bob johansen
9/3/2018 9:32:14 AMI have also caught bass from all the lakes you mentioned at the end of the report except Steilacoom. I did fish that lake twice but caught only Squawfish. I found the parking there sub-par.
I was going to wait until later in the fall to try this one again, but it was cool and cloudy, so I figured it would be a good day for reduced ski boats. When I arrived I went to use the toilet and found a bunch of stolen mail littering the floor of the out house. I wish there weren't so many dirt bags around here.
Anyway, I was mostly right about the ski boats, it stayed surprisingly quiet all afternoon. Fishing was slow though. Those cabbage beds and pad fields by the launch look so good, but I've only managed a few smaller bass and some panfish off of them. I kicked across to where there were some docks and promptly caught a hard fighting largemouth on a tube. I was using a light spinning rod and 7lb test, so it was a nice little tussle. She weighed in at 2.8, though she felt so much bigger on the end of my line. I pulled a few dink smallmouth off the docks but it got more and more shallow as I worked up the bank. I went out deeper and fished a drop shot for the rest of my fish. I had a lot of little nibbles but wasn't hooking up much, even after downsizing to a size 6 hook and a little 3" Reins Bubbling Shaker. I was knocking the perch dead on this setup last time, but only hooked a few this time. I ended up with 27 fish for the day. In addition to the nice bass on the dock, I got a couple of largemouth around a foot and a smallmouth of the same size, a bunch of tiny bass of both kinds, some perch, a bluegill and a pumpkinseed. It got quite breezy and then suddenly the sun popped out but it was colder and windier. I'm thinking a small, dry front was blowing through. That would explain the reluctant fish. I may try Spencer again in October if I have time, but I really want to fit in some new places before it cools off too much. I'm hoping to hit Riffe, Swofford, Steilacoom, Tapps, Offut, Lawrence and maybe Rapjohn before it gets too cold.