Merwin

[MattPark]

We fished Merwin today from about noon til dark. We only ended up with 5 fish, lost a few. I'm fairly certain three of the fish were chinook, they had distinct black spots on their backs, and black gumlines. They weren't as big as the kokes. They played with the bait like a springer, we knew they were there long before they were actually hooked.

Most (relative term) fish were hooked in the top ten feet of water, but a a couple came from 20-25' down.

[I-Builtit]

What's going on at Merwin? The two times I went out last month I got limits. Has it slowed down?

[Got Fish?]

It's been a bit spotty but still remains good. Some days we've had to work for them, but most of the times you can fill your stringer.

[I-Builtit]

Originally Posted by Got Fish?

It's been a bit spotty but still remains good. Some days we've had to work for them, but most of the times you can fill your stringer.

Thanks.

[35Whelen]

Originally Posted by Kokonuts

Sat. was Rain,Cold,Wind and I worked hard for 2 fish. I went back out Sun. about 8:00 and lost 3 part way back to the boat and then nothing for hours while I tried everything. But the rain started about 12:00 and I had 5 in the boat by 1:30. 2 sets of doubles but lost one then a couple more singles.
Every one was right on top & some fish were jumping. I just went thru the same area and followed the fish. I could only see the bottom half of them on the top of the F.F.
All were caught on the R & K micro hoochies with Treble Hooks. Robby makes the Best Hoochies & all of the sizes are great. Chartuse was the hot color with green dodger from Vance's today.

Kokonuts

Hello Richard this is Warren we chatted last year. We were up at Merwin on Sat. didnt bring the boat just more of a get out and go for a drive. We wanted to see where that Campers Hideaway was and headed back about 5:00. It is a very nice lake and we will be back.

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by MattPark

We fished Merwin today from about noon til dark. We only ended up with 5 fish, lost a few. I'm fairly certain three of the fish were chinook, they had distinct black spots on their backs, and black gumlines. They weren't as big as the kokes. They played with the bait like a springer, we knew they were there long before they were actually hooked.

Most (relative term) fish were hooked in the top ten feet of water, but a a couple came from 20-25' down.

The last couple times out, I also caught what appeared to be a Chinook (had the spots on the back). I have been looking for the WDFW stocking schedule to see what was planted in Merwin. I know there were Chinook planted in Swift, maybe these fish worked their way down to Merwin?

[AlphaBoat]

Originally Posted by fishnbus

Okay, so what about the other 50 boats on the lake this past Saturday?! Surely some of you were out there too! How about sharing what did or didn't work for you. We won't tell

OK, OK, I have to come clean....since you promised not to tell .
I was out there Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday (with company of my brother Friday & Monday) Got the bug bad! (and the Columbia River Springer action is so depressing)
We/I Limited out every day before noon…..usually before 10:30.
Had to move around to find fish each day.
Weather was sure a mixed bag.
Had heavy snow on the drive up on Thursday with close to 2" on the ground at the launch on arrival. On each day of the weekend, the east wind howled and the lake got nasty....especially down by Woodland Park where following seas were coming up through the well while I trolled west.
Weather Monday was great...no wind, pleasant temperatures, but the fish proved a little tougher to find. The fish are close to the surface at this time and my theory is they scatter when your boat goes over at cose range so it is hard to find schools on the finder this time of the season. I can't wait for June/July! They'll be down where they belong at 40-60 feet and the old maunal downrgger cranking arm will really get a workout!
All fish were caught on Rocky Mountain Signature Squid (Hottest colors were the UV Purple Haze or UV Blood Red Haze) fished on 11" 12# fluorocarbon leaders behind Rocky Mountain Tackle Signature Dodgers (hottest patterns were 5-1/2" Bahama Mamma or 4-1/4" 50/50 Chart/Pink) Tandem #2 Gami drop shot hooks were each tipped with a Pautske green label egg and a Berkley Gulp Maggot in natural white or dyed pink. Using down riggers, fish were caught from 10' down to 25' down with about a 40-60 foot set-back.
My brother and I will be back up there in the morning. The game department had the net pen tied up to the dock when we left the water Monday.....made using the launch a little more challenging, but still possible.

[Kokonuts]

Thanks for the great report! The fish you caught in very tough conditions proves that you are right on!

