Washington Fly Fishing Forum banner

Opening Day

8K views 70 replies 35 participants last post by  BDD 
#1 ·
Opening day is comin' up. Just wondering where everyone is headed? I will be fishing a lake that rhymes with "Battlerake". Be there Sun./Mon.

Good Luck :thumb:
Tony
 
#35 ·
Went to Cottage Lake with my 7 y.o. daughter to fish off the dock. Tough and probably dangerous to bring 2 people (even when one is little) out on a pontoon boat, so I resigned myself to fishing with the baitchucking masses.ptyd We had fun with bobbers and worms and snacks and LOTS of questions. At the end of the day, fishing was pretty slow for most everyone we saw, but my little girl caught her first rainbow trout. It was a success.:D
 
#36 ·
Went late to a lake I like, launching at about 5:30pm, and made it through all the boats and hatchery stockers to the far end of the lake, where its shallow and a feeder creek comes in, and my first fish was an 11" wild Coastal Cutthroat!

Doesn't start out much better than that! Watched another angler battling a big triploid, and it was a great jumper...got some hoots from the other nearby boats.

No big ones to hand. Biggest was a nearly 14" skinny looking hatchery bow...looked more like a bright steelhead smolt than a triploid. I bonked her for din-din, the only one I took home. She had small but healthy looking egg skeins starting to develop, and the only fin clipped was the adipose.
 
#37 ·
We had prior commitments yesterday, so our opening day was this morning on lake wilderness. Overall it was a success with my little girl bringing in a few fish, and I even got to witness some poor guy rolling his boat in the middle of the lake a little after 6am. GOOD MORNING!! :rofl::rofl:

didn't have a chance to break the fly rod out, though I saw a few people out trolling around.
 
#38 ·
Hit a N.E. area C&R lake that was great.Only 3 other people there.Its flyfishing only, we were in 'tubes and I lost count around 20-something.Caught fish all day on a type 3 sink with leaches and all the norm.Tied on a dragon nymph and caugth 3 in a row.:thumb:
 
#39 ·
Went out to Padden and just fished the boat launch (where they probably dumped all the fish in) and 3 out of the 4 on my boat limited out within 1 hour. All 12-15 inchers. I limited out on the fly rod with a wooly bugger within 10-15 minutes. I started C&R'ing on my 4th. My buddy who thinks fly fishing is a waste of time, only caught 1 the whole time. I have outfished him 100% for two months now in a heads up spin casting vs fly fishing contest, yet he still is not a believer. Oh well. =)

Anyway, brought those trout home and smoked 'em up. Yum!
 
#40 ·
Went fishing with my Dad and oldest Daughter Ella. It was her first time getting up early and going with me. It was awesome having her along, she just turned 5 and she made it 4 hours which surprised both me and my Dad. She was bummed when we let the first big triploid go and vowed from that point on to reel in all the big fish and decide their fate for them. Luckily for the fish she only landed one more big one. We got lots of the little ones, but it was way slower than it should be. Probably due to the cold weather I bet it will fish better as it gets warmer.

I think we were in the same place Jim Wallace went (BTW Jim I sent you a PM last week).

Here's some pics.

Reelin' one in.



"We are keeping this one"

 
#41 ·
Missed the opening day event - but hit lake tye with 4 kids sunday evening.

Apparently fishing was SLOW from what everying one kept telling us. Luckily, I have some bait fishing mojo left from the old days and got each kid into a fish. Soon guys were casting their bait within inches of where I was fishing, so it was time to move on. The kids had their fill. :thumb:

A stringer of fish for dinner ranging from 8 inches to 5+ lbs:

Bad camera phone pic, but the big one landed by my boys buddy was THICK:



Check out the orange slash on this one:
 
#42 ·
Damn ChadK you found some big planters.

I went to Padden and was catching fish on every cast and getting the hairy eyeball from everyone else.

I kept telling them, slip sinkers with corn flavored power bait, three foot leader.

They kept catching perch with worms because worms lay on the bottom.

I said to many people asking about my rig, Power Bait floats!! How can you fish that with a bobber?

More hairy eyeballs.

I finally showed an old Russian guy what was up by sticking my setup in his face and explained that the Power Bait floats between 2 and 3 feet off the bottom. I explained that the slip sinker meant you could feel the subtle bites. His eyes lit up like he had an epiphany.

Anyway, it was super damn easy with the old slip sinker w/swivel and a small hook with a ball of corn flavored Power Bait on a 3 foot tippet.

Amazing how people JUST DON'T GET IT. They even ask me angrily and I explain how my setup is different but they still DON'T GET IT.

They still use tons of split shot, 20 pound test, worms, bobber, the non-corn flavored Power Bait, catch the same snag on every cast....

OMG, I watched a guy cuss and cuss hooking the same snag on every cast......does he think the tree moved? WTF!?!?

