What a magnificent day on ol' Green Lake!!! First off, it was a magnificent day in Seattle, judging by the numbers of kayaks, paddle boats, paddle boards, swimmers and other assorted sun-worshipers, secondly, the Father's Day triploids showed up in abundance.
Decided to hit Green Lake after friend Pete had scouted it out earlier in the week. He had picked up a 16" trip and a 18" hold over on Friday... I arrived at the northeast side of the lake a bit early (3:00 AM) as I wanted to try to pick up a Brown Bullhead or two... picked the worst case scenario, as the full moon overhead made it seem like daylight. Air temp upon arrival was 58 degrees, lake a dead calm. Had a couple of bites, nibbling my worms to just nubbins, but no hook-ups. Pete arrived at about 4:30, and we set a full-scale assault on Rainbows. Water temp at the shoreline (2') was 74 degrees, so the lake water is warm! We started out with Power Eggs and Power Bait. About 5:30 I had a good hit and reeled in a 12" beautiful, bright Rainbow (fl. orange PE)... things were very slow for the next several hours, and then Pete's rod doubled over and he was into a great fish... calling for the net, he landed a 16+" triploid about 10:00 (chartreuse PB)... 20 minutes later, he pulled in another (chartreuse PE)... he was on the "honey hole", and several other fishermen crowded in around him to get in on the action... 20 minutes later he pulled in yet another triploid... other fishermen crowded still closer... and at about 11:15 Pete landed his fourth triploid... other fishermen, 0. In the meantime, I landed another 12" 'Bow (chartreuse PE)... then, about 11:30 I caught my first trip with an assist from Pete (chartreuse PE).
My friend Pete is an amazing fisherman... with no fewer than 12 rods squeezed in around him in a 50' span, he caught 4 triploids and the other rods produced 0... you could see the consternation on the faces of the other fishermen... using mostly the same bait and same techniques, they were drawing blanks. Pete left the lake at noon, I stayed on in my spot, away from the "circus" that was Pete's "honey hole".
At 1:30 my rod doubled over and I was into my second trip... landed him (chartreuse PE) and then at 2:30 I landed the biggest of the day, 17", bright, beautiful silver bullet trip. Left the lake before 3:00 with my limit and a head full of awesome memories.
Saw upwards of two dozen other fishermen (and women) come and go during the time I was on the lake... saw 2 other trips landed, plus one stocker.
Just some observations for any who will fish in the near future... It seems to me that with the water so warm now, the fish are not really "on the bite" (when cleaning the fish, I discovered all their stomachs to by entirely empty). I think they hit more out of aggravation or instinct than hunger. I think that leaving your bait alone, in the water for a long period of time, is a key to getting results. I would leave my line in the water for 45 minutes or an hour, in the mean-time I would watch other fishermen check their bait 5 or 6 time in that span of time. Power Eggs seem to be more successful in that scenario, because the Power Bait dissolves much more quickly. I also use a garlic scent applied to the bait.
Green Lake is such a delight... it is almost unbelievable to think that we have such awesome fishery available in the midst of this great city! PTL!

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