Kokonuts

[WeldZilla]

Me and a couple friends spent the day on the lake today. It was till this afternoon really a beautiful day. We heard some thunder rolling as we were tieing down the boat to leave. There were a few drops but we never really got wet.. We did however bring home limits all around. We caught them long lining at about 100 ft. and at about 13ft. with the downriggers.
Pink hootchies and the dark pinkish firecorn... We spent a long day on the lake to get our limits but. We experimented a lot... Still pink hootchies remain #1 in my boat.

WZ

[9LetsRoll11]

Originally Posted by I-Builtit

What's going on at Merwin? The two times I went out last month I got limits. Has it slowed down?

Just finished my kokanee sushi dinner.
Was on the water at 7:30 this morning about 15 trailers in the lot when I got
there and 8 or ten at the overflow when I left at 11:30 with my five fish.
Pole 1 long line out 125' with sling blade,1/4 oz weight,cheater,smile blade,2 #4 red hooks tipped with shrimp scented salad shrimp and 1 red salmon egg.
Pole 2 on d/r at 13' and 80' back, sling blade with same set up different color.
Pink and purple seemed to get most of the bites today trolled at 1.3 mph.

[dadeo316]

8:30 to about 5:00 today with my dad and youngest son. We had probably 15 hookups some were doubles, and even one triple. Managed to get 4 in the boat within the first 2 hours but, lost one off the stringer somehow. We ended up only bringing 7 home, biggest was 13". Heres the 5 for us, my dad took 2 home with him. Pretty even hookups between our pink and green hoochies.

[MacEFL]

Is that top fish a Koke? It looks like it has a more pronounced lateral line and a different shapped tail with spots. Nice haul!

[dadeo316]

Originally Posted by MacEFL

Is that top fish a Koke? It looks like it has a more pronounced lateral line and a different shapped tail with spots. Nice haul!

Might be a chinook? We thought it was different too, it was the smallest fish we caught. I didn't look to see if it had black gums.

[Poisson]

Went to Merwin today beautiful weather, great day, Lots of boats

[deucerider]

been consistantly limiting out at merwin but today was not one of them managed 9 kokes largest 14''

[Smalma]

Dadeo -
That top fish is a trout - probably a cutthroat based on the spotting and jaw length.

Tight lines
Curt

[young buck]

Fished Saturday and Sunday got 11 Saturday and 10 today between 3 of us best was cowbells with a red wedding ring and a red and green wedding ring

[fishnbus]

Ah yes, the forgotten thread. With a gorgeous day forecast I decided to forego the CR and the Willy with their sometimes illusive Springers and sneak off to Merwin...with about 50 other boats. Judging by the posts, I was the only ifisher on the lake. It took most of the day (9 - 5) to scratch out a couple of limits (with my wife's help). The fish were scattered but spent the bulk of the day fishing in the area near the rope swing and connecting. Long lining hootchies (Purple Haze from Rocky Mountain Tackle...thank you Alpha boat for the tip) and pink/clear at 100 feet of line led by a small Sepps chrome dodger. Killer pink corn with super secret scent (krill powder) was part of the magic. See ya' on the Willamette tomorrow.

[dadeo316]

[QUOTE=fishnbus;4096251]Ah yes, the forgotten thread. With a gorgeous day forecast I decided to forego the CR and the Willy with their sometimes illusive Springers and sneak off to Merwin...with about 50 other boats. Judging by the posts, I was the only ifisher on the lake. It took most of the day (9 - 5) to scratch out a couple of limits (with my wife's help). The fish were scattered but spent the bulk of the day fishing in the area near the rope swing and connecting. Long lining hootchies (Purple Haze from Rocky Mountain Tackle...thank you Alpha boat for the tip) and pink/clear at 100 feet of line led by a small Sepps chrome dodger. Killer pink corn with super secret scent (krill powder) was part of the magic. See ya' on the Willamette tomorrow.

Nice catch! I've been working tons of overtime, and am feeling with drawls.

[Northwoods33]

Originally Posted by fishnbus

Ah yes, the forgotten thread. With a gorgeous day forecast I decided to forego the CR and the Willy with their sometimes illusive Springers and sneak off to Merwin...with about 50 other boats. Judging by the posts, I was the only ifisher on the lake. It took most of the day (9 - 5) to scratch out a couple of limits (with my wife's help). The fish were scattered but spent the bulk of the day fishing in the area near the rope swing and connecting. Long lining hootchies (Purple Haze from Rocky Mountain Tackle...thank you Alpha boat for the tip) and pink/clear at 100 feet of line led by a small Sepps chrome dodger. Killer pink corn with super secret scent (krill powder) was part of the magic. See ya' on the Willamette tomorrow.

