Pssst! Hey you!
Yeah, you there.
Wanna know a secret? Wanna know a can’t miss, guaranteed, iron-bound way to catch rainbow trout next Saturday morning, the opener of the state’s general lake fishing season?
You launch your boat and rig a fly rod with monofilament line, maybe 4- or 6-pound test, then attach a small swivel to the end of the line. To the swivel you tie 6 or 8 feet of 2- or 4-pound test leader and just above the swivel, you crimp one or two of the smallest size split shot. To the end of the leader, tie a wet fly, about size 8 or so.
What fly, you ask? Any dark, buggy-looking fly with maybe a touch of red or green, or a bit of sparkle. You don’t have to be able to tell a blue upright from a hare’s ear to pick a juicy-looking item.
Then you go out and troll, with maybe 50 feet of line astern, slowly, close in to the weed line, where you can maybe just start to see bottom. Try trolling in slow S-curves. Try stopping occasionally, to let your fly sink a little. Try “working” the rod now and then, with little jerks and twitches.
If you do that, friend, I can almost pledge my honor that you will catch trout on opening morning.
So why do I spread this word so generously? Why do I impact my own chances by telling you how to improve yours?
That’s easy, and I snicker to myself.
It’s because you WON’T DO IT! You’ll say to yourself, “Oh, yeah, maybe,” and then you’ll tote your five jars of Power Bait to the lake, or stock up on Rooster Tail spinners, or Dick Nite spoons, or blades and worms. You’ll go out and do it just like you’ve always done it; like your daddy did it; like your grandaddy did it. The word “rut” was coined to describe sport fishermen.
But, hey, that’s okay. You do it your way and I’ll do it mine. I’ll catch more trout, of course, but technique is not the issue here. Catching fish on opening day is really not the reason for being on the water at all. The day is a social happening, a circus, a chance for quality family time, and an opportunity to renew old friendships. Opening day is 4 a.m., with tendrils of mist floating over the lake. It’s the smell of coffee and the taste of convenience store doughnuts. It’s the rattle of oars and the purr of electric motors and the peal of a child’s laughter in the crisp morning stillness. It’s “Doin’ any good?” and “Whaddaya gettinem on?” and “Shoulda gone to McMurray.” It’s boat-laden cars and pickups hurrying north on I-5 to the best fishing lakes, passing boat-laden cars and pickups hurrying south on I-5 to the best fishing lakes.
Opening day is a rite of spring. It’s passed down, generation to generation, and that’s important, particularly in today’s uncertain world. It’s a little something to hold on to.
Better than a quarter-million folks will attend Saturday’s piscatorial hoedown, the largest single sporting event in the state, floating happily in everything from a rubber duckie to a destroyer escort. There will be kids in boats, dogs in boats and, occasionally, trout in boats, but first, you gotta know the rules:
* An adult, resident, annual fishing license, valid April 1-March 31, costs $21.90. Seniors 70 and older, and 15-year-olds, can buy a license for $5.48, and youngsters 14 and younger do not need a license. All can be purchased online at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/, by phone at 1-866-246-9453; or at most tackle shops and many marine supply retailers.
* Visitors parking at state Fish and Wildlife Department fishing access sites are required to display a WDFW Use Permit on their vehicle. The permit comes with the fishing license package, and additional copies can be purchased for $5 each.
* Generally, only lakes open to fishing April 29; streams and rivers remain closed until later in the year. The usual limit is five trout per person, with no minimum size regulation.
* County sheriff’s departments may or may not be enforcing boating rules, depending on whether or not they have personnel available. Regardless, state law requires there to be a Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person on board, and that children 12 and younger must be wearing a jacket, if the boat is under 19 feet. The rules apply to rubber rafts and pontoon boats, but not to float tubes. Other regulations concerning fire extinguishers, boat registration, emergency sound devices and other factors may also apply; call 360-586-6592.
