On normal years I would have at least a dozen salt water trips under my belt, fishing for the Coho... but with the WDFW closing down that fishery this year (strange, but all my friends who fished Chinook this season, complained that they couldn't keep Coho off the hooks.... lied to again??). Anyway, lusted for some fishin' action, so headed out early for Silver Lake. I normally stop trout fishing by the middle of June, but I was seriously in need of wetting a line... beginning to get the "shakes". With a cooler day forecast, cloudy with showers, I figured I might have better odds... and fewer swimmers and beach goers. Arrived at 5:30, down to the lake by 5:45 and lines in the water shortly there-after. Began fishing Power Eggs, pink on one rig (5' leader), chartreuse on the other (3' leader). Temp at the outset was 60 degrees, very cloudy with a persistent breeze from the south. Water temp off the pier at 12' deep was 70 degrees... poor trout conditions! At 6:30, had a hit on the chartreuse PE, then another fifteen minutes later... no hook-ups. Finally, about 7:00 my rod tip doubled over and I was into a fish... landed a chunky 12" Rainbow. Okay, fish are willing to play! Nothing more for an hour and a half... at 8:30, my rod was nearly pulled from it's support... I grabbed the rod and knew immediately that I was into a hog of a fish... line peeled off my reel and when the fish stopped, could feel the head shakes. Made a little head-way on the reel, then another run, then another... spent at least five minutes bringing the fish to the pier... finally had it in sight... at least 24", maybe more... reached for it with my net, the fish turned and lunged away, and the leader snapped (use mostly 4# or 5#, this outing I had gone with 3# and paid the price). Retied and cast out again... let the PE soak until about 1:30 when the rod tip doubled over again, and I landed my second Rainbow of 13 1/2". Had several more bites but no hook-ups. All my trout action was on the chartreuse PE on a 3' leader.
At 10:00 I reeled in my rig with the 5' leader and switched to fishing for Yellow Perch under a float, using night-crawlers and Perch fillets. Had great fun the rest of the day, fishing for panfish. Caught at least two dozen Perch, kept ten of the largest, running 7" to 9". Also caught at least a dozen more LMB, running from 6" to 10" and a couple of bluegill as well... all the former, released unharmed, hooked only in the lip.
Very enjoyable day, cloudy with a few showers, but comfortable. Only one other trout fisherman spent a couple of hours on the pier north of me but caught nothing. About 3:00 a couple of women brought eight or nine youngsters to the piers to fish for panfish... loved the enthusiasm and the hoots and hollers, the laughter when they were able to hook a small perch or LMB. Hope those kids (boys and girls) will enjoy their fishing for a lifetime! Left the lake about 4:00.
Should be noted that the two trout I landed were clearly suffering from a parasitic infestation that causes lesions/sores on their skin. The only other time I have seen this parasite was on Summertime fish caught at Lake Ballinger. Since I usually do not fish trout beyond the middle of June, I imagine that this is a common infestation in our west-side lowland lakes as the waters warm. Several years ago I obtained a WDFW publication regarding these parasites which assured me that the fish were safe to consume. Nevertheless, these two are destined for several days in brine and then the smoker. No more trout fishing until October, for me. PTL!

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