Nice group of fish. I was out last Saturday and did not do nearly as well.
2 people 4 lines 4 fish. All on long lines 90-110 ft back. 0.9--1.3 mph. Sling blades and various hootchies/spinners/corn combos..No krill powder.
Can you give me a hint as to what part of the lake is the rope swing?

Thanks

[kokecatcher]

I fished Merwin this morning. I launched in the dark and spent about 45 minutes scouting for fish. I did not find any large group of fish that were not on the bottom. I finally started fishing at 0600 in an area that I have caught fish at this time of the year in the past. By 0650 I had four in the boat. I lost one a few minutes later and finally caught my fifth kokanee at 0730. I fished a red wedding ring and a white wedding ring behind UV sling blades with 1 oz 75-80 feet back. I marked very few fish. I think that the fish were in the top few feet of the surface. Unless you passed directly over them they would not show on the sonar as the cone is very narrow at shallow depths. The sky was really dark. I thought that at any minute there would be a downpour but there was just a fine mist. My fish were a bit smaller than those that I caught the past few weeks. Four of them were 12 to 12 3/4 and one was 13 1/4. When I left Speelyai about 0830 there were only 18 trailers in the lot. I thought that there would be a lot of fisherman since the river is closed. I talked to Perry this morning. He opens the gate. He is now opening the gate at Cresap Bay by 0500. As I left Speelyai Bay around 0515 I saw trailer lights to the east.

[Bluknight]

Originally Posted by kokecatcher

I fished Merwin this morning. I launched in the dark and spent about 45 minutes scouting for fish. I did not find any large group of fish that were not on the bottom. I finally started fishing at 0600 in an area that I have caught fish at this time of the year in the past. By 0650 I had four in the boat. I lost one a few minutes later and finally caught my fifth kokanee at 0730. I fished a red wedding ring and a white wedding ring behind UV sling blades with 1 oz 75-80 feet back. I marked very few fish. I think that the fish were in the top few feet of the surface. Unless you passed directly over them they would not show on the sonar as the cone is very narrow at shallow depths. The sky was really dark. I thought that at any minute there would be a downpour but there was just a fine mist. My fish were a bit smaller than those that I caught the past few weeks. Four of them were 12 to 12 3/4 and one was 13 1/4. When I left Speelyai about 0830 there were only 18 trailers in the lot. I thought that there would be a lot of fisherman since the river is closed. I talked to Perry this morning. He opens the gate. He is now opening the gate at Cresap Bay by 0500. As I left Speelyai Bay around 0515 I saw trailer lights to the east.

Thank you for the report! I didn't think Cresap opened until the end of May (25th the Friday before Memorial day)? Has that changed? Would be awesome it that is the case so I don't have to drive around to Speelyai to launch.

[kokecatcher]

Originally Posted by Bluknight

Thank you for the report! I didn't think Cresap opened until the end of May (25th the Friday before Memorial day)? Has that changed? Would be awesome it that is the case so I don't have to drive around to Speelyai to launch.

A couple of weeks ago I was fishing Merwin when the hatchery had the pens tied to the south dock. The hatchery people were transfering coho to trucks for transfer to the river. This year thy raised 300,000. Next year they told me that they will raise and release 500,000 coho. All of the kokanee are now raised in the hatchery ponds. I was told that they grow faster there than in lake pens. This year they released 93,000 kokanee. The fellow that I talked to said that the hatchery staff is recommending to the game commission that the limit at Merwin be raised from 5 to 10. If this happens the earliest it would start would be next year. He told me that too many kokanee return in the fall and they want more to be caught. During my conservation he told me that Pacific Power was opening the launch only at Cresap Bay early this year. Camping will not start until the end of May. Yesterday I spoke with Berry when he opened the gate at Speelyai and he told me that he also is now opening the gate at Cresap. As I said, I saw trailer lights to the east as I left Speelyai Bay in the dark.

[xplorz]

Good info kokecatcher, thanks for posting it.

[rikker99]

More kokanee is more better - raising the limit to ten for at least on year seems like a reasonable proposal. RP

[kokecatcher]

Originally Posted by rikker99

More kokanee is more better - raising the limit to ten for at least on year seems like a reasonable proposal. RP

With the price of gas it would be nice to catch a few more fish. The big drawback that I see is that Speelyai has limited parking.Starting Memorial Day weekend the Host will close the park when it is full. With a ten fish limit people will stay much longer and there will be a greatly reduced turnover in the parking lot. I get there in the dark so it will not affect me but those who arrive after 0800 may not get in.

