Getting to Williams Lake at 5:00 in the morning, and it had emerged from a rainy night. Ahhh...we had done the fishing-in-the-rain drill before, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway. A slight SW breeze was blowing, and it was overcast as we did the sea-and-anchor drill, getting the boat coaxed into the 64-degree water of Williams Lake (oh yeah, we were the FIRST ONES ON THE LAKE--- at least, the first ones to launch our boat at the public boat launch. Take that, you sleep-ins.)
The BBs of BL had thunk (Dizzy Dean word) that the hatching of bugs had been disrupted due to the rain... So the Other Guy in the boat went for a mono filament line and used a red wedding ring lure. I opted for the leaded line rig (taa-daa!) using an Uncle Wes spinner--- copper/orange. #4 hook. Heap lots of bait on that bad boy.

(Note from Dave, of the BBs of BL: Williams Lake runs in a NE-to-SW direction, so I have taken that into account in the following narrative. Again: The Same To You.)

We went out from the boat launch and turned NE--- following the S shoreline, which is DEEP. Most of our fishing took place in the NE end of the lake, where it was deepest. The fish finder showed lots of fish at various depths, but their interest in our offerings was spotty, to say the least. I was able to coax one hearty silver (hi-ho silver!) with the Uncle Wes' lure, but that was it. I switched to mono filament and a chartreuse wedding ring, and caught another. I guess the silvers do not care WHAT depth they are at...they live a shotgun-pattern lifestyle in regards to their preference in depth.

There were bugs on the surface of the lake, but the surface was being roughed-up by the SW wind that increased as the skies became less cloudy. The most bugs were on the S shore, near the cliffs inhabited by small birds who build barnacle-like mud nests in the cliff sides. Note: Watch for them birdies in the sky--- 'cause they'll drop ***** in your eye...!
The cliffs also provided a shield from the wind on the S shoreline.

After about 3 hours of chasing our tails, telling jokes, ruminating about times past and our military service careers, as well as eating fisherman's food (you know, the 4 food groups; Beef jerky, Donuts, Snack Crackers, and Summer Sausage!) and showing but 5 fish between us as caught (WOW.)--- we headed SW towards that Icon-of-The-Lake; Tree 11. As usual, it had its fan clubs anchored just offshore of it--- I detected a lot of giggling and whoops of delight as the fans yanked fish after fish from the depths near that storied tree...show offs. We didn't catch anything there, but we WERE trolling... and we did dodge the fishing boats anchored there. Really. And The Same To You Guys 'n Gals.

ANYWAY...
We sailed back across the lake to our secret cove and limited-out. So in essence we made a HUGE, repetitive loop around the lake, using two deep-cycle batteries to do it. Electric motors are cool--- they run quiet, so you can hear the birds chirping in the cliffs surrounding the lake, as well as the irritating squeal of the buzzards flying over those same cliffs. And it is a GAS not to use gas! Thanks for the fishing op, WDFW.

Fishing Experience Notes:

BAIT THAT WORKED: Powerbait and maggot-inis
TYPES OF FISH WE CAUGHT: Silvers, Cutthroats, and Trout
LENGTH OF FISH WE CAUGHT: 11" to 13" (actual numbers, no fisherman's math here!)
WEIGHT OF FISH: Heavy? Still don't have weight scales...
TIME OF DAY: Morning
LOCATIONS ON THE LAKE: See lengthy report, above
CONDITION OF THE WATER: Whitecaps due to wind; some green "blobs" of algae near surface
LURES WE USED: Again, see lengthy report
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Windy. Cloudy initially, partly cloudy later on
DEPTH: From 10' to 50', wandered everywhere in between
BOAT SPEED: Going upwind--- 1 MPH. Going downwind--- high subsonic (or so it seemed)
NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON THE LAKE: The other BB of BL said "millions and millions" but I think he exaggerated a little.
I'd put my guess at: Thousands. (Actually, over 20 boats at our unofficial count; untold numbers fishing from shore and on docks)