HOOK AND FUR: Lake anglers are reeling them in

By Bob Brown

Lowland lakes have been producing excellent catches of perch, crappie, bluegill and large and small mouth bass.

The trout bite has been best during early-morning and late-evening hours. In our area, fishing in the north end of Mineral Lake has been producing some nice rainbows. A five-pound rainbow was recently caught there by an angler using a green colored power egg attached to a four-foot leader. Dock fishing has been best during early-morning hours.

For bluegill, perch and crappie, anglers might consider fishing Clear and Tanwax lakes. Both are fishing well for those species.

Bub Herlitska of Spanaway Boathouse reported anglers fishing the east side of Lake Spanaway are still fishing using Power Bait and have been limiting with 14-inch trout , and so have anglers trolling Wedding Rings in the top five feet of water. Fly fishers working the lake’s weed line using Woolly Buggers have also been limiting.

Karen Glaser of Barrier Dam Campground reported 3,700 catchable-size rainbows were released into Mayfield Lake last week. Also, tiger muskies are still being targeted by anglers in Mayfield, but no reports of any being caught. Swofford Pond anglers have been catching catfish and bass, plus some trout.

Ocean and river fishing

Ocean salmon fishery off Ilwaco and Westport closes early effective Aug. 22. Wendy Beeghley, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's ocean salmon manager, said closing early will help ensure compliance with conservation requirements. Both Ilwaco and Westport recreational fisheries would have closed earlier in August, but were able to remain open due to transfers of quota by the commercial troll fishery to the recreational fishery. Marine Areas 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay) and the Buoy 10 fishery at the mouth of the Columbia remain open as scheduled.

Saltwater fishing in Puget Sound remains somewhere between fair and poor, and action has been hit-and-miss on west-side rivers open to fishing, except for the Columbia. Samplings taken above I-5 Bridge Aug. 7-13 on the Cowlitz tallied 71 bank rods with six chinook and five steelhead kept.

Bob Brown lives in Roy and is a freelance outdoors writer. He can be reached at robertb1285@centurylink.net.