Stan Fagerstrom
10-30-2004, 06:38 AM
Washington’s Silver Lake
"You Can Find 'Em in the Fall"
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part One
I had the lake to myself.
The sun was curling its first fingers of light around the shattered crown of Mount St. Helens to the east as I ran my boat through the mists to the pad fields along the far shore.
Though I had been fishing this same water for more than 50 years, my fingers fumbled in anticipation as I picked up my rod to make the first cast. It didn't surprise me no other fishermen were on the water. That's often how it is at Silver Lake, western Washington's most popular spot for largemouth bass, this time of year.
This is especially true during the week. This shallow lake tucked away in the foothills of the Cascades draws more than its share of fishermen at other seasons, but not in the fall.
Fall is a time when the salmon run is moving up the Columbia and sea run cutthroat have entered the Columbia's tributaries. Then there is early season deer and a chance to hunt birds. It's no wonder, what with all of this opportunity, that interest in bass fishing dwindles.
http://www.ifish.net/sfsilverl.jpg
Southwest Washington's Silver Lake annually produces some of the largest bass caught in the Pacific Northwest.
But that lack of interest doesn't reflect the possibilities. Silver Lake sometimes provides excellent fall bass fishing. Every year some of the best catches I’ve taken from its waters came from September through mid-November. I know what I'm talking about when I say you won't usually have much competition in fall fishing. For more than three decades I lived right on the lake's shore. I started fishing this lake way back in the late 1930s. I expect I fished it as more than darn near anyone one for a long, long time.
While you won't get as many fish in the fall as in spring or early summer, those you do catch will be a larger average size. And you just might hang a couple of those slab-sided
brush busters for which Silver Lake is famous. As a matter of fact, I know of a 9-pounder caught there not long ago.
http://www.ifish.net/sfgaryk.jpg
Silver Lake is loaded with lily pads. Sometimes pad cover provides some of the lake's best action for largemouth bass.
Let's pinpoint Silver Lake's location before we talk about how to fish it. The lake is located in the foothills of the Cascades, down the Toutle River valley from Mount St. Helens. Don't confuse it, as many people do, with Spirit Lake. Spirit Lake is the body of water located right at the base of the mountain.
You'll have absolutely no problem finding Silver Lake. If you can find Interstate 5, the freeway that connects Seattle and Portland, you can find Silver Lake. Take Exit Number 49 at the community of Castle Rock. Go six miles east on State Highway 504 and you'll be eyeballing Silver Lake.
Let's say you've followed those directions. You've found the one public launch ramp located on the west central shoreline and you're ready to go fishing. Now how should you go about it?
For starters, Silver Lake is shallow. You won't find water more than 12-feet deep no matter how long you look. Most of it will be much shallower. The lake once had more assorted kinds of aquatic grass and clinging goop than you'd believe possible. All that changed when the lake was stocked with grass carp back in 1992. Those aquatic vegetarians cleaned up the goop and, but left the lily pads alone.
Silver Lake still has the pads in abundance. There will usually be at least a few bass hanging around the pads. You’ll also find lots of boat docks along some sections of the shoreline. Bass seek out the cover of these docks just as they do at other lakes around the United States.
If you’re a first time visitor to Silver Lake, and especially if you’re looking for lunkers, check out the piling in the south end of the lake. Some of the largest fish I’ve taken out of this interesting bass factory came out of that kind of cover.
Because it’s so shallow, surface lures are often a good bet at Silver Lake. I’ll take a closer look at that possibility in my next column.
"You Can Find 'Em in the Fall"
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part One
I had the lake to myself.
The sun was curling its first fingers of light around the shattered crown of Mount St. Helens to the east as I ran my boat through the mists to the pad fields along the far shore.
Though I had been fishing this same water for more than 50 years, my fingers fumbled in anticipation as I picked up my rod to make the first cast. It didn't surprise me no other fishermen were on the water. That's often how it is at Silver Lake, western Washington's most popular spot for largemouth bass, this time of year.
This is especially true during the week. This shallow lake tucked away in the foothills of the Cascades draws more than its share of fishermen at other seasons, but not in the fall.
Fall is a time when the salmon run is moving up the Columbia and sea run cutthroat have entered the Columbia's tributaries. Then there is early season deer and a chance to hunt birds. It's no wonder, what with all of this opportunity, that interest in bass fishing dwindles.
http://www.ifish.net/sfsilverl.jpg
Southwest Washington's Silver Lake annually produces some of the largest bass caught in the Pacific Northwest.
But that lack of interest doesn't reflect the possibilities. Silver Lake sometimes provides excellent fall bass fishing. Every year some of the best catches I’ve taken from its waters came from September through mid-November. I know what I'm talking about when I say you won't usually have much competition in fall fishing. For more than three decades I lived right on the lake's shore. I started fishing this lake way back in the late 1930s. I expect I fished it as more than darn near anyone one for a long, long time.
While you won't get as many fish in the fall as in spring or early summer, those you do catch will be a larger average size. And you just might hang a couple of those slab-sided
brush busters for which Silver Lake is famous. As a matter of fact, I know of a 9-pounder caught there not long ago.
http://www.ifish.net/sfgaryk.jpg
Silver Lake is loaded with lily pads. Sometimes pad cover provides some of the lake's best action for largemouth bass.
Let's pinpoint Silver Lake's location before we talk about how to fish it. The lake is located in the foothills of the Cascades, down the Toutle River valley from Mount St. Helens. Don't confuse it, as many people do, with Spirit Lake. Spirit Lake is the body of water located right at the base of the mountain.
You'll have absolutely no problem finding Silver Lake. If you can find Interstate 5, the freeway that connects Seattle and Portland, you can find Silver Lake. Take Exit Number 49 at the community of Castle Rock. Go six miles east on State Highway 504 and you'll be eyeballing Silver Lake.
Let's say you've followed those directions. You've found the one public launch ramp located on the west central shoreline and you're ready to go fishing. Now how should you go about it?
For starters, Silver Lake is shallow. You won't find water more than 12-feet deep no matter how long you look. Most of it will be much shallower. The lake once had more assorted kinds of aquatic grass and clinging goop than you'd believe possible. All that changed when the lake was stocked with grass carp back in 1992. Those aquatic vegetarians cleaned up the goop and, but left the lily pads alone.
Silver Lake still has the pads in abundance. There will usually be at least a few bass hanging around the pads. You’ll also find lots of boat docks along some sections of the shoreline. Bass seek out the cover of these docks just as they do at other lakes around the United States.
If you’re a first time visitor to Silver Lake, and especially if you’re looking for lunkers, check out the piling in the south end of the lake. Some of the largest fish I’ve taken out of this interesting bass factory came out of that kind of cover.
Because it’s so shallow, surface lures are often a good bet at Silver Lake. I’ll take a closer look at that possibility in my next column.