Thw wife wants to camp at Mason Lake this summer, so I will have to take the Ol' fishing boat. Problem is, I have never fished Mason Lake. Can anybody help me out here as to what to expect? What kindds of fish is in the Lake? How do you fish 'em? Is there any perch/bluegill to turn the kids onto? Any information would be appreciated..

Thanks,
Tight Lines.

umrules:

We have a family place on the lake that was purchased back in the '40's, so I guess I could tell you a little... I was just up there over the Memorial Day Weekend.
It's a rather big lake for Western Washington and there is a public access via the county park reached off of Highway 3, BUT NO CAMPING ON THE LAKE. There is also a Simpson park for their employees only. The closet camping would be over at Belfair or Twanoh State Park on Hood Canal. Also, there is no fuel or store on the lake - there was in the past. Be advised that the lake is heavily used by skiers, jet skis, etc. It is a very busy lake on nice weekends. Your best fishing is very early in the morning, but as it warms up be prepared for a bouncy ride.
As far as fish, what do you want? The lake has kokanee - not real big, bass, perch, catfish, crappie, some rainbow and cutthroat. Use standard kokanee rig- pop gear/ wedding ring / maggot. Bass - choose your weapon. Perch - anything - they also tend to be smaller, but some 12 - 14". There are also trash fish - what I call squaw fish and suckers - some of these get big.
If you have questions, let me know, I'll do what I can. There are other lakes outside of Belfair towards Dewatto with camping that you might want to consider.

Micro Brew,
Thanks for the info. We are going to be camping at the Simpson place. How deep will I need to go for the Kokes? I see the lake has a section that is about 90 feet deep, is that the target for 'em? Any particular areas to hit the 'bows or panfish? (North, South, or any land marks to look for??)

Thanks again fro the reply.

Tight lines!

Simpson has a nice spot down at the outlet end of the lake. Make sure that you take the short walk through those massive Douglas firs, very impressive.

I have not used a depth finder, so I can't tell you the actual deptfh of the fish. I have had good luck with the pop gear and a 1 ounce sinker. I tend to fish for the kokes up the lake from Simpson in the deeper water out from Little Hoquiam. That is the large bay on the right as you head up the lake. Since you will be at Simpson, they do hit bass along the pads at that end of the lake. Be prepared for how busy the lake can be, especially down by Simpson, if the weather is nice.

There are also some rather large cutts in the lake. They don't tend to hit the koke rigs, perhaps a trolled rapala or other spoon.

Good luck and have a great time.

Thanks again for all the info Micro, I really appreciate it.

Tight Lines!!