* Don’t have a boat and need a tip on where to find a lake with a fishing pier or good bank access? Just moved in from out of state and know absolutely zip about fishing in general? Look up a local tackle shop in the yellow pages and drive over and talk to the person behind the counter. They’re more than happy to talk to you, show you what you’ll need, and how to use it.
Prospects for April 29
The spring trout openers in 2003 and 2004 were very good ones. The weather was generally pleasant and a lot of happy anglers took home a lot of rainbow. Last year was down a notch, but still pretty good.
This year? Hard to say. The fish are certainly there, but it’s been cool the past two or three weeks, and low water temperatures mean hatchery trout don’t acclimatize as quickly and aren’t as active. A lot hinges on the weather this week – if it’s seasonably warm, then we’re in business.
But regardless of temperatures or weather conditions, trout will bite and someone will spill a cup of scalding coffee in his lap lunging for his rod on that first strike. That’s opening day, and here’s a thumbnail sketch of where the better action should be on Saturday morning:
No-brainers
The can’t-miss, blue ribbon waters here put out limits around, year after year, to almost anyone with even modest angling talent. The list includes lakes Erie, Heart and McMurray in Skagit County, and Lake Ki in Snohomish County.
Lake Ki beat out Skagit County’s hot lakes on last year’s opener, for the first time in a long time, with an average catch of 4.7 rainbow per person. Managed by WDFW biologists as the showpiece opening day lake in Snohomish County, Ki has again been slugged with 15,000 half-pound “superior” rainbow, going a foot or better in length, and it should repeat as the county’s best producer. Located in the Seven Lakes area between Smokey Point and Warm Beach, the lake has a small, tight, crowded access along the Lakewood/Warm Beach Road, with limited parking and very little bank fishing access.
Erie and Heart lakes, located between Anacortes and Deception Pass, will again produce limit catches for most anglers, as they’ve been doing for decades. Each will receive 10,000 “superior” rainbow, as they did the year before, and since they’re relatively shallow, should be ready to go Saturday morning. Heart was the better of the two last year, at 4.52 trout per rod, while Erie stumbled a little (but not much) at 3.39 fish per person. Heart has a large public access and room for a reasonably good number of bank anglers.
Lake McMurray is a favorite with many, including Jim Brauch of the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club who loves to fish for trout and who taught me the fly trolling technique described at the beginning of this piece. Located on Highway 9 between Arlington and Sedro-Woolley, the lake put out 3.8 trout per rod on the ‘03 opener, 3.4 on ‘04, and 3.6 per person last year. It will get a slightly larger plant this year of 18,000 prime, foot-long ‘bows (as opposed to 16,000 the past two years), and should again be a gangbusters operation. Expect big crowds here which, because of a smallish access and limited parking, present problems. Cooperate with other anglers, don’t park on the pavement, don’t block driveways or mailboxes. Many McMurray aficionados skip the opener and hit the lake in the following week or two. Fishing’s just as good and the pressure is way, way down.
Very good lakes
These are waters which are a little less consistent than the blue ribbon lakes, but which can often be just as good. It includes lakes Riley, Sixteen, Armstrong, Storm, Howard, Crabapple and Wagner.
Lake Riley, a small, marshy water east of Arlington, off the Jim Creek Road, has moved up the list with three very good openers in a row. The average catch was 3.5 per rod in 2004, and 3.4 last year, and the plant this year is the same – 3,000 superior rainbow – as the past three years. Very little bank fishing available here.
Sixteen is another small lake, east of Conway in Skagit County, which can be very good or not so good. The past two openers have averaged between 3 and 4 rainbow per person, and there’s no reason to think Saturday shouldn’t produce just as well. The plant of 6,000 superior rainbow is large for a lake this size, and the same as the past two years.
Armstrong and Howard are another pair of smallish lakes which can be up and down. They had good openers in 2003 and 2004, but were down a little last year – Armstrong at 2.8 trout per rod, which isn’t at all bad, but not up to its 4.07 average in ‘04. Plants in both lakes will be the same as the past two or three years – 3,500 in Howard, and 5,000 in Armstrong, all the foot-long superior rainbow.
