grubowski
4/10/2018 12:02:05 PMI fished it Friday, and it was the same story. I was in my float tube and dragged a leech around on a sinking line for several hours with a couple of bumps but no hookups. I also tried a drop shot, jig, swimbait, and jerkbait for bass with nothing. Marked a lot of fish out in the deeper 20+ foot range, but they wouldn't bite. I really wanted to fish those pilings, but float tubes are pretty slow moving and motor boats kept running over there before I could reach them. I talked to one guy who really knows his stuff and he had caught 7, though nothing big. He pumped the stomachs on a couple and found they were chock full of midges (which were everywhere, the surface was covered in their shucks). That could be part of it too, they're just full. Anyway, everyone else I talked to said it was dead too. One guy said this was the slowest trip there of the past 25 or so trips there and they usually knock them dead. Weather was pretty intense over the weekend. I live in the same general area and we got a good 3"+ of rain over the weekend. The rivers are raging and muddy torrents too.
I tried to go to Lost Lake yesterday and found it absolutely packed. There was a wall of lawn chairs across the whole launch area. I just turned around and left. I tried Isabella for a bit. Water was pretty murky, not sure if it's always like that or if it was from all the rain. Tried dragging a fly for cutthroat (or even pike minnow, I'll take any fish at this point), but nothing. I also fished for bass up in all the emerging pads and flooded brush, but nothing. I really like the look of this lake though. Great bass habitat and not so many houses on the lake. One cool thing I did see were a bunch of salmon fry swimming around at the boat launch. Hopefully some can survive and make their way down to the sound.
Drove by Nahwatzel on the way home and it was a zoo. Kept driving. I will say that's one thing that I don't like about lakes in Washington. They're all built up with homes, which is bad enough, but then the only access point is the boat ramp. It gets very crowded and awkward at times. One thing I always liked about fishing from a float tube is if I could find a pull off, I could launch just about anywhere. But here the whole shoreline tends to be private.
I tried to go to Lost Lake yesterday and found it absolutely packed. There was a wall of lawn chairs across the whole launch area. I just turned around and left. I tried Isabella for a bit. Water was pretty murky, not sure if it's always like that or if it was from all the rain. Tried dragging a fly for cutthroat (or even pike minnow, I'll take any fish at this point), but nothing. I also fished for bass up in all the emerging pads and flooded brush, but nothing. I really like the look of this lake though. Great bass habitat and not so many houses on the lake. One cool thing I did see were a bunch of salmon fry swimming around at the boat launch. Hopefully some can survive and make their way down to the sound.
Drove by Nahwatzel on the way home and it was a zoo. Kept driving. I will say that's one thing that I don't like about lakes in Washington. They're all built up with homes, which is bad enough, but then the only access point is the boat ramp. It gets very crowded and awkward at times. One thing I always liked about fishing from a float tube is if I could find a pull off, I could launch just about anywhere. But here the whole shoreline tends to be private.
cubmaster
4/10/2018 12:13:10 PMJust curious, was this lake officially stocked in March??
Thanks
Thanks
tmanh2o
4/11/2018 9:15:02 AMCubmaster...yes lake was actually stocked on March 24th by Satsop Ponds Hatchery. They plant mostly mason and pacific county. usually bigger fish too. By the way Cubmaster I was Committee Chair for pack 4539 for a few years. "Do your best"
tmanh2o
4/11/2018 9:19:30 AMCubmaster...yes lake was actually stocked on March 24th by Satsop Ponds Hatchery. They plant mostly mason and pacific county. usually bigger fish too. By the way Cubmaster I was Committee Chair for pack 4539 for a few years. "Do your best"
The Quadfather
4/10/2018 12:27:23 PMCub master, yes, a friend of mine was a volunteer in the stocking.
bob johansen
4/10/2018 4:04:04 PMGrubowski - There are many good bass lakes in Washington that have no or very few shoreline homes. I have fished about 300 lakes in this state from a canoe and several don't have any official launch ramp.
grubowski
4/10/2018 5:23:29 PMI'm excited to find those. Stump has me intrigued, but it looks like I'll have to pay for access. I'm certainly willing to do that though if it means a quiet place to fish from my tube. There are a few ponds around Elma where I live that I want to explore too. I would love to hear about more of these if you don't mind sharing :)
Oh, I forgot to mention in my other post, I think those loon/elk sounds were a bald eagle. There are several in the area, and there is one that seems to consider that far shore its territory. It was quite vocal when I was there and it sounded like an odd loon to me too.
Oh, I forgot to mention in my other post, I think those loon/elk sounds were a bald eagle. There are several in the area, and there is one that seems to consider that far shore its territory. It was quite vocal when I was there and it sounded like an odd loon to me too.
bob johansen
4/10/2018 6:57:46 PMI have fished Stump Lake from my canoe and found plenty of nice bass. It was a while back but there was no fee to launch at the rough site. Check out my overview and 4 photos of this lake on this site. In Mason County I also like Benson, Devereaux, and Trails End Lakes. They have shoreline homes but no outboards and plenty of nice bass.
grubowski
4/10/2018 8:13:16 PMIt looks like Green Diamond has started charging for access to all that land in Mason. I think I’ll do it though since it’s quiet and close to home. They also have access to some of the creeks too.
No outboards is a good thing for sure. I will definitely check out those lakes. Thanks for the info ??
No outboards is a good thing for sure. I will definitely check out those lakes. Thanks for the info ??
grubowski
4/11/2018 1:16:16 AMWeird, those question marks were supposed to be a smiley face. I really am grateful for the info.
tmanh2o
4/11/2018 9:18:33 AMBob you have put many miles and fish in that Canoe I bet ! Have you or Grubowski tried Kokane by Cushman yet ?
bob johansen
4/11/2018 6:18:15 PMT-Man - No I haven't targeted kokanee at Cushman but I find the hot spot for largemouth bass. Cushman is a large lake and I fished it mostly from my Bass Tracker. Kokanee are a great game fish and I have caught many - but mostly by accident.