I came to this lake for one thing: Tiger muskies! The first day I was
there, it was so hot I didn't feel like doing anything except set up camp.
The mosquitoes were about the worst I've ever seen anywhere in Washington,
and unable to locate the bug repellant buried somewhere in my car, I got
eaten alive. My friend Tom showed up with his 18-foot boat, and we set up a
drift on the north shore. He positioned the boat over the weed edge and
began jigging for walleye in 18' of water while I cast a small bucktail over
8'-10' deep weed beds toward shore. My fourth cast drew a strike from a 36"
muskie, but in the excitement, I forgot to set the hook! We both got a good
look before it spit the lure. What a beautiful fish! This was around 10:30
a.m. It was a hot and cloudless, and fishing hard all day, our entire take
was one small perch for Tom and a 25" muskie I caught around 6 p.m. And that
was it for the whole day. The previous day, two other juvenile muskies in
the 26" size range were taken by bass fishermen on spinner baits. Most people
fish here for walleye or bass, and occasionally take a muskie as an
incidental catch, although a big one would be difficult to handle with
walleye or bass gear. I use a 7-foot bucktail rod spooled with 30-lb mono.
A #5 Mepps is a good size bucktail; I wouldn't waste my time throwing muskie
plugs (or any other plugs) at these fish. If you don't own a muskie rod, you
can use a bass flipping rod, although it's a bit too light for good hook
sets. Muskies have bony mouths and you really have to hit 'em, preferably
more than once. Keep hooks razor-sharp and use a wire leader or you will
lose fish! Work the shallow weed beds on the north and south shorelines using
a fairly fast, straight-in retrieve keeping the lure just above the weed
tops. Muskies will follow a lure all the way to the boat; to get them,
figure-eight the lure next to the boat, sticking the rod tip in the
water--and be prepared for a teeth-jarring strike. You will need a muskie
cradle or salmon-size net to get the fish aboard, and jaw spreaders and vice
grips to extract the hooks. Remember, release all tiger muskies! Hold the
fish upright in the water with one hand under the belly, grasp the tail with
the other hand, and pump the fish back and forth to move oxygenated water
through its gills until the fish recovers and swims away. Please, folks,
Evergreen is only 235 acres and one adult muskie per acre is about the
maximum density, so the population is limited and if you don't release the
fish, there won't be a muskie fishery here. One other thing, don't expect a
wilderness camping experience here. The Quincy Wildlife Area is not very big
and you can see farms, buildings, and highway traffic. There also will be
plenty of campers, even on weekdays. Because the camping is free, and no
park rangers are around, you will share the area with some boorish characters
who play loud radios, party, and leave trash. Unfortunately, when public
lands are open to all comers, there are always some who abuse the privilege.

---