Rick Ostrander
Is anyone headed out to a local lake Friday May 10. Let me know and I will meet you there.
Rick scribe1983@icloud.com or 425-445-2784
Category: Lakes
Winthrop Fishing Is HOT
Joe Coakley
I just returned from a 4 day fishing trip to Winthrop. I was camped at Big Twin Resort which just opened up a week ago. It was almost empty! The wind and rain made conditions challenging but the BIG SURPRISE was the quality of the fishing. We all caught multiple fish at 18″ and a few at 20″. Nothing smaller than 13″. The one common trait was the girth on these fish and the quality of the fight! Fishing my Steve Fosie/Kyler Ries 4 wt. bamboo rod was a blast. We had another boat in our group that fished the same area of Big Twin for 3 days and never moved more than 100 feet, landing well into double digits for fish landed on chronomids. I spent most of my time trolling and had great success with an Olive Hale Bopp or an olive Six pack fly (both available at Avid Angler in Lake Forest Park or Pacific Fly Fishing in Mill Creek). What I learned at Big Twin is they did an extra plant last year and that winter kill was minimal, allowing these fish to grow! Grow they did! Other intel: I did not get to fish Buzzard Lake but heard the fish were even bigger than Big Twin. Fish at Davis Lake were smaller and wind was also a challenge. I did not fish any other lakes other than Big Twin as it was the best fishing I have ever experienced there in probably a dozen trips over the past 15 years.
One other suggestion: if the wind is nasty chronomid fishing offers a nice respite. Size 18 Green chronomid or black with red wire and wings also worked in size 16 and smaller.
Rattlesnake
Ron Olsen
The ‘snake is worth fishing if you need a place to go. Recently stocked so there are 3,500 hungry 2.3 to the pounder’s out there. Water level is up to about 90%, easy launch after the over the rocks carry of mid winter.
Try an olive Hale Bopp on a long leader with intermediate to type six sinker, or vertical fish in 45 FOW anchored up and slow, inch by inch strip up from the bottom using blood worm, chironomid, red micro leech, or blob. Most fish seem to hit from 30 to 35’.
Recently got two @ 15″ plus a nice (?) 17″ sucker.
Ron
Chain fishing warming up
Ron Olsen
Hi all. Been to Chain three times this year and it has not disappointed. Enough to the boat each day up to 18″ on blood worms and chironomids. Water temp right at 40, and fish have tended to be near the bottom, at least that is where the eaters have been. Try blood worms, chromy and silver over black sno-cones and sometimes up it a bit with more realistic flies with orange wing cases, all in#14 to #18. Usual spots, anchor up, but move around with electronics if available and look for fish and bug activity first, best fishing seems to be from noon to 3 and varies a bit by day. See you on the water; GO GET UM!
CA fishing license required for private lakes?
Tom Dillon
Have planned trip to Batstone Lake near Corbett; also a private lake with paid access; question for my group is do we need CA fishing licenses to fish on a private lake? Presume the answer would be the same for Corbett as it is private.
Rattlesnake report 7-23-21
Ron Olsen
Beautiful day at the ‘snake today. I was second one on the lake this morning at 8:45 and motored my way out to 50′ of water watching the fish finder. There is no shortage of fish…. maybe too many as they are not growing much. Best fly continues to be the micro red leech, Brian Chan style tie fished vertically. Fish were hooked between 45 and 15 feet, majority at 25 to 30’. One at 14″ the rest 10″ to 13″. One sucker, of course the largest fish of the day!!! No other fly anglers, only the one troller . Osprey had a good day, and by the time it got warm and I left, parking lot was full and the inflatable crowd was large. Great well used park.
