I've been out on both Liberty Lake and Newman Lake this week (9/4/06) and was surprised by the water conditions. The water was green in color (were the round floaters algae?) and there were giant "slicks" of what appeared to be pollen? It was varying colors of yellow, green & brown. Maybe it's fire retardant that was dropped from a plane and has blown downwind?

I wasn't on the water much this time last year so don't know if it's just a seasonal thing or not.

Also, any advice on if the fishing is any good when the visibility appears to be so poor?

Thanks guys!

I don't know the source, but those lakes as well as W. Medical are bad for algae and bad tasting fish after Spring.

I have found Badger and Williams Lakes to be far cleaner; with both producing "mud-free" tasting trout into September. I carry ice with me and clean the fish and put them on it ASAP.

funny you should mention badger, i fished there saturday afternoon and found it to be much clearer and full of active fish.

i'm sure the algae & taste thing are related to the lake depth. i was just browsing some of the topo maps on washingtonlakes.com's website and liberty & newman max out at 30ft deep, whereas badger goes over 100.

any other deeper lakes you recommend? i guess i'll swap my bigger boat for my 12' aluminum and hit chapman after the regular season ends, i see it has 100+ depths too.

thanks for replying!

Also try Rock Lake; straight South of Badger Lake on the Rock Lake Road. BIG brown trout and some large rainbows to go along with the spiny rays. Fall is the time for the browns on this year round open lake, but watch out for the infamous winds. The public launch is on Rock Lake Road.