Hi All, just relocated from Kansas about 3 months ago and have really been having a hard time tryin to learn the waters and methods out here,
I have hit St. Clare, Longs, Hicks, Chambers, Summit and the Nisqually. I am dying to catch anything at this point...hell even a perch, bass or ole cat.

If anybody would like a buddy to go with them some morning give me a shout. I would really appreciate the invitation and promise not to be a pain in the ass. Would help pay for gas, food beer bait, etc..

I am hitting the water about 5:30-6:00 in the morning. I recently purchased a Zodiac to get me out on the water. No Luck...arrrghhhh

Could you offer me a hot sopt via email that might point me in the right direction. Not real fond of driving two hours to get to a hole but if the fishin is hot how could I pass it up.

Thanks for listening, hope to hear from someone soon...the weekend is almost here

TallJeeper - you are in a prime location for easy access to many good rivers and saltwater fishing locations. Sorry, but I don't know about too many lakes down your way (except American Lake - near Tacoma).

I would recommend searching this site for discussions on rivers dumping into Grays Harbor (Wynoochie, Satsop, Chehalis, Humptulips) plus rivers like the Nisqually and Cowlitz.

For saltwater fishing you have the Hood Canal just to the North or you can check out this site for lots of good fishing info on the South Sound. http://www.salmonuniversity.com

We are right at the beginning of salmon and summer steelhead season with lots of fishing opportunities over the next few months.

tall,

I'm kinda tied up for the next week or two, but after that I'll see if I can hook up with you and give you some ideas about when and where you should be fishing for what.

I'll drop you an email later tonight about where you might try tomorrow.

Dan S

Good for you, I like to see that type of attitude rather then the, learn it for your self-mentality.

One day with you could probably put three seasons or more of knowledge under his belt and really get him started in the right direction.

Kudos

tj,
Try heading down to the Cowlitz for some summer steelhead (if you dont mind the crowds).
In another month in a half or so the Nisqually should have decent numbers of Kings. My advice for now is pick a river and learn it well. The Nisqually was my first water when I moved here four years ago. If you want to hookup when the Kings are in, drop me an email or PM and Id be glad to show you around.

Tight lines
RL

Now thats the spirit!! Thank Guys, I dont feel so alone now..

I will definitely take you up on your kind offers. I would really appreciate the guidance and assure the only thing i would pass along is respect for the natural resources of this wonderful state.

I would love to offer my sons (three boys) an opportunity to be successful after ole Dad learns how to fish these challenging waters myself. I have plenty of other opportunites to teach patience to my younguns....HA

I am a quick learner, appreciative and a pretty easy guy to get along with.

Anyway, sounds great guys, here is my phone number so if your so inclined jot it down and give me buzz if you want me go with ya.

Thank You again for your generous and welcoming advice and information.

If anyone else care to contribute please do so. I would love to make some new fishing buddies

Paul

360.491.7028

Paul,

Pick up a "Washington Atlas and Gazzetteer". It will show you just how close you are to a number of lakes, and it really heps when you are exploring.

Hicks Lake and Ward Lake in the Olympia area have always been good producers for me. There are no water skiers on Ward Lake.

If your kids are under 14, take them to Long's Pond on Pacific Avenue in Lacey. It is a "kids only" fishing lake where the fish are suckers for powerbait.

Ward and Hick allow boats, Long's Pond does not.

Have fun!

hey paul( aka talljeeper) understand your frustration. new here also of 2 years. just got my first drift boat. best fishin buddy lives in colorado. kids have a social life , no patience for fishing. hard to row and fish at the same time. thinking about hitting the cowlitz in the morning7-6-03 give me ring 253-874-1931. live north of you will be pasing through oly.

Welcome TJ ... looks like you got some good leads to get going with. Good luck out there!

Yupper, have had a couple of calls from some really nice guys...got plans in the makin....sounds like fun makin new friends, doing some fishin, and hopefully, also learning how to smoke 'um

Thanks to all who graciously extended the help and invitations..you guys RAWK!!

