HEy when is the Big one...where is every body going ????

Are you talking about eastside early season openers? Need...to...find...time...

Umm Naw that westside opener ..........!

last saturday in april, and i'll be at silver lake by eatonville, been going there the last 15yrs

April 29th is the day this year...

I hit summit lake (thurston county) last year and did pretty well... caught and released well over a dozen small planters plus 2 or 3 holdovers (or maybe they were the large hatchery plants) by trolling small white tbs spoons..... a good time was had by all...

it was really a weird day though.... tried a bunch of different colors but only one fish was caught on any spoon that wasn't white on one side....

not sure what was up with that but I think I'll go try it again this year to see if this was a fluke or whether it's a real pattern....

maybe all the food they feed the put and take trout at the hatchery is white and that's why they respond to that color....


probably should also note that virtually all the action was at the extreme ends of the lake... trolled the shoreline along the middle portion of the lake and caught a few there but it was at the ends of the lake where things really got crazy.....

Thanks Guys...

I have fished at Lake Wooten (Mason County)ever since I could remember. We get up there around 5:00am or so. We(brothers, cousins and nephews) need to get there that early so we have a place to park. I took home a few triploids last year in the 2-3 pound range, which isn't uncommon at Wooten. We all use the same thing which is red or green kokanee killers.

Thanks!!!!

just one more point on opening day..

we big time adult salmon and steelhead and halibut fishers have lots of opportunity to put meat in the freezer so hopefully the general mood is catch and release for us on this big day....

I view the "last saturday in april" trout opener as being primariky an opportunity to bring kids into the sport... so I don't use barbless hooks and release everything I catch in order to preserve the resource... I do it because I want that fish back in the water so some kid might have an opportunity to catch it...

You got it right. It's a day for the kids, teach some C&R, keep a couple for the kids, and enjoy the time on the water.

Hey little River I bet you Fish the MIll Pond...

Hopefully you meant to say you use barbless hooks, not the "I dont use barbless hooks" that was typed.

hmm... where's the "mill pond" CF????

and it was a little confusing the way I wrote it gvbest.... opening day is "no bait and barbless hooks" for me... mostly I tend to troll (rowing a small car topper boat) small tbs kinds of things or flys on really light tackle because when you get a hit by one of the "brood stock plants" it really makes everthing go crazy.......

i didn't do so well at the elma ponds last year(after me and a good buddy landed probably 15 of those 5-10lb brooders in 2004 on spinners), so i think i might switch back to fishing hicks lake on the opener like i usually do. maybe this year there'll be some perch to be had as well as those good eatin' triploids.

i also think it's a lot of fun to watch the guys that bring their old scows out 1 day a year, and the people that are trying to start their boat for the first time in 6 months at the ramp. always a good show, i just make sure to get there early so i don't have to get stuck behind them when i go launch

If my plans come together I will be over at the Sun Lakes area terrorizing trout and walleye.

Hopefully over to the traditional Pine Lake in Issaquah or maybe take a shot at Beaver Lake like I have been doing recently looking for those big triploid trout. I hear Beaver will be getting more of the triploids in early April, along with the usual stockers for the Spring opener???

Pine lake most likely. It's been a tradition with the kids since way back. I do need to hit Beaver one of these days. If the wind stops blowing...

Ive done really well on Summit trolling Rapalas with a bit of worm on the end, about 75-100 feet back.

I used to love summit because it was sort of under the radar...but it seems like its getting more & more busy. Plus when it warms up the Jet Skiers and Wakeboarders really tear it up.

Still like it though.

Hicks Lake is a Major League Clusterf**k. Year round. All those Lacey Lakes are, but Hicks is the worst. Ive seen fights there over both crossed lines and boaters running over 3-4 ppl's lines at the ramp. I guess opening day powerbait fishermen dont want to get up that extra 1/2 hr early and drive somewhere farther out.

I usually only go on opening day b/c thats when The Wives let my friends out of the house. This year I have a much bigger boat though.

Oh yeah--There's a Bass in Summit Lake that's as long as a grown man's arm. I ain't saying where, but it's THE biggest bass Ive seen, and that includes TV and books.

Ichtyoid? sure that fish is a basS? could it be a carp? at anyrate..if it was a bass. that would be a beastly fish....im thinking pine lake...been going around beaver lately, haven't been since they dumped in the new trips...but i haven't fished the old pine in a while...that should be my opening day destination. they are getting a whoppin 20,000 trout this year...can't wait and i will also try for some bass hopefully...

Oh yes.

Was night fishing with a buddy using night bobbys. About 11pm we heard ker-ploosh! like when you drop a 30 lb stone into water. We thought it was a beaver or otter. Then we heard it again & again & again. I broke out my maglite & panned the area. In the beam I caught a big goldish brown w. black stripes in midair, mouth the size of a softball.

We were drunk, to be sure, but we weren't tripping.