I was thinking OMG these dirty *uckers are going to beat the shit out of me if I keep catching them like this.

Some guy said Power Bait was cheap and I explained I was matching the hatch. In the case of opening day planters corn REALLY is matching the hatch right?

Typical of opening day at Padden, just what I expected, a zoo/carnival, guys cussing at each other, fist fights......100% Americana......*UCKING BEAUTIFUL!
 
#43 ·
Rocket Red, Yes that scenery looks familiar! Great shots...that one of your daughter squinting at her rod like seasoned pro is one of the best "kids fishing" shots i've seen. (Ha Ha, I'll bet she IS a seasoned pro already!)

The kid I usually take with me on opening day went surfing...offshore winds all morning and a clean little swell sounded better to him than opening day crowds.

Don't recall the pm. I'd better check. My regular e-mail has changed from dial-up at Techline to hi-spd cable at Comcast.

Strong SW winds and rain showers...hmmm might have to go torture myself some more! If not today, then tomorrow for sure!:thumb:
 
#45 ·
I don't know how many I caught but I killed 3. I was tossing them back if they hadn't fully swallowed the hook and bait.

There were plenty of kids around to be sure but there were just as many grimy people without kids trying to get a "home-pack".

Yeah Padden can have some rough people for sure, if you want solice and no cussing Silver Lake is probable a better bet with more space and more scenery.

Padden has LOTS of Russian speakers that are plenty drunk which usually makes for a good show.

More people around here must have experience with the craziness! Post it up!
 
#47 ·
Oh brother.

The other stockers fell off.....

I was holding out for one of the big triploids you caught. No luck though.
 
#50 ·
Spent the opener at a couple lakes in E Wa. Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, and lots of people. Counted 28 boats, toons, tubes etc. on one lake both Sat and Sunday. Every pullout/campsite had at least a couple trailers parked. All the lakes had small villages of campers, trailers etc. with people camping and fishing.

At the lakes I fished most people were trolling and catching the 12-14" stockers. The big ones were deep. Caught more than 20 each day ranging from 12 to 20 inches. All caught on chironomids in 20 feet of water. Most fish were stuffed with #16-#18 chironomids. Water warmed over the weekend from 47 on Saturday to 49 by Sunday afternoon. Both days had good wind gusts all afternoon.

Fished a small brook trout lake on Saturday evening. Nothing bigger than 12", but they fought harder than some of the larger rainbows caught earlier in the day.
 
#51 ·
I think he's referring to this rule... "When fishing with bait, all TROUT (except STEELHEAD) equal to or greater than the minimum size are counted as part of the daily limit whether kept or released." That's straight outta the reg book in the trout section.

Anyway, I was down at Padden on my boat and felt it to be very calm and relaxing other than the occasional hoot and hollar when some college kid caught his first trout. Where were all the drunken folk? I thought it was pretty sparse considering it was opening day. I think being on a boat is the best way to enjoy opening day. :thumb: It probably helped that I went mid-day to dodge the crowds.
 
#52 ·
I guess I didn't know about that rule because I never fish bait with the exception of opening day.

Sorry for being such an aweful human being guys.
 
#53 ·
Haha, you're far from an awful human being. I did witness a couple atrocities on opening day including a bunch of kids who caught a trout and poked at it as it flopped around on shore and then left it there to die while they tried to catch the tree above them on fire with a lighter.

I also pulled out about 5 beer cans out of the water.

Not knowing a rule and taking the time and effort to try to release a fish, making sure it wasn't dead first, is quite the opposite of the previous scenes.

The way I see it, keeping the 3 you killed probably was a more noble end to their lives than these hoodlums who leave them on shore or just take them home and not even know how to cook them and just end up throwing them in a garbage or in someone's bed as a prank. If anything, you provide some example of humanity to the rest of the goons around you.
 
#54 ·
Jason B, Although Chadk properly fingered you on a technical, you were not really violating the spirit of the rule, as it is intended to keep bait fishers from "releasing" gut-hooked or deeply hooked fished. You stated you kept all the gut-hooked ones and released the lip-hooked ones, so no atrocities were committed.

We'll let you off with a warning this time.:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
#58 ·
I don't know jason, I think your poacher buddy is clearly rubbing off on you :ray1:

As for the intention of the law - that is a big part of it. It is meant to address exactly what Jason was doing:

"Remember that if you use bait," Mendel said, "you can't 'high-grade' and release smaller fish in an effort to catch a limit of five bigger trout. Anglers using bait must keep the first five fish they catch, where five is daily limit."
Jason never said "gum hooked" - he said they didn't swallow it 'all the way' - meaning into the stomach I think. Gills, tongue, etc are more likely than a lip hook considering the fact that power bait was being used and fished on the bottom where more often than not, the fish has fully swallowed the bait before you have a chance to set the hook.

