Stan Fagerstrom
12-01-2004, 08:33 AM
Washington’s Silver Lake
"You Can Find 'Em in the Fall"
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part Three
http://www.ifish.net/Sfscenicsilver.jpg
Fall is a beautiful time to fish at Silver Lake.
It's evident in this photo of me heading down to my bass boat to go fishing.
This is my third and final column dealing with Western Washington’s most popular and productive largemouth bass lake. If you’ve read my two previous www.ifish.net (http://www.ifish.net) columns you’re aware I’m talking about Silver Lake. Silver Lake is about 30 miles as the crow flies west of Mount St. Helens.
I wish I had started this three part series a bit earlier. We’re now moving into that period of the year when bass fishing slows sharply in this part of the world. Water temperatures have dropped way down from what they were earlier. When that happens bass are much less active. You can still catch fish at Silver Lake but you’ll work your tail off to do so from now until late February.
But keep next fall in mind as you read this third and final column dealing with Silver Lake. This time around I’d like to share some thoughts on the best way to go about putting bigger bass in the boat. I say that partly because year after year Silver Lake produces some of the largest bass caught anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.
So what are your best bets for bass of 6-pounds on up at Silver Lake? There is no easy answer to that question, but drawing on a lifetime of experience I’d summarize it like this: Concentrate on fishing lures that can be fished deep and slow.
As I’ve mentioned in my two previous columns, I moved away from Silver Lake 11 years ago and haven’t been back there often since. I’ve no reason to believe the methods I used to catch larger bass when I lived right on the Silver Lake shore have changed in the years since I left.
The Oregon Bass & Panfish Club conducts an annual contest for its members. Trophies are awarded for the largest bass caught each year. I took part in that contest for five years. I won the largest bass award all five years I participated.
Every darn one of those trophy-winning fish came out of Silver Lake. All of them were caught on just two lures. One of those baits was an overgrown plastic worm type lure called a DeLong Weedless Witch. The second was a big and deep diving crankbait called the Bomber Waterdog.
Here’s something else you want to keep in mind. All of those fish were taken from next to wood cover. Some came out of the piling in the south end of Silver Lake. A couple came from downed logs in other parts of the lake.
The five fish I’m talking about ranged in weight from more than 7-pounds to just under 9-pounds. Again, all came on baits that I fished deep and with a minimum of motion.
The best approach I found with the Weedless With was to cast it as close as I could to the piling or logs I was fishing and just let it fall to bottom on a slack line. Once it got down I’d get the slack out of my line and then just leave the bait alone for awhile. When I did move it I’d inch the bait along the bottom for a couple of feet. If nothing happened, I’d reel it on in and cast again.
The largest bass I’ve ever had hold of at Silver Lake hit on just such an approach. I cast up next to a piling and let the Witch sink. There was no usual bump or thump to indicate a fish had picked up, but when I attempted to move the bait I found I was hung up on the bottom. Then the “bottom” slowly started moving off to the right.
I swear that beautiful fish didn’t realize it was hooked. Once it did, it came slowly and steadily up to the surface just a few feet from the boat. Then it stuck its massive head out of the water, gave a couple of savage shakes and tossed that plastic bait back at me like it wanted to play catch. I’ve put more than one 10-pounder in my boat on some of the Mexican lakes I know what they look like. That Silver Lake bass weighed 10-pounds if it weighed an ounce.
http://www.ifish.net/Sfscenicsilverbass12.jpg
And here's the result! Fall is a super time for big bass at Silver Lake. Fishing pressure drops sharply in the fall and you might find yourself having the best spots all to yourself.
I took a somewhat different approach with the Bomber Waterdog that accounted for a number of other Silver Lake lunkers. If you’re familiar with that old bait you know it came with a small spinner attached to its rear end. I removed the spinner and replaced it with a white strip of Uncle Josh pork rind. The plug and trailing rind was about 8-inches long.
I had my best luck with this rig fishing the piling Silver Lake has in abundance. The most effective method I worked out was to cast well beyond the piling I wanted to fish. Once I got the bait out there, I took a few fast turns to get it down near the bottom. Once it was down where I wanted, I’d reel it up next to the piling and then stop reeling.
Some of the largest bass I caught on this lash-up came as I quit reeling and just the let the lure start to rise. Evidently those pot bellied bruisers couldn’t stand to see that weird looking bait that had invaded its domain get away unscathed. They just had to take a whack at it. Often the only warning I had that a fish had grabbed the plug and rind was my line moving off left or right.
In no way am I saying these two lure setups and techniques are the only ones that produce excellent success for big bass in Silver Lake. I’ve caught more than my share of good ones there on everything from surface lures to crankbaits. But do keep what I’ve said about fishing deep and slow if it’s lunkers you’re after. My sincere hope is that approach will work for you as well as it has for me.
God has blessed me in countless ways over the years. I’ve had the wondrous good fortune to spend a lot of time on rivers and lakes in many parts of the world. Among the most precious of a whole heart full of memories are those that came my way at Southwest Washington’s Silver Lake. It’s hard to beat having had a chance to live for 35 years with your bass boat moored about 60 feet from your front door. I did exactly that at Silver Lake.
If you’ve not fished this lake yourself, I urge you to give it try. It just might “hook” you as deeply as it did me.