Tight lines, Ron
Leech Lake
Ron Olsen
Had a fun day at Leech with Joe Coakley and Kyler Ries on Friday July 9th. Leech was its usual self. The chosen few regulars were doing well, and it was very site specific. Along the north shore tight to the logs, the far end chironomid hole, and south east shore. The ‘bows were schooled up, or hiding under logs. Very little surface activity but damsels everywhere. No nymphs however. I got a few under the indicator on a #16 brown mid, and red micro leech. But most came on the Rickards callibaetis #14 gray. Classic 15″ strip and pause. Cast next to logs, to the edge of the reeds, and over the darker, deeper part of the lake when the breeze created a covering ripple. Time of day didn’t matter. Clear, calm, warm. That kept the ‘betis in check. A dozen fish, five bows, all right around 19″, brookies 6 to 13″.
Tight lines, Ron
Looking for Bass in all the Wrong Places! Need Help!
Joe Coakley
I visited Blackman’s Lake on Monday and was searching for bass. I am totally new to bass fishing and am inspired by the huge fish I see fellow club member Francis Huynh and his brothers catch at random. The water temperature was in the high 70’s and felt like bathwater. All of the fish on my Garmin 4 Fish Finder were stacked at the opposite side of the lake to the left side (facing the water from the launch). I got one tug and that was it. I even switched to trout gear on my second rod and the Olive Willy got the tug. BTW: the 2020 article written in Windknots is my new guide for searching new bass waters. (Great job to our great editor Dick Lange! ) I worked the docks to the left side of the launch then the lily pads, only busting off one fly. Question for any bass gurus’ out there: when do you decide to use a popper vs. a surface fly and how do you select the fly you decide to fish? I have scoured the wonderful book written by past OFFC Guest Speaker David Paul Williams and the patterns appear to be endless in choices. Any help would be much appreciated as I have no idea how many of you Bass Masters may be hiding in the lilies.
Rattlesnake deep water class
Ron Olsen
On Tuesday June 8 six of us met at Rattlesnake to explore the concept of vertical/dabbling for trout. We had a fine day with light winds, just a brief rain shower, and lots of fish in the lake. This is something I have been trying out for several years, and while I do see some of the ‘snake regulars really knock them out, I do get my share and attempted to share that knowledge with David, Bob, Bruce, Kevin and Terry.
We met about 8:30 and were on the water and searching for fish. Found them with Garmin Striker 4 CV in 46′ and anchored up. Used a Type 7, measured depth using forceps, and then cast and let line go vertical, so flies just off the bottom. I used my usual initial Rattlesnake searching patterns, a blood worm below a grey boy snow cone, both #14. Let them sit on the bottom, then inched them up very slowly. After about a half hour of nada, someone turned the switch on it was basically nonstop action for two plus hours. Game on! I never really had to switch patterns which is unusual. Keep working those flies up, as some takes were at 10’. Others watched, and followed technique and got into fish with balanced leeches (red, white and black), blobs, and a few other flies. The anchoring and keeping the fly stationary with very slow upward movement was key to takes, which were often VERY subtle, and sometimes rather violent; the tug is the drug…. I would guess I had at least 40 to 50+ takes and managed to set on enough to keep it interesting. Trout ran up to 16″ most 10 to 11″, and one sucker at 17″. Answered questions as they came in and encouraged all to keep at it as it is a learning curve. Sometimes that paint just doesn’t seem to dry….
Some eventually switched to trolling which also produced fish. And one other small highlight, a pair of eagles stole a trout from an osprey, fun to watch the aerial battle.
Tight lines, Ron
Lone Lake May 20
Paul. St. Pierre
I fished Lone lake on Thursday. It started out slow. Around mid-morning the bite started to pickup using chironomids under an indicator. A lot of take downs and missed fish. I did landed a half dozen fish or so with a mixture of recent plants and holdovers. The best fly for me was a blood worm tied with red beads. The best fish (pictured) was a fat 17 inches. Unfortunately I lost that fly to a break off around noon. I had a similar fly but much bigger. It worked but not as well.
There was one guy there I didn’t know who was just slaying them. He was fishing two rods. (I haven’t figured out how to mange two rod with indicators. I’m always holding the wrong rod ). He had at least four doubles. He also pulled in a lot of foul hooked hooked fish which he announced to his buddies. Judging by the comments to his buddies, he was using a size 14 black chironomid with a dark bead and a red thread head.
