Martha Lake 4/24 Report

[ceviche]

Tim (Ford Fenders), Erik (Lostcreeker), and I hit Martha Lake a little after 9:00 am. Water temp was probably in the high 40's. Cloudy weather with sporatic rain.

First fish was with Erik, who had a nice rainbow on that gave him some aerobatic shing-a-ling that tossed his hook. It was good to know the trout were biting. I lost a brown and a thick rainbow, both throwing hooks after putting up good fights. Tim went slow through the whole day, this being his first time there.

Though the whole day went slow for me, as well, I managed around four or five trout. My first one made my whole day. It was a 21" brown that I caught with an inverted #16 light wire scud hook, "waterwisp" style chironomid emerger that I tied up a few days earlier (see the "Chronomid Video" thread).

It was a good thing I brought my 4wt, rigged with a floating line, as my back up rod. When I saw some trout rising near an area I pegged as a nest for browns, I swapped out my 6wt and started working the 4wt. Two or three casts later, I saw the snout and the take. The words, "God Save The Queen," passed through my skull, forcing a delay in my strike. Fish on and my 8ft rod was doubled in half. I've never seen that big of a bend in that rod ever! It took a minute or so to subdue the fish, the rod and reel doing a fine job of absorbing the fight out of the brown. Laying the brown across my stripping apron, I was surprised to see the tail reach beyond the 20" mark.

This was the largest brown I've ever caught and tied my second largest trout, the largest fish for that rod and for me at that lake, and the largest trout I ever caught on a dry fly (Yeah, shut up! Technically the fly was an emerger pattern, but that's close enough for me:p). Needless to say, that one fish made my day.

I've always felt that this lake fishes as good as Pass or Lone. Plus, it's a lot shorter of a drive from my house than either. Yesterday was my vindication and reward for persistence.

Tight Lines!
--Dave E.

[skewy]

That is some serious high praise for Martha. Good to hear! :beer2:
Maybe I should save some gas one of these days and give it a try... Let me know if you guys want some company next time out. I live within 10 minutes of the lake.

[hedburner]

Damn nice report! That is a nice lake to fish. Caught browns last year there, not as big though, and lots of cutts.

[kingpuck]

umm... I hate to be "that guy" but if your talking about Martha Lake kind of down by 164th it's not open until the 28th opener. I wouldn't expect you to be fishing a closed lake so I have a feeling I'm just confused. If that is the case please accept my early sincere apologies.

[Ford_Fenders]

What I like about this lake - nice fish in there but they won't exactly swim up and jump into your net. Lots of work and even more patience is pretty much the recipe. Dave was nice enough to take us out so I spent most of the day watching and learning. And I learned lots.

Seeing Dave haul in that brown was itself worth the whole trip. All I know is guys don't just trip over fish like that, so it was great seeing it firsthand 'by the book.' He knew where to look, what to look for, what to use and, best of all, how to stay put and wait it out. Anyone who can get that far will likely get the hookset right (love how 'God Save The Queen' takes exactly as long as 'Don't F it up.' I'll have to try that one :clown:) I could tell the thing was huge even from a distance. Only thing bigger was the grin on Dave's face :thumb:

My effort to imitate this produced a single brown who had yet to see his 10-inch birthday. But by that point I was feeling pretty grateful, especially since that was my only non-accidental fish of the day.

Actually the most impressive thing I observed was Dave's ability to spend 10 hrs in a float tube and only take a pizz once. Either he got out the one time to empty his catheter, or "Ironman" has a new definition and I ain't worthy. :eek:

Dave - Thanks a million for showing me around yesterday. Had a blast, not to mention my learning curve on that lake will be a helluva lot shorter now.

Erik - Great meeting you as well. Sure our paths will cross again, either on the water or in the banking world.

-Tim L.

BTW - No, not the Martha by Mill Creek. Warm Beach NW of Marysville.

[Old Man]

These is more than one Martha lake in Washington. Some people don't like to advertize where they are fishing. I have fished that lake a few times myself, but with my luck I always came off emptyhanded. Dave likes that lake for the closness(this sounds like a new word) to Seattle.

Jim

[ceviche]

umm... I hate to be "that guy" but if your talking about Martha Lake kind of down by 164th it's not open until the 28th opener. I wouldn't expect you to be fishing a closed lake so I have a feeling I'm just confused. If that is the case please accept my early sincere apologies.

Like Jim pointed out, there are two "Marthas" in Snohomish County. One is seasonal, while the other is year-around. I've never fished the seasonal one, because I haven't had reason to.