"You Can Find 'Em in the Fall"
By Stan Fagerstrom
Part Three
http://www.ifish.net/Sfscenicsilver.jpg
Fall is a beautiful time to fish at Silver Lake.
It's evident in this photo of me heading down to my bass boat to go fishing.
This is my third and final column dealing with Western Washington’s most popular and productive largemouth bass lake. If you’ve read my two previous www.ifish.net (http://www.ifish.net) columns you’re aware I’m talking about Silver Lake. Silver Lake is about 30 miles as the crow flies west of Mount St. Helens.
I wish I had started this three part series a bit earlier. We’re now moving into that period of the year when bass fishing slows sharply in this part of the world. Water temperatures have dropped way down from what they were earlier. When that happens bass are much less active. You can still catch fish at Silver Lake but you’ll work your tail off to do so from now until late February.
But keep next fall in mind as you read this third and final column dealing with Silver Lake. This time around I’d like to share some thoughts on the best way to go about putting bigger bass in the boat. I say that partly because year after year Silver Lake produces some of the largest bass caught anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.
So what are your best bets for bass of 6-pounds on up at Silver Lake? There is no easy answer to that question, but drawing on a lifetime of experience I’d summarize it like this: Concentrate on fishing lures that can be fished deep and slow.
As I’ve mentioned in my two previous columns, I moved away from Silver Lake 11 years ago and haven’t been back there often since. I’ve no reason to believe the methods I used to catch larger bass when I lived right on the Silver Lake shore have changed in the years since I left.
The Oregon Bass & Panfish Club conducts an annual contest for its members. Trophies are awarded for the largest bass caught each year. I took part in that contest for five years. I won the largest bass award all five years I participated.
Every darn one of those trophy-winning fish came out of Silver Lake. All of them were caught on just two lures. One of those baits was an overgrown plastic worm type lure called a DeLong Weedless Witch. The second was a big and deep diving crankbait called the Bomber Waterdog.
Here’s something else you want to keep in mind. All of those fish were taken from next to wood cover. Some came out of the piling in the south end of Silver Lake. A couple came from downed logs in other parts of the lake.
The five fish I’m talking about ranged in weight from more than 7-pounds to just under 9-pounds. Again, all came on baits that I fished deep and with a minimum of motion.
The best approach I found with the Weedless With was to cast it as close as I could to the piling or logs I was fishing and just let it fall to bottom on a slack line. Once it got down I’d get the slack out of my line and then just leave the bait alone for awhile. When I did move it I’d inch the bait along the bottom for a couple of feet. If nothing happened, I’d reel it on in and cast again.
The largest bass I’ve ever had hold of at Silver Lake hit on just such an approach. I cast up next to a piling and let the Witch sink. There was no usual bump or thump to indicate a fish had picked up, but when I attempted to move the bait I found I was hung up on the bottom. Then the “bottom” slowly started moving off to the right.
I swear that beautiful fish didn’t realize it was hooked. Once it did, it came slowly and steadily up to the surface just a few feet from the boat. Then it stuck its massive head out of the water, gave a couple of savage shakes and tossed that plastic bait back at me like it wanted to play catch. I’ve put more than one 10-pounder in my boat on some of the Mexican lakes I know what they look like. That Silver Lake bass weighed 10-pounds if it weighed an ounce.
http://www.ifish.net/Sfscenicsilverbass12.jpg
And here's the result! Fall is a super time for big bass at Silver Lake. Fishing pressure drops sharply in the fall and you might find yourself having the best spots all to yourself.
I took a somewhat different approach with the Bomber Waterdog that accounted for a number of other Silver Lake lunkers. If you’re familiar with that old bait you know it came with a small spinner attached to its rear end. I removed the spinner and replaced it with a white strip of Uncle Josh pork rind. The plug and trailing rind was about 8-inches long.
I had my best luck with this rig fishing the piling Silver Lake has in abundance. The most effective method I worked out was to cast well beyond the piling I wanted to fish. Once I got the bait out there, I took a few fast turns to get it down near the bottom. Once it was down where I wanted, I’d reel it up next to the piling and then stop reeling.
Some of the largest bass I caught on this lash-up came as I quit reeling and just the let the lure start to rise. Evidently those pot bellied bruisers couldn’t stand to see that weird looking bait that had invaded its domain get away unscathed. They just had to take a whack at it. Often the only warning I had that a fish had grabbed the plug and rind was my line moving off left or right.
In no way am I saying these two lure setups and techniques are the only ones that produce excellent success for big bass in Silver Lake. I’ve caught more than my share of good ones there on everything from surface lures to crankbaits. But do keep what I’ve said about fishing deep and slow if it’s lunkers you’re after. My sincere hope is that approach will work for you as well as it has for me.
God has blessed me in countless ways over the years. I’ve had the wondrous good fortune to spend a lot of time on rivers and lakes in many parts of the world. Among the most precious of a whole heart full of memories are those that came my way at Southwest Washington’s Silver Lake. It’s hard to beat having had a chance to live for 35 years with your bass boat moored about 60 feet from your front door. I did exactly that at Silver Lake.
If you’ve not fished this lake yourself, I urge you to give it try. It just might “hook” you as deeply as it did me.