Northwest Fishing Reports

Just wondering if Picnic Point Ponds just north of Beverly Elementry School between Lynnwood and Mukelteo along the tracks are still fishable? Back in the 60's when the UofW used them for the Donaldson trout program. Used to be a neighborhood dump off for goldfish. They got up to foot long. Those Broodstock Donaldsons were really fun to catch back then. If it is still legal I'll go up there and try it.

fishing collector wrote:Those Broodstock Donaldsons were really fun to catch back then. If it is still legal I'll go up there and try it.

Some of those broodstock Donaldson's were planted in Lake Washington years ago...Bill W aka Zeen Leecher knows about this. These are some beefy fish, with large shoulders and serious attitude...I think I've hooked maybe 1 or 2 in LW and have never been able to reel line in on them...they hit and peel off most all my line, then come unhooked. A good friend of mine who fishes LW on a daily basis, has hooked some nice 7-9 lb. cutts out of Lake Washington that were supposedly Donaldson fish. I would need to email the fisheries biologist to confirm if in fact Donaldson's are still thriving in Lake Washington and its ecosystem...but I surmise they are

kuttkilla wrote:

fishing collector wrote:Those Broodstock Donaldsons were really fun to catch back then. If it is still legal I'll go up there and try it.

Some of those broodstock Donaldson's were planted in Lake Washington years ago...Bill W aka Zeen Leecher knows about this. These are some beefy fish, with large shoulders and serious attitude...I think I've hooked maybe 1 or 2 in LW and have never been able to reel line in on them...they hit and peel off most all my line, then come unhooked. A good friend of mine who fishes LW on a daily basis, has hooked some nice 7-9 lb. cutts out of Lake Washington that were supposedly Donaldson fish. I would need to email the fisheries biologist to confirm if in fact Donaldson's are still thriving in Lake Washington and its ecosystem...but I surmise they are [/quote

The Donaldsons were put in Picnic Point Ponds so they could be watched..... I fished for them in the 60's but when you caught one it would run all over the pond. The ponds are narrow and long and those fish would give you a real fight on a old zebco and a 6' casting rod..... Might be some left. :-)

fishing collector wrote: I fished for them in the 60's but when you caught one it would run all over the pond. The ponds are narrow and long and those fish would give you a real fight on a old zebco and a 6' casting rod..... Might be some left. :-)

Back in the 1960's is when they were supposedly planted in Lake Washington. I will email a biologist this week and have a definite answer. All I know is when I seem to hook a large fish in Lake Washington that peels out all my line, it just might be a Donaldson. They grow quick, live long, and reach enormous size if left unchecked (little fishing pressure). Many simply just die off. Donaldson's are serious fish and they garner quite a bit of respect from myself and fellow Lake Washington anglers. I'll get you a definitive answer if they were stocked in Lake Washington by the end of the week.

With all the bass and other various freshwater species being placed into anything that holds water year round, I'd be willing to bet that their are some bass or panfish roaming in such ponds.
For all you know, it could end up being your new "secret lake." That was the case for a few lakes for me. 2 ponds I know of seemingly have NO CHANCE of holding fish in them. But to my surprise when I started fishing them, I caught perch, sunfish, catfish and bass. I've even seen some large carp running around in them. And these ponds are maybe an acre or two in size.
Another of my set of secret lakes are really only a set of storm drain ponds that hold water year around. But they hold bass in them and most peoples backyard pools are bigger then them???
Who knows, if you got a chance to fish them, I'd suggest doing so.
You just never know what might happen...

A friend of mine has a year around pond on his property about 150 feet in Dia and 6-8ft deep.... any chance that this could be used for fish? Don't think that any fish are in it now...only lots of bullfrogs and ducks.....

fishing collector wrote:A friend of mine has a year around pond on his property about 150 feet in Dia and 6-8ft deep.... any chance that this could be used for fish? Don't think that any fish are in it now...only lots of bullfrogs and ducks.....