I know my tendency to "advertise" the Martha I fish has seemed odd, but I've found that the good fish hide where bait and gear fishing people fear to tread. In other words, this lake truly favors fly anglers. Like, would a bait or gear chucker have caught that 21" brown sipping chironomids? You know the answer.

Since fly anglers C&R more often than not, their impact on this Put & Take fishery is negligable. Plus, angling pressure on this lake is way less than many others--especially in this region known as the "Seven Lakes" area. There are six other lakes that draw the attention of the majority of fishers, so this one tends to get ignored. No beach access, except for the boat launch, probably keeps a lot of people away, too. People look, people keep going.

I also have to echo Tim. That lake has a learning curve to it. Mine has been more years than I'd like to admit. Still, I put in my time, and Martha Lake has been my textbook and reference book for stillwater fly angling. It has practically every feature that a good trout lake should have (Talk about chironomid hatches!)--except for the houses that line 3/4 to 4/5 of the shoreline. Of the remaining, undisturbed shore, there is a lot of habitat that is productive for trout. But you have to learn where to fish: There are few give-aways. However, if you are keen on what you should be looking for--that is, you know what to look for--you will find your trout. Anyone who has fished Pass and Lone Lake, and did well there, should do well at Martha, as it shares many of the predominant liminal features of the other two.

I do have to confess one strange thing about my angling there. For some strange reason, I can barely catch a rainbow there anymore. When I first started fishing there, I used to catch rainbows all the time. These days, my catch is predominately browns. I know there has to be lots of rainbows (and big ones), as well as the secretive cutthroat (big ones, too!), but I'm at a loss to figure out why I tend to catch only browns. I know I shouldn't be complaining, but, when the current rainbows there are such aerialists, I think I'd like to catch more of them. bawling: Oh well.

Skewy:
If you live w/in 10 minutes of Martha, you should just go. Remember: We are talking of the one near Warm Beach. Download a map from WashingtonLakes.com, etc, and use it as a template for notes. Be sure to give yourself a whole day to explore all of the lake. There's so much habitat to parse there, it's not funny. If you don't, it will take longer to piece together the larger puzzle. Hint: Three different trout populations, three different behavior patterns through the seasons. Nonetheless, I'll keep you in mind the next time I go fish there. Still, you shouldn't wait on me. You'd be better off minding the weather: Low evening temperatures and good cloud cover are your friends.

The weather and temperatures have been good for keeping the trout shallow, so you might not want to wait too long. Tons of chironomids hatching, too. Bring lots of different flies, try them all (learn to match them to where you cast them), bring reel spools (or rods) loaded with floating and Intermediate lines, and keep your thinking cap on and eyes wide open. You might figure out something I missed on my last time out.

Last thought: I don't own the lake. I just know it really well. So give it your best shot. And I'm not going to reveal where I caught that 21 incher. :p:p:p

Tight Lines, Everyone!
--Dave E.

[Richard Olmstead]

Dave -
Nice report. I recall you telling me about Martha a couple years ago when you were laid up. We never got out to fish together then; maybe some day.
Cheers,
Dick

[ceviche]

Dave -
Nice report. I recall you telling me about Martha a couple years ago when you were laid up. We never got out to fish together then; maybe some day.
Cheers,
Dick

I'll keep you in mind for the next time I go. Maybe a week or two from now? I'm planning on a R'snake Lake trip first, but I can see a Monday outing on Martha when the weather permits. Can you do Mondays or Tuesdays? I want to see my friend, Brad, score a mega-brown on a dry fly soon (Those are his days off). It's like doing drugs when it happens. Good drugs. Veeerrry goooood drugs. :thumb:

Let's keep in touch. You seem like the type of angler who knows what he's doing. Knowledge exchange keeps the process moving forward. We'll have fun opening the book.

--Dave E.

[skyrise]

like the report. by the way do any of you guys fish Howard lake, since it is close to Martha. i kinda gave up on Howard, the last few times out fishing was very slow. but i have noticed a nice hatch of Calibetas coming off on warmer days there. would like to see the fish and games guys put some browns in there, or something.

[pilchuck steelie]

I think there may already be a few Browns in Howard, as I thought I saw a fellow with a couple at the launch a few years ago.

[theworm]

Thanks for your report. I probably would not have went to Martha had I not felt a little inspiration from your report! I fished Martha a couple of times last year and got whooped. After your report, I decided to give myself another dose of humility. I would have been content with just one fish at Martha because this lake has never been kind to me. I knew I wouldn't catch many, (if any) but I was more after quality than quantity after "smelt jigging" with a fly at Lake Ki this weekend.

