As I get set to tie up some last minute flies for Saturday I'm wondering where everyone is going for opening day? Dad, brother, and myself will be making the 10th annual pilgrimage to Lake McMurray in the new Boston Whaler to try and avenge last years terrible skunking. I'm determined this is my year to get my limit on the fly rod. Never landed one on the rod and with as much money as I've spent (ugh) its high time.
Have fun! I might hit a year-round lake today and try to beat the horde. Otherwise, I'll try to slip in somewhere tomorrow mid-afternoon after it warms up a bit. Dang, I have to juggle some work into the equation somewhere along the line. I'll probably just slack off and drag a leech or bugger from my low-profile canoe while drifting sideways in the wind, if I go today. I might not be able to get away with that tomorrow due to the too many boats on the lake I have in mind, which really gets zooed out on the opener. The lawn can wait!
I never hit the general opener. There are waters open all year plus, there are the early openers. No reason to battle the crowds and I hate to see all the trash. I'll miss the opener every year. MB
I'm taking my kids to Bosworth to fish with 1000 of our closest friends. A friend of mine lives on the lake so we have a place to retreat to for hot dogs and whiskey. WDFW dumped a load of fish in there.
Next Wednesday is looking to shape up with some warmer weather. I just declared it a fly fisher's holiday. You all can tell your bosses i said its OK for you to cut out of work and go fishing! The world might end on Thursday, anyway (ya never know), so what the heck!!!
I kind of have the same mind set as Scott. Opening Day used to be a special event, but it's just not there anymore. I HATE CROWDS!
Yeh, so do I, so I'll probly just work tomorrow and try to slide over to the lake Sunday evening if I have any energy left after surfing! Ditched the fishing today for surfing this afternoon and a few chores around the house. All this dancing around the crowds just makes scheduling stuff more interesting!
I'll be there as well, but only because I have private access. I would never even visit the idea of fighting with that cluster f**k at the boat launch. Fishing should be a no brainer tho. Just trolling a fly around can produce a lot of fish on the opener. Keep in mind these fish are still very surface oriented, but once the flotilla shows up they move down, so it pays to be a feet below the surface. Just about any fly will work. Good luck.
I'll will be visiting at least one lake early and likely will visit a couple. No fishing for me. I will be packing a camera and documenting some of the experiences of others. This year I will take a different approach then previous years and I will focus on families/kids having fun. In the past I looked for humor in confrontation which is not hard to find at the launches or even on the water if the lake is crowded. Sixteen has been a favorite.
Heck yes I am going! I gave opening day up for a long time, but once I had kids old enough to go fishing I brought the tradition back. It will be crowded for sure, but all you have to do is focus on the faces of the little kids and big kids out having a good time, and you will have fun. I have learned to savor the experience for what it is, not what I think it should be. Tonight we have to go to the store to buy all the snacks and provisions. That might be the most important part of opening day, and then tomorrow the kid's grandpa will show up at 0615 and we will be out waiting in line to launch. The launch can be a little zany, some people aren't used to that kind of thing. Again, just play it cool and remember what the point of the whole thing is, maybe even lend a hand, and the launch won't take so long. For flies, I like seal buggers, or really skinny wooly buggers. Gold bead head is good.
This is a great suggestion. I have backed people's rigs up for them when I have seen they did not know how to do it. Much more rewarding than sitting in your truck cussing them out because they don't know what to do and as you say it gets you in or out of the water sooner than bitching does.
Rocket Red: In spite of what I said about the opener, taking the young ones out is what it is all about. Get them hooked early! Thanks for smacking me long side the head. Nice pics. MB
Not if you look at the regs for Western Washington. It's always been the last Saturday in April, which just so happens to be tomorrow. Maybe March 1st is for Eastern WA.
One of my favorite parts of opening day is helping out at the boat launch. While I'm not about to drive someone's rig its nice to help push people out and do what I can to try and help however I'm able. Those little kids squeals are the high point. Cracks us up every year. That little 2 year old catching their fish is more fun than catching one myself. Don't really care for the crowds but dad does the hard stuff of driving. We've been going 10 years now and its just that one day out of the year where father and son just go play. Highlight of the year.
March 1 is a early opener for alot of lakes in the Basin and other spots. Western wa has way to many lales that are open year round , but get stocked in late march april etc then are cleaned out by may.
I think I'll head to Erie up by Anacortes but only because my mother in law lives close by and when my 4 year old is done catching fish for the first time on his very own fly rod (not to be confused with catching fish for the first time) I can drop him off and head back to the lake to do some independent fishing. Otherwise I imagine I would hit Ki or Howard in Snohomish. Ira..
I quit doing openning day the year Leonards tavern on lake goodwin closed, nothing was more fun that to drag the boat out to Leonards tavern at midnight have a beer the go the boat launch at lake ki and fish til 3 or 4 in the morning and leave before the crowd arrived and the hit the fishermans breakfast at the luthern church on the way home!! Those were the days , Leonards is long gone , And nobody has a fishermans breakfast for a fund raiser anymore. It's a damm shame !!!
I stand corrected on the opener date. Didn't think about the fact not everything is on the same time frame. Sorry about that.