You bet. I would echo the wise words of Sam-K. Little ponds hold can hold amazing fish. There is a lake in Woodinville that is now private called "Radar Lake" and was owned and used by testing O'Neil water-skis. Needless to say, he stocked the pond with huge trout and fed them with feed. It produces rainbows that are HUGE...like Rufus Woods style. Of course it is a private pond and you have to know the owner to access it, otherwise it is tresspassing, which of course if a crime, so don't do that but Radar Pond/Lake out by Woodinville/Remond was a great place back in the day...it holds HUGE rainbows now, thanks to private stocking by the owner of O'Neil water skis.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UT ... 23432&z=16
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UT ... 46864&z=15

Link to "Radar" - You can see how long and skinny it is -- this was for the testing of water skis back in the day, and I believe they still do...they run a speed boat up and down and zig zag and jump all over It's a peaceful little lake.

fishing collector wrote:A friend of mine has a year around pond on his property about 150 feet in Dia and 6-8ft deep.... any chance that this could be used for fish? Don't think that any fish are in it now...only lots of bullfrogs and ducks.....

Very easily this could be used. Could make yourself a nice little bass pond:-"
Of course you would have to contact the WDFW and get the required permits if you were to stock it...

(sorry for the semi-hijack of the thread)

KK -- those photos of Radar lake are HILARIOUS -- I love how they built the turnarounds at the end (complete with islands in the middle) so you can turn the boat at speed and keep the skiier behind you.

Sam Kafelafish wrote:

fishing collector wrote:A friend of mine has a year around pond on his property about 150 feet in Dia and 6-8ft deep.... any chance that this could be used for fish? Don't think that any fish are in it now...only lots of bullfrogs and ducks.....

Very easily this could be used. Could make yourself a nice little bass pond:-"
Of course you would have to contact the WDFW and get the required permits if you were to stock it...

I am going to talk with my friend about stocking some bass in the pond..... The pond is just aways from Little lake and Crystal lake in the woodenville area. The WDFW is the next place to check. Sounds like a secret pond in the making.

fishing collector wrote:

Sam Kafelafish wrote:

fishing collector wrote:A friend of mine has a year around pond on his property about 150 feet in Dia and 6-8ft deep.... any chance that this could be used for fish? Don't think that any fish are in it now...only lots of bullfrogs and ducks.....

Very easily this could be used. Could make yourself a nice little bass pond:-"
Of course you would have to contact the WDFW and get the required permits if you were to stock it...

I am going to talk with my friend about stocking some bass in the pond..... The pond is just aways from Little lake and Crystal lake in the woodenville area. The WDFW is the next place to check. Sounds like a secret pond in the making.

only problem is, it's not a secret now....lol

Fishing collector -
If memory serves me correctly Pinic Point pond is no longer planted by the State; the issue was questions about public safety because of the nearby railroad.

Have your friend to check with the State for a planitng permit for his pond; it is required. As part of the process he should have a chance to "pick" the State biologist's brain about planting levels and species. With small ponds like that it is often difficutl to keep any spiny ray population in any sort of balance - often ends up with mostly small stunted fish. I would look to plant trout; at least as first option. The depth of the pond sounds as if it might support the trout year-round.

While the Donaldson trout can reach a very large size experiments in various waters in the State back in the 1960s and 70s showed that they did not survive very well in a "wild" environment. Worked ok in a put and take situation but did poorly were it was hoped that they would survive and grow for any extented period. seems that the current management rage is to use triploids to achieve what was hoped for from the Donaldsons.

Tight lines
Curt

I can't seem to find any ponds on google maps in the area of Beverly Elementary School. I'm looking around the area of 168th Street SW & 52nd Ave NW and all I see is Lake Serene to the NE. Can somebody give me cross streets for the ponds? I'd be interested in taking a look as it's only a mile or two from my work and I'd like to stop by on my way home and check them out. Are these the GPS co-ords for it? Lat: 47.8839, Long: -122.3307

The railroad tracks are the western boundry of the lake. Walk up them from Picnic Point and you will find the lake.

I've seen a few kids fishing in it, I fish for flounder right there on the other side. I haven't seen any risers while we've been there, but it wouldn't surprise me if the fish were still around.

Yeah I've been there once and saw what I though was a bluegill but nothing else.

i have spent a few trips in the area a few times looking for this pond all i have to do is go to the park then go north and the ponds are on the otherside of the track?

Looking at the map, it's north of the Picnic Point park and on the land side of the railroad track. Beverly Elementary seems to be an entirely different place?