Storm Lake, northeast of Snohomish in the Three Lakes area, had several relatively poor seasons in a row, but has come back – at least partially – the past year or so. It put out 2.8 rainbow per person on last year’s opener, and the plant of 2,000 superior rainbow and 7,500 smaller “catchables” is the same as last year. Narrow access ramp on the west shore.
Crabapple is a 36-acre lake just east of Lake Goodwin, where the plants have been jacked up the past couple of years from the usual 1,500 fish or so to 4,000 last year and this. The plant is all the smaller catchables and because the lake is deep and tends to stay colder, success rates can be up and down.
Wagner Lake lies off Woods Creek Road, northeast of Monroe, and its 20 acres hold bass and planted rainbow, and an access and ramp on the southeast corner. Planted with 3,000 catchables and a popular spot on the opener with those from the local area.
Others
Lake Bosworth, in the Granite Falls area, has been all over the map. Posting a pretty good 2.7 fish-per-rod average in 2004, it dropped back down to well under 2 fish per person last year. Got a nice plant of 8,500 catchables and 3,000 superiors this year.
Martha Lake in Alderwood Manor was excellent on the 2004 opener, at 3.0 trout per rod, but bummed out last year, at 0.8 fish. Lake Martha (Warm Beach) deserves more attention, offering a token plant of 1,000 catchables, but also 403 of the state’s 2-pound triploids and a nice population of holdovers and large brown trout. Managed now as a year-around water.
Want elbow room and larger fish? Two other year-rounders – Clear Lake and Lake Campbell, both in Skagit County – got the largest plants of 1- to 2-pound triploids in the area, except for Lake Roesiger. Both lakes received just under 1,100 of the fish.
Blackman’s, Flowing and Silver lakes have been heavily planted by both the state and local fishing clubs, with rainbow running from 8 inches to 10 pounds. Blackman’s and Flowing are particularly good bets for a chance at a real trophy hawg.
A great place for kids and families without boats is North Gissberg Pond, adjacent to the west side of I-5 at Smokey Point, north of Marysville. The lake is a year-rounder, but has been heavily stocked both by the state and by local fishing clubs, including an impressive number of lunkers in the 5- to 8-pound range. Easy fishing, lots of room to run, and toilet facilities. It’s a juveniles-only lake, for kids under 15 years.
Another top youth opportunity is Sunday morning, starting at 8 a.m., at Lake Tye, on Fryelands Blvd., on the west edge of Monroe. A local fishing club will run its annual kids’ free fish-in there, with loaner tackle and experts on hand to help. Triploids to 10 pounds, plus a bunch of smaller fish.
Local triploid lakes
Four additional lakes have been added to the WDFW’s list of triploid (sterile rainbow trout, called triploids because of their biological makeup) waters this year, making a total of 95 lakes around the state to receive the 1- to 2-pound rainbow. Local plants are as follows:
Snohomish County
* Blackman’s Lake, 290 fish, slightly under last year’s 296, already planted, in addition to large plants by local fishing clubs.
* Lake Cassidy, 965 fish, slightly under last year’s 986, split between April and May plants.
* Flowing Lake, 583 fish, under last year’s 596, all in April.
* South Gissberg Pond, 766 trips, all in April; Lake Martha (Warm Beach), 485 fish, under last year’s 493, all in April.
* Panther Lake, 291 trips, under last year’s 297, all in April.
* Lake Roesiger, 1,358 fish, about the same as last year, in April and May; Silver Lake (south Everett), 533 fish, slightly under last year, but in addition to a new triploid plant by a local fishing club of 400 fish or so.
* Tye Lake, on the west edge of Monroe, 272 triploids, a new program for the state on this lake, and in addition to plants by a local fishing club.
Skagit County
* Lake Campbell, 1,067 fish, about the same as last year, in April and May plants.
* Clear Lake, 1,062 fish, about the same as last year, all in April; and Pass Lake, 192 fish, same as last year, all in May.
Island County
* Lone Lake, 581 fish, about the same as last year, all in April.
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