found this website probably five or six years ago (it had to of just started). I was in college and searching for a nearby lake to scope out. From then on, I scoped it out periodically, but became pretty dedicated when I joined the forum. But like I said previously, I tend to dissapear during the fall and winter due to a 60 hour per week work schedual. I'm glad to have y'all as my fishin' buddies.

Beerman

[kevinb]

I was at the station,it was super late. Like 3AM and a buddy told me to comeover to the computer. I thought it was going to be something else but it was WL. We are both dedicated anglers.....anyway,couple years later,here I am. I've been a guest on here for the past few years.

[tnj8222]

google!! im sure thats how alot of people found it, i was actually looking for bass fishing info for washington and found this site. i read reports for a long time, when the forum opened is when i got active on this site.

[A9]

Searching through fishing information/reports in Washington on the internet and up came WL.com. Read reports from probably 2004-07, spent 06 and 07 on the forums over at PP, then registered in Spring 07 for the current site with the forum on the site...

[Gringo Pescador]

I was searching maps for new lakes, then when I found one I would Google it to see if I could find any info on it. Every lake I googled would come up with a link to WL.com! I lurked for about a year before signing on and have never looked back!:cheers:

[eenakok]

I use to follow this when it was on PP. I had kind of lost track of it until the other day I was searching for a topology map of a lake and found this site again. I am grateful to have found this and I hope to be able to meet some of you and learn more about this great sport we all enjoy. I will share anything that I already know as well.

[shawn]

I was googling lakes like many others and WL kept coming up.Lurked around for awhile then started posting.Wl has became part of my everyday routine.Can't wait for the Wl to start.

[fishnislife]

google!! im sure thats how alot of people found it, i was actually looking for bass fishing info for washington and found this site. i read reports for a long time, when the forum opened is when i got active on this site.

Just about word for word what I was going to write. Years ago I would read the reports and information when visiting family up here and before going out on the water. Now that I have moved here fulltime 2 years ago I feel connected with this site and when the forum opened up I wanted to be apart of it all. Well, the rest has been history.




fishnislife

[zen leecher aka Bill W]

I was on the old, old one back in 2001 and I think it was referred to me by a character known as the "Trout Master".

[lskiles]

I fished for bass only in Northern California some twenty-odd years ago, never did very well. Three years ago I decided I wanted to get into fishing and I found a seminar at the local Parks and Recreation on where to go and how to catch fish in SW Washington. I took the seminar, which was not really very helpful to me, except that we paid an extra fee for a set of maps to show us "hot spots" in area waters. All of the maps had the www.washingtonlakes.com web site printed on them so I checked it out and I am so glad that I did. I have learned a lot from reading reports and posts. I am a lot better fisherman because I am here daily. I have tried and failed to get out on the water with a few of the members here, but I am sure that this season will have me meet a few.

[Fisherman_max]

I found this site when i was first emmerging into fishing when i was about 12. i was searching lacamas lake on google and this was the first website listed. this was back when the front back was blue. i read all the reports on lacamas and round lakes, trying to learn all i could about these lakes. i finnaly became a member and after being a member for a month or two, i had posted a couple reports and then found the forums. i found the forums in september. but i was posting reports ever since i started using this site last march.



its a grrrreeaaaat site for sure.

[Aaron]

Like many of you, I was searching Google for information on local lakes. I knew where a lot of the lakes where at, but I was having trouble catching fish. I found the site and was extremely pleased with the information it contained. Mike used to enter all of the fishing reports, by HAND, from his email. All the reports for each lake were listed on a single HTML page. It looked like this:

WashingtonLakes.com - June 2004

I loved reading all of the reports, but I found it difficult to find exactly what I wanted without reading every report for every lake. There wasn't a search function of any kind. The site had grown to the point where it was just about to overwhelm him. I liked it so much I offered to rewrite the site and give it a database backend. For free. I just wanted to be able to access the reports from a database and have the ability to search through them.

We worked on building a new site for about 6 months and came up with this in April 2005:

WashingtonLakes.com - April 2005

Somewhere along the way Mike offered to make me a "partner" and life was good. The site stayed that way for about 2 years. In April of 2007 we launched the site that you see now and things REALLY got busy. Mike and I have now officially become partners in a legal sense, forming a company called Digital Anglers LLC. In the weeks to come we will be exanding the site again. I'm sure you'll all love what we have in store.

Oldest archive I could find:

WashingtonLakes.com - November 1999

[A9]

Ahhh Aaron I remember those two old sites very well...Very familiar...The June 04 and April 05 were just as I remembered them...

[Dave]

My story is the same as Bassmasterderek's. I read the reports for a couple years before realizing there was a forum section. I became a member in 07 and I am thankful for the information and the folks who contribute to the site every day. I am on the site on my days off religiously and add my two cents in the forums section when I think I have something positive to contribute. I also appreciate the reports which I sometimes wish were a little more detailed. The detailed reports often help me when deciding where and when I am going to fish. Great site, great people!

[northfork]

I don't remember how I found it, but just looked back and started posting lake reports beginning in 2004. Thankfully under a different name than now. Man did I use to break the law with all the fish I C&R with BAIT.

[SPARKY101]

I had posted some catches on here late 06-07 never new there was a forum and was wondering how to meet up with some new fishing buddies,my wife wanted to help me out so she started to look at the site more "than one track minded me" and said hey do you know their is alot of people on that site that chat.From there on i have been here:cheers:

[kutthroatkilla]

I stumbled across WL.com because a friend had told me about it -- glad he did! Great site and it's fun to keep spreading the word by handing out "the cards."
KTK

[gpc]

Thats some pretty cool stuff there Aaron, nice piece of history.


I remember I found the site a few years back, thought it was great, but then forgot about it for a year or 2 and then re found it. Then after the update last year I joined the forum. But the reason I re found it was because it use to be on the WDFW fishing and shell fishing page. They re did the F&SH page (not the home page though) and I dont think its on there anymore