[rikker99]

Parking is an issue that needs to be addressed at Speelyai. Seems like there could be a large overflow up on top - who knows what the property issues are. The other option is to go all the way around to Cresap. I know Pacific Power is in charge of these things at Merwin, but I would say that Washington in general doesn't get it when it comes to ramp and parking access for boats. I have fished from Puget Sound to the Columbia and it is obvious Washington just doesn't try that hard. Just compare the facilities on the Oregon side of the Columbia river to Washington. I can't think of a decent facility from Bonneville to Illwaco on the Washington side. Oregon on the other hand has numerous access points. The little town of Rainier has a facility better than anything Washington has produced on the entire lower river - OK rant is over. - RP

[Twysted]

Originally Posted by rikker99

I can't think of a decent facility from Bonneville to Illwaco on the Washington side.

Washougal?

Marine Park (Portco)?

Willow Grove?

Those are all pretty large facilities with a lot of parking.

But I do agree about Speelyai. It's not a WA state launch though. PPL isn't going to spend money they don't have to, they do the bare minimum required to maintain their license. I'm sure that if they had to clear, grade, and pave another small parking lot it would decimate their profits for decades...

I guess we should feel fortunate that at least the state negotiated a few meager concessions before they allowed them to kill the river...

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally Posted by Twysted

... before they allowed them to kill the river...

And they sure did a good job at that. Don't even try much anymore.

[jzell]

Rikker99,

No parking issue a Spelyai if you you get your #$% out of bed early and get up there. Get there well before 7 and parking is not an issue. Heck the gate opens at 5:30 or so..

Then when you leave in the late morning/early afternoon with your limit you can laugh at the pleasure boaters....

Parking issues are only for those who don't plan for parking.

jz

[bassmann]

harsh but true. first come first sirve cant wait till may to end

[Finaddict91]

If I go I launch before the sun comes up...most of the time off the water an hour or so later.

[rikker99]

"Those are all pretty large facilities with a lot of parking."

When I am talking about adequate access I would start with something like Chinook landing on the Oregon side. Multiple launching lanes and multiple docks. Last time i was at Portco the wind was blowing out of the SW and without any breakwater waves were coming over the transom of our sled. All I am saying is look at what is possible and ask yourself if anyone in the Washington power structure really cares about the boating community. The access areas in the Puget Sound area are even worse.

[Meister Jaeger]

Originally Posted by rikker99

"Those are all pretty large facilities with a lot of parking."

When I am talking about adequate access I would start with something like Chinook landing on the Oregon side. Multiple launching lanes and multiple docks. Last time i was at Portco the wind was blowing out of the SW and without any breakwater waves were coming over the transom of our sled. All I am saying is look at what is possible and ask yourself if anyone in the Washington power structure really cares about the boating community. The access areas in the Puget Sound area are even worse.

Don't forget Cat Island and Ridgefield for quality launching facilities (tongue in cheek). One of the docks at Portco is still 6 feet or more from dry land due to high water.

The problem with Speelyia is the layout of the lower lot. You can launch and park early, but odds are high that your rig will be boxed in by the rec boater hatch and some numbnut or two always seem to park right at the apex of the far corner because they're too lazy and/or inconsiderate to park in the upper lot and walk down. Navigating that lot, when full, with a crew cab long bed and a 23' boat can be a royal PITA!

[JHawKS]

i take it the fishing is slow. Should change this to the "parking complaint thread"

[kokecatcher]

Actually fishing is quite good. I arrived in the dark as usual. I got my line in the water at 0555 and at 0641 I had my five and a hit that didn't hook. Early this morning I was the only boat on the lake that I could see. While I was cleaning fish, the boat and setting up for my next trip one boat passed me. I arrived back at Speelyai Bay dock at 0730. Besides me there were only six other trailers in the lot. For a moment I thought that it must be mid September! By the time that I left another half dozen or so rigs arrived. Think back to last April when the main lot and upper lot were full and folks were parking out to the highway. I am glad that there were not many people this morning. The lake was down seven feet. The first two dock sections were out of water. If a lot of people had been there loading and launching would have been much slower. I continue to use UV sling blades with white and red wedding rings. I fished one with one ounce back 75 ft. and the other with 1/2 ounce back 90 ft. I got three hits on each. On Tuesday I used the same setup except both had one ounce. I got quick limits both days so I will continue with this setup as long as it works. I like to troll 1.1-1.2 mph.

