THE OPENER...

When is it and what...some of your guys plans??

For westside?

ya sorry... i forgot i made this post trout are on the bottom of the list of stuff going on

I'll probably find myself up at Deer Lake at Whidbey Island....

For many of the people out there on opening day, its the first day they are out there since October 31st. For me, I do a lot of fishing in late winter and early spring, so for me, opening day isn't really like dusting off the rods and getting them back in use again.

Honestly, I've always avoided opening day just because I fish so much at a bunch of other year round trout lakes, and I don't like the traffic and the stuff that it brings, but I just kinda wanna go out just for the spirit of "opening day" this year.

any lake that is just opening is great. just take a chair and video camera to record your own bloopers film for loads of entertainment.personally I head out after a couple of weeks to have more peace of mind or I hit a fly only or selective gear lake for I also fish year round

Gotta love Opening Day traditions, if nothing else. Pine lake with one of my boys. If we had more time maybe McMurray in the bigger boat with both of them. Always depends on baseball practise/games now.

I like the video bloppers. Send me an Opening Day Video and we'll get it posted on the new site.

Used to do lake wilderness back in the late seventies/early eighties ,that was always a riot at the boat launch and on a lake where you could walk accross it by boat ,watch the trollers snag the anchorers. good pancake breakfast in the AM though

After last year's debacle I might sit this one out. I hate ending up having to park a mile (yes, I said a mile) away from where I launch the boat and spend the whole time worrying if it's getting ripped off or vandalized or towed. That and the bank maggots who get all pissy when you ask them to move thier butts and thier overlimit stringer of finger-sized hatchery fry so you can launch/take out then sit there and grumble, piss & moan about "dem damn boaters..." Meanwhile, the other boaters who havent bothered to fire up thier boats or put in new gas in about a year decide to sit in the middle of the ramp and troubleshoot thier 55 year old kicker for a solid hour...
Where I fish the opener used to be a somewhat of a sleeper spot but the last years it was shore to shore boats, rafts, canoes, kayaks and even one guy in an innertube...It was like a circus & the Special Olympics combined.

*sigh* It didn't go well last year.

Irie,
That's a pretty good description of it...
Honestly, I wanna go cause of that...

Just once, haven't done it in a while...

opening weekend is the only time of year that there's any real fishing pressure on the lakes around here in lacey. however, i still like heading out because of tradition and just to see the antics of all the guys that don't have a clue.

i just make sure to get there before sunrise to beat the crowds of guys who launch their boat twice a year, or leave the plug out, or forget to put fresh gas in the tank. i can't say i've ever had a bad opener!

I am not sure where I am going to go this year. In past years, either Deer Lake (Island) or Blue Lake (Grant) have been my Opening Day destinations. I guess it all depends on how far I want to drive this year.

I usually go around noon to 1 pm after all of the early morning crowd has left and I find a good parking spot and catch limits in a pretty good hurry so I can't see and need to be there at day light!

try this out it will suprise you!

btt

Carl,
I'll probably see you at Deer!
Thats my "intended" lake to fish time come that day...

Hi Guys,

I've been a lurker here for about two years, simply reading the fishing reports. Today I noticed the forums link and here I am! (Don't worry, my wife thinks I'm a little slow too ).

My brother and I typically hit Jameson every year about two weeks after opening day to avoid the rush. This year looks to be the same, a mid-week trip from Seattle to the peaceful and calm (read: my cell phone doesnt work there) Jameson Lake Resort.

I cant wait!

Tim

PS - I know the lake isn't open for fishing yet, but has anyone seen what the water conditions look like? It has been improving over the last couple of years.

It's sad what has happened to Jameson. I fished the spring and fall openers every year for over 20 years, but the last 5 have been so bad that I'm going elsewhere. 2 years ago I caved in and decided to try the spring opener. The crowds were way down and so were the fish. There was an emergency stocking right before the opener, so there were a few fish caught. I spoke at length with the fish biologist and he had no idea what was going on with the water quality and what was causing the fish die off. Isn't that their job?.... He said they were considering a staggered planting of larger fish and not stocking the small fingerlings in May.

I don't believe this happend last year, so I would be suspect of a decent opener this year. Does anyone have any updated info. on this once magnificent lake? I missed the Oct. opener this past year, so how did that play? Shame how far downhill this lake has gone. Jameson would have to be rated in the top 10 for size and fish caught in past years. I see they stocked the heck out of Blue Lake this year, so that may be my destination unless I hear something favorable from Jameson.

Last May the water was in fair condition. There was a decent amount of floating "stuff" (I call it that, I am not sure what kind of plant it is). The previous time I was there (October 2004) This same substance was so bad that it was clogging rod eyes and moved us out of our normal spot (the area next to the little blue house).

The action has always been good, but the fish size has been dwindling. We did have discussions about moving our trip to Rufus Woods, but decided to give Jameson one last shot.

The (new) owners of Jameson Lake Resort have spent a fair amount on updating the campground including a new restaurant/tackle shop. I hope the owners know something about the lake that we don't.

-Tim

I think sully has the right idea...

No need to get up early on opening day....


I've worked Summit Lake in Thurston County the last few years and done very well..... don't get to the ramp until 'bout 5pm and there are lots of places to park with greatly reduced crowds.. I just pop the boat in and make one slow troll around the lake. Will catch 3 or 4 of the "big planters" and 10 to 20 of the smaller ones in the 2 hours or so it takes to make the run.... Most of the action will be at the extreme ends of the lake.

I use a small tbs spoon with barbless hooks and a couple of split shot for weight.. All fish are quickly landed and released. I don't like to keep opening day trout because I think they are for the kids... when you let one go it is with the expectation that someone from the next generation of sporfishers will eventually have a good time hooking and landing it.

You gotta go for the sport of "Opening Day"