I just think it is ironic that he is looking down on all the stupid dirty f##$@# russians, while he's 'slaying them' and breaking the law. Way to show them :thumb:

Oh, and 90% of the guys I saw when I got to Lake Tye were fishing PB on the bottom rigged as you described Jason (works well usually). But they were getting skunked. A few guys tried spoons and spinners with no luck either. I brought an ultra rod rigged with a small adjustable slip float (like steelhead jig fishing) and set it about 5 or 6 feet down. We used fresh wormies dug from my yard for most of our trout. The big fella came to that kid's own rod rigged with a worm laying on the bottom. The kids had a blast - and that's what its all about!

In a few weeks I'll hit it again in my toon working flies. I just wish the trees would grow faster around that lake to help block out the wind...
 
#55 ·
We hit Rattlesnake Saturday morning and got launched around 7:00 AM. There was a guy cleaning his and his friend's limits at the launch already when we arrived. Tons of boats, and almost everyone seemed to have steady action. Most everyone seemed to be behaving themselves, but we did see a couple of gobs of powerbait floating about. Fly fishers seemed to be doing better than the "conventional" tackle users. We did great on bead headed olive buggers and the like. Took home limits of stockers for the grill.
 
#56 ·
I went up to Rattlesnake Lake on Sunday afternoon and had a great time. I should preface this by saying that I moved here recently from Hawaii and am still in awe of the beauty of the Northwest. I quit surfing, paddling and all my ocean related activities and have decided to learn to flyfish. I have most all of the necessary equipment and although I realize it is early in the season I have gone fishing on the Snoqualmie (Middle and South) but have yet to land a fish.
Yesterday I was able to actually hook and land a number of fish and had a blast. I got there around 12 and stayed till dark. I used several variations of an olive wooly bugger and was able to land 14 fish. My next goal is to land one on a dry fly. That will really be an accomplishment.
When the sun went behind the mountain the osprey started to grab fish out of the lake and the swallows put on an aerial display. I was really bummed when I had to leave and go back to civilization.:( It was the best day of fishing that I've ever had and I won't soon forget it.
 
#57 ·
That is great man! That first fish on a dry will be easy if you hit an evening hatch right.
 
#59 ·
Jim H, Unless you just "got old" (like I did), there is no reason to hang up the surf stick! There are excellent surfing waves to be enjoyed here in WA at times. You will need a full Winter wetsuit, as the La Nina ocean conditions are keeping the water on the cool side. A hooded 5/4mm will be what you'll need, and then maybe a 3mm or a 4/3mm for Summer/Fall warmer water.
Otherwise, if your aging carcass can no longer endure the hydraulic thrashings, then transitioning from catching and releasing waves of energy to C&Ring trout is a natural progression to enjoying quieter waters, and without the beatings.
It is only my recently acquired sense of "better judgement" that keeps me from going back to wave riding.:rofl:
 
#61 ·
I haven't even purchased my license yet. I'll wait 'til the crowds clear out and the water warms up a bit then hit the pads for buckets.

It is great to hear the stories about the kids catching fish. That is what is opening day is all about for me. I miss taking the kids out on opening day but they have all grown up now. Waiting for the grand daughter to get old enough. Then the fun will start again.
 
#62 ·
Saturday around 1 PM found Amie and I on a little lake on opening day after spending a few hours at an Estate sale. Not to bad of crowds for a lake on its first day with maybe 4-5 people max at the boat launch fishing and between 6-10 boats on the lake at any one time most of which lived on or around the lake. Had fun seeing what fly that would not take fish, trying out many experimental flies and a few tried and true. Catch of the day for me was a 7" wild cutthroat not large by any means buts it good to see them survive still in that little lake with its 2000 plus catch and release rainbows every year. I have caught a few Cutts in that lake each year which is why we love to fish there. Amie kept trying dry flies most of the day so her totals were not very high but she always prefers the dry fly when she can. We never bother to count fish and I did find a new pattern to tie a dozen of, that caught a fish every few minutes even out fishing a pattern I found in the past to be the go to fly at that lake for opening day so its was good day for us both. Also talked to the only other people fly fishing who were also doing very well and found out while the materials where very different that couples fly that was doing well and my experimental squirrel tail nympth looked the same when wet.
Funny part is we checked out a year round lake just down the road after we had our fill and it was empty of everyone even though it was planted this past month around the same time. Had fish jumping and fining every where. Ended the day a few miles down the road at a tavern that has Prime Rib special every Saturday.
We thought about fishing either Rattlesnake or the year round lake above on Sunday but after the day before and the everning neither of our hearts was really in it even though I had tied a dozen of the hot fly of the day after getting home from the bar that I planned to try out on other lake. Oh well next time I guess.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top