This report covers two days of fishing on a lake that will not be named. County- Skamania? Pierce? King? I don't know.
I guess it's kinda cruel to post a report without revealing location, but the fishery is good enough that I want it to stay rather sheltered.

I decided to check this lake out because it looked fishy to me. I didn't know it's name, or see any reports, but it looked fishy. Very fishy.

Day one, had no idea what to expect. Packed up some gear- an ultralight trout outfit and a medium light setup that I would use for bass. I enjoy feeling the fight, and although 65lb braid is often practical in some scenarios, I've found that bass can be landed on any tackle if played correctly. I also don't feel like using a broom stick that could haul up Moby Dick if it needed to. 10lb test and a light, responsive rod makes for great enjoyment of the sport.

I immediately started seeing fish. Not five minutes in, and a recently spawned 4lb female bass guarding thousands of young lurked under my boat. I decided to move on, having spooked the fish.

My fist catch was a 10 inch largemouth on a #0 bronze mepps on my ultralight setup. Actually a very fun fight. He, as all the fish are in this lake, are chunky and very healthy. He coughed up a 3-4 inch baitfish when I brought him in. Back into the water he went, and onwards I went.

I still poked around with the ultralight and the mepps. Several other small bass came and went, and then, something bigger said hello.

Lily pads bubbled as my rod tip dipped into a hard arc towards the water, drag whizzing away as the fish took off. Thrashing about, the green beauty gave it her all to snap my thread of a line on the stems of every lily pad in the vicinity, but to no avail. After one more breakaway, I lipped her, and hoisted her in, an all 3-4lbs of glory. Great fish, on a most miniscule of lure. Back she went, and onwards I fished.

Switching to a 4 inch fluke, I worked around some stumps and other debris. Not much happened, but right underneath the boat, a subtle tap indicated a pickup. Again the hook was set, and the rod bent towards the water. it seemed as if the other fish's twin struck, another 3-4lb beauty! back into the lake she went, and I called it a day.

Upon returning the next day, I immediately got to work. But today, the lake wouldn't give p its quarry easy.
I threw jerkbaits and flukes again, imitating the forage that the bass are feeding on. First hookup on the husky jerk, a solid fish. Again, in the 3-4lb range easy... but I never got a good look. She came unbuttoned and swam away victorious. Lake 1, Ian Horning 0.

I kept pressing on, working more cover. Another strike ten feet from my boat, another large fish. The hookset came in, and............ nothing. Lake 2, Ian Horning 0.

Again I pressed on, and received another strike shortly. The hook was set into a heavy fish, who swirled beneath the surface. One flash of yellow side, and once again, slack line. he had spit the hook. Lake 3, Ian Horning 0. That one was real big.

Damn the jerkbait, time to switch. The fluke rod was picked up and flipped around, and finally a bite registered. Hookset in, plus headshakes to boot. Yippee, here we go again. Another solid fish, around 4-5 lbs. He was actually landed, believe it or not. He had a big slash on his side from an eagle or osprey trying to grab him, still pretty fresh.

I covered more water with the Husky Jerk. I slung it across some flats, jerking it over some weeds. it bumped into a clump of weeds, and then something bumped back. Something real big. It took off like a rocket, shaking it's head, peeling drag, and dodging in and out of weeds, under the boat, everywhere. But I prevailed in the end, holding the largest largemouth I've ever caught. It was around 22-23 inches long (used my wader boot as a reference- its about 13 inches long) and probably weighed 6-7 pounds. All I know is it was an extremely healthy fish, very fat and thick. Back she went, and again, I called it a day.

2/5 Isn't that bad in the end, I guess. Still some great fish, great memories, and a great lake. If I'd have caught all of theose fish, my "tournament limit" of five fish would have been pretty hefty. Oh well, maybe next time.

Tight lines, and thank you to all veterans we remember this weekend and beyond!

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