[puffins crew]

Got to the lake around 6:40am and there were 8 rigs in the lot.
My plan for the morning was to head down by the dam.
Uv sling blade and a uv clear and pink hoochie tipped with corn and a
Small piece of worm. Flat lined set back at 100ft. The line counter hit
the mark and as I was putting it in the holder it went off. Nice
13" feisty koke. Reset that rig and put a ford fender with a green/red
baby spin glo tipped the same. I went 5 for six on hookups , three on
the fender and two for three on the hoochie.
Great morning with very little wind.
The lot was filling up fast when I left.

[Sammy Salmon]

Do you need a discover pass to fish merwin?

[kokecatcher]

Originally Posted by Sammy Salmon

Do you need a discover pass to fish merwin?

No. The parks and boat ramps are operated by Pacific Power not the Washington State Parks Dept. There is a three dollar charge on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and all national holidays starting the Friday before Memorial Day. You can buy an annual pass for twenty dollars. The pass is good at Merwin, Yale and Swift for day use. Camping is extra. You do, however, need a Washington fishing license.

[dadeo316]

Originally Posted by kokecatcher

No. The parks and boat ramps are operated by Pacific Power not the Washington State Parks Dept. There is a three dollar charge on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and all national holidays starting the Friday before Memorial Day. You can buy an annual pass for twenty dollars. The pass is good at Merwin, Yale and Swift for day use. Camping is extra. You do, however, need a Washington fishing license.

Is the 3 dollar day pass a new thing this year? I have always parked at saddle dam on yale without a fee. And have never been ticketed or warned.

[kokecatcher]

Originally Posted by dadeo316

Is the 3 dollar day pass a new thing this year? I have always parked at saddle dam on yale without a fee. And have never been ticketed or warned.

This is not new. The fee only runs from the weekend before Memorial Day to the weekend after Labor Day and only on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and national holidays. You can fish during this period on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for free.

[Sammy Salmon]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1335742996.656633.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1335743013.172100.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1335743069.975020.jpg

The Sea Nymph did it again:-) nice day out there. That was the most packed I have ever seen Spilyai. Great day to be on the water

[Filthyfisher]

Beautiful day at Merwin, flat water and nice temperature, even a little sun and fishing was great. 3 limits from about 7-12pm, good size fish. Looked like just about everyone was catching well.

[JHawKS]

Thanks for the reports guys. Im hoping to get my brother in law from Kansas up there this weekend. He loves merwin & its the only time I really get to fish it.

[Twysted]

Sunday.

Two rods at 80' with one ounce, one flatlined at 100'. Dodgers and hootchies mostly. Got a late start so we stayed pretty close to the launch. Only 3 fish to the boat, one was pretty large, they were all tasty.

Saw a lot of boats on the south side of the lake.

Pretty full but folks had already started leaving by the time we got there so there was parking in the lower lot.

[xplorz]

Late report

Fished Friday and got my limit. Trolled a red/green w/r & willow leaf string 100' behind my sea kayak. A fun morning of fishing and didn't burn any boat fuel.

[pstutheit]

Fished yesterday from noon to four. Two rods flatlining various spinners and hootchies behind various dodgers and lake trolls. Only landed two (out of four on). Both nice sized. Sounds like we missed the bite. Still a great time on the water.

[Catfish]

Was a nasty cold rainy day at Merwin this am, but the bite was hot and the boaters were few. Fished flashers with apex and fire corn at 25 pulls with one oz. of lead.

[Catfish]

Another great day on Merwin. Didn't start till 11:00 am and could have had a limit easily within an hour. Not using a net so I get to fish longer. Only keeping Kokanee that flip onto the boat. There must be kokanee all over the lake and they seem to be very hungry. Hope this shallow bite lasts into June. I hate using those dang down riggers (too much work)! The smallest Kokanee caught was 12 inches.

[Arrowhead]

Originally Posted by Splash

Speelyai yes, Cresap no.

http://www.pacificorp.com/about/news...10nrl/rsc.html
(scroll to the bottom)

Lewis Reservoir Levels

Cresap was open sunday. with a sign posted that the ramp is open

[Pelican]

Fished from 7 am to 1:30 pm on 02 May. Two of us caught one koke each. Fish bit on a pink hootchie and pink kokanee killer. Flasher gear with 1 oz weight. Talked with many other boaters who were doing just a little better than us.