Paul....soon not to be a newbie

ok, here goes, i've lived in lacey most of my life:

rivers:
the nisqually is great fishing from august to january. it starts out with a good king run, then silvers, then chums in winter. it also used to have the best steelhead run in the state, but sadly they were fished out

the deschutes river is a nice place to catch trout in the summer. there's quite a few places to fish it, but remember above the bridge at pioneer park it's catch and release and not bait only. i usually park at pioneer park and walk up the river making casts with a #0 silver mepps

lakes:
lake st. clair is probably my favorite lake to fish in the county. it has an abundance of all kinds of fish, and usually they are bigger than average sized. there's a lot of lake here to explore, i usually fish the area where the creek runs in and do really well on perch

hicks lake was one of my favorite lakes in the past, but now it's completely dead unless you want to catch a few bass and undersized bluegill. the city installed a drainage pond at the end of the lake to shut the whiny home owners up who complained about erosion, and the water level has dropped a few feet from what it used to be. grass grows in the spawning areas that used to be full of bluegill and crappie. fishing used to be great all season, but those times have passed. hate to see it go

patterson lake is a less heavily fished lake up the road from hicks and long lake. i've never really put a whole lot of effort into it, but every time i've fished it with a boat i've done pretty well. trolling a wedding ring for trout on the surface will put fish in the boat. also, fish along the lily pads for perch and bluegill

ward lake is a small but really deep lake that's close in. most people don't know it's even there. i really like fishing here, but the riff raff at the boat launch usually keeps me away. the water drops off really quick, it's often 20 feet deep 15 feet from shore. i've caught some huge perch fishing in the brush piles on the side of the lake, and nice trout trolling through the middle. there's also kokanee inward lake. this lake has really good visibility, often you can see the bottom in 20 feet of water, so the fish can be spooky

chambers lake is a shallow muddy lake. i've never fished it for bass, but i've heard there are some huge ones in here. the perch and crappie fishing is decent, and there are brown bullhead cats in there. it's best to fish it from a little boat, i've never done too well from the access

Having grownup (?) in Oly/Lacey I would have to agree with Dogfish and Chum Man, but I would also like to add a couple......Most of these are within 30 minutes of downtown Oly.

Black Lake (just don't eat too many fish 'cause of the high levels of mercury)
Summit Lake,
McIntosh Lake,
Elma Ponds, (great for the kids in October)

Satsop River,
Wynoochee River


Lake St. Claire is one of my favorites for trout, but you need to go early or the big part of the lake will be unfishable 'cause of the skiers.

I'll be back in the area in 118 days!

If you wanna learn the salt, I can shoot across the sound and get you at Zittel's Marina. We'll spank some Blackmouth at Johnsons Point or get the hard fighting Chums down off the delta before the river fellows do! Chums are pretty easy to catch and will rocks your socks off!

Chum Man and Rivers thanks for the great information. Have most of the waters listed, without much sucess but I'm not giving up.

What has been the best bait/rig combo for you? Are you bank fishin or boat?

Downriggin, email comin atcha sir

THanks Guys
Paul

Hey Talljeeper, glad to have you in town. I fish mostly Black Lake or Long Lake. Black Lake the bait of choice for me is a large jointed floating Rapala, in Brown Trout. Tolled at idle just slays them from about 6pm on 'till dusk. The rainbows just tear these things up! Now and then you will even get a nice bass. From the public ramp, go across the lake and hang a right. Start trolling just past the swimming hole, all the way to the pilings. The far side of the lake seems best. Long Lake, same thing just anywhere, but mostly in the south end seems to work. I haven't used pop gear, but would probably work great. A great extra feature is a rubber snubber about 2' in front of your Rapala injected with earth worm oil with a hypo needle. They can't leave it alone!!

Let me know if you want to go out some evening, I live about 5 mins from Black Lake.

Steve email sent......

Grizz how did ya do on the Cow

Paul

Ya know, my favorite way to fish for trout is light gear. I never you weight if I don't have to.
I prefer to use 6# mainline and 2# or 4# leader.
If I am trolling or dritfing, I usually use a 2-4 ft leader with a size 2 or 4 baitholder. I first put on a small red/orange powerbait egg and then the top half of a nightcrawler. I let out 10 - 50 yards and troll fairly slow. In the summer I will use split shots or egg sinkers to put my bait deeper. Sometimes I will use lake trolls to get deep and attract fish.

I will also troll small rapala's, flatfish or hotshots.

I have sent you an email.

Riverswild

paul just a couple of cr trout. first time on the cowlitz myself . looking forward to goin back. took the wife, she doesn't fish much. hard to cast a row if you know what i mean.

Hey talljeeper. What kinda fish did you want to learn how to catch? I live in lacey on College street. I fish every weekend pratically dude. e-mail me man and I'll show you some secret steelhead water that I bet only 2 or 3 people know of cuz ive only ever seen 2 or 3 people when Ive been fishing 'em. I can show ya how to catch any fish that swims the river bro. We just got back from Seiku/Neah bay up on the Straits of Juan de Fuca and it was a blast.

Talljeeper,
I'd love to help you out. I've lived in Oly my entire life (minus WSU and a short stint in Puyallup). CHECK YOUR EMAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!There's tons of fish to be had within an hour from here. Locally, there's tons as well. Hopefully my email helps you out and gets that monkey off your back.....

Sincerely,
Cuttie