I kicked out in front of the houses and I instantly hooked into a 12 inch cutty. I would have been happy, however I ended up landing one other fish after making my way farther down the shoreline. After a couple of runs, I saw the fins on the surface I thought I had plucked one of those big browns. After a decent battle, and the net came out I was left in disbelief. A 21 inch cutt. Other than Lahotans from the eastside, this is the biggest cutthroat I have ever seen.



On another note............. Howard had nice size fish in it last year when I fished it a couple of times. If they stocked it with the same size fish as they did last year it is definitely worth making a venture there. I will fish it this weekend and let you know how I do.

[ceviche]

Thanks for your report. I probably would not have went to Martha had I not felt a little inspiration from your report! I fished Martha a couple of times last year and got whooped. After your report, I decided to give myself another dose of humility. I would have been content with just one fish at Martha because this lake has never been kind to me. I knew I wouldn't catch many, (if any) but I was more after quality than quantity after "smelt jigging" with a fly at Lake Ki this weekend.

I kicked out in front of the houses and I instantly hooked into a 12 inch cutty. I would have been happy, however I ended up landing one other fish after making my way farther down the shoreline. After a couple of runs, I saw the fins on the surface I thought I had plucked one of those big browns. After a decent battle, and the net came out I was left in disbelief. A 21 inch cutt. Other than Lahotans from the eastside, this is the biggest cutthroat I have ever seen.



On another note............. Howard had nice size fish in it last year when I fished it a couple of times. If they stocked it with the same size fish as they did last year it is definitely worth making a venture there. I will fish it this weekend and let you know how I do.


ptyd Good on you! You found one of the monster cutties! So freakin' sweet! I've run into them before, but not quite of that size. Those trout are normally so hard to find. I'm glad you were blessed. Now I have to figure out the gap in my game to dial them in. I'm so freakin' excited!

Now. Your next mission is to score a trifecta of cutty, brown, and 'bow in one day. It's do-able, but often not that easy. One hazard in that, though: If I got all fish in over 16", I'm afraid I'd get jaded and spoil fishing for myself for a while. :( Meh. Knowing me, my luck and misfortune wouldn't let that happen.

Happy fishing and big congrats, Worm!

--Dave E.

[Eric Tarcha]

Hit Martha this evening from about 4-8:30. First time there. I saw a ton of great looking structure that I was sure would be holding browns, and I threw every streamer in the box into those spots to no avail. Not sure if I was getting deep enough, I was fishing with a full sinking line though. I saw a ton of chironomids coming off and maybe should have switched over to those. I was really surprised that at dusk there were no risers. It was a beautifully calm evening and the lake was like glass, with midges coming off all of the place, but no surface activity. I am excited to go back to fish there more, I need to figure out all that downed timber areas.

[theworm]

I went to work Saturday morning with intention of getting some work done but I forgot my electronic key to the office. It was a sign to go fishing instead. I headed down to Martha. It rained very hard for over 4 hours while I was on the lake. I tossed streamers and the usual stuff. I was able to come up with 3 cutties in the range of 11 to 13 inches. Lots of bumps but not many connections. I ended up at Ki Sunday for a quick fix and it still has lots of planters left to sore mouth.

[hedburner]

I was out there on saturday in the afternoon. Tossed some nymphs around the shoreline, had one good hit, missed it but it left a bathtub size swirl where my fly was. Watched some guy down below me get dragged around in his float tube by a fish. Rowed down his way to ask what he had on, said it was a brown around 20-22 inches. Impressive, I like fish that can drag you around. Anyway he was tossing streamers towards shore. I then dug out something that was pretty much the same thing he had and went back up the lake. Had something pick it up, kinda felt like a bass sucking it up or a little trout tapping the tail. Missed that fish twice. Fished that fly some more, later I saw a riser, switched back to a nmyph and had a couple of strikes and one near fish on, they didn't feel big. Probably were some 6-7 inch cutts. Not much rising only saw four. Got chilly late when I called it quits around 8:00.
I'll try it again this saturday, but I'm going to bring another rod rigged up with a sinktip and some crawdad flies and streamers.

[hedburner]

Went back yesterday after work. Lots of little plants, small around 7-9 inches whacking anything near the surface. Forgot my dry fly box again. Fished some brown and cutty looking areas, had nice hit with a soft hackle. A little later while casting the same fly to some fish working the shore got a nice rainbow holdover just shy of 19 inches. Didn't look like a recently planted trip, had too square of an tail. Lots of fish started rising all over, then the wind came up got chilly and the risers just quit. No cutts or browns.

[Cory Gunn]

I should go there, it's like 10 minutes away from my house.
7-9 inches pretty good. thanks

[Rory McMahon]

Cory, wrong Martha Lake, this ones near Stanwood