[Catfish]

Another great day at Merwin. Limit in a couple hours even after starting at 10:30 and many others on. Same set up standard cow bell 1 oz of lead, purple apex and red corn and 27 pulls. The other rig had a beer can 1 oz of lead water mellon apex and red corn 27 pulls. I used the electric trolling motor right from the start so it was a quiet (green) day on the lake. I saw another boat slamming them (on worms) so I know I am not the only one catching fish. Those fish are hungry! Good luck week enders.

[Sakana]

Fished Merwin Sun and was it slow. Had my brother in town and he wanted to take his grandson out fishing. Well they couldn't seem to get up as early as I had hoped, so we didn't get started fishing until 7. We got one koke and one pikeminnow, fished until 1:30 as his grandson was getting antsy with basically no catching. Tried wedding rings with ford fenders and hoochies with sling blades. Taked to a lot people with the same results, must have been the full moon. Interesting fact that my brother wanted to buy an out of state one day license and couldn't. He was told that between 5/1 and 5/8 you can only buy a season license, seems strange to me. Since we were in Woodland and he had his grandson there he opted to spend the money.

[JHawKS]

Originally Posted by Sakana

Interesting fact that my brother wanted to buy an out of state one day license and couldn't. He was told that between 5/1 and 5/8 you can only buy a season license, seems strange to me. Since we were in Woodland and he had his grandson there he opted to spend the money.

Ran into the same problem! I cant believe that for a number of reasons. Ended up going to Oregon & fishing the MC instead :|

[Catfish]

Today was a beautiful day on Merwin, but the bite wasn't too hot. Took four hours to catch 4 fish and had about that many on. On the lake at 6:30 and didn't have a fish on till 7:30. There was at bite at 9:00 but it didn't last long. Still using a oz of lead and flashers , but varying depth and speed. Off the lake by 10:30 (don't care to fish in the sun). Might be time to use the down rigger and fish deep (marking fish deeper).

[jwikstrom]

I fished Sunday afternoon from 2-6PM - two kokanee, two rainbows all caught close to shore. Both kokanee were caught righ before I ran out of time. I wish I would have been able to stick around on the water longer.

Today (Monday) I fished from around 7:30AM to 5PM, No Kokanee, one rainbow, several pikeminnow, and I think one small bull trout (not sure exactly what it was, but looked closest to a bull.) I tried all the classic lures/trolling setups, changed depths, even setup the down rigger to go through some schools of fish I saw down at 50 feet. Like others stated above it was slow fishing today. But the weather was nice, and the folks I chatted with on the water and at the dock were friendly. So all in all not a bad day.

[skeetshtr]

Fished 5/4 in the late afternoon and picked up a quick limit of nice Kokes. Started hot morning of 5/5 but bite died off early. Fished most all day and ended up with a mixed bag. 5 nice kokes and two small Kokes. Three small rainbows and a couple of small LL Chinooks. Biggest Koke was 15 inches on the tape. These are going to be real nice by late July or August. Hope to see some 16 to 17 inch size fish.

[xplorz]

I'm gonna assume it was someone on the way to fish Merwin for Kokes........

On my morning commute to work along 182nd north of Hockinson there was an aluminum boat and trailer in the middle of the opposing lane, no tow vehicle in sight. It was still dark, but I could see the tongue of the trailer/coupler on the ground. There was a gentleman standing there with coffee mug in hand to direct traffic around and when I said " that doesn't look good" he said the trailer had popped off the ball and dropped. I hope you guys still made it out fishing. I was the dude on the bicycle. Boat had black canvas and Merc kicker and main.

[jzell]

"These are going to be real nice by late July or August."

duh, jz

[Catfish]

Had a strong West wind all day today. Sure made it hard to make a return troll over a bite. Two of us fished from 9:00 to 2:00 caught 7 fish, two were 9" (recent plants?) and the others were over 12". Didn't have but a couple other fish on and a few other bites. Still fishing 1 oz of lead and 30 - 50 pulls with flashers / watermellon apex (was the lure of choice) and red corn. Another boat reported 4 fish caught and one boy falling overboard (safely retrieved by his dad)

Time to smoke some Kokanee!