ProCrafter

Here is my take on the week.... Got in at noon on Sunday...of course a little put off when one of the first things I hear on the radio as I am driving out that there is a tornado warning for the area!! (it would go for a few days too!!) and also dodging the Deer and dead Turkeys all over the roads!! The surrounding area looked just like all the Hunting shows looked like when I would watch them on Saturday morning this past winter. Went to the shoreline with a jig and a shakey head just prior to the welcoming registration and caught three fish!! signs of things to come! Monday got out with Cart7t and it was windy but we hit a main lake point and threw carnks for several fish then went inside the resort bay and loaded up on fish!! each boating 12 to 15 fish on Cranks..(Cart7t) and shakey heads/jigs.....alot of subkeepers with a few 15+ inchers for good measure! Tuesday Long Mike had set up me and Simp to use his boat for the day..."The Pimp Wagon"...never have I seen a Tracker get a fully integrated GPS system...fuel is even tracked on it!! and it is alarmed into the compartments!! indications Mike is very good to his boat!! Thanks again for the opportunity! We hit an inside winded bay for 45 mins then decided to hit the Rip Rap with crankbaits and proceded to load up on Crankbait fish!! Brown Craw pattern seemed to work the best and you got whacked when they hit!! we made five drifts through there!! and still I had to go back for a few hours after we went in to fish it from shore and brought 8 more fish in!! Wednesday Long Mike took me across the lake downstream to a bay where we hit various contours and features just hit or miss...I got my first on a crankbait, then another on a trap, two-6 more on a Shakey Head and lost a toad 4 pounder flipping some brush in less than 1 ft. of water!! litterally hung the fish suspended for two minutes as we tried to get the boat over there to get to her till the line broke.....as we ate junch Mike looked down and saw a fish fanning a bed!! he worked it for 10-12 minutes and it didnt look with any interest so he asked me if I wanted a shot so I threw a Texas Rigged lizard in Green Pumpkin in there repeatedly for ten mions or so and saw the tell tale flareing of the gills and set up on a three pounder only to have it come off at the boat!! (The earliest Bed Fish for me!!) We came off the water as the wind got goin again and lucky we did as mikes boat got stuck in reverse at the launch! I still, of course managed my usual trip to th shoreline for another ten or so fish!!! Thursday was with CJ and man....That guy drives that Legend pretty dang fast!! I gave him my usual "Im a Speed Puss" speech but he said.."Nothin to worry bout this boat is stable" not to mention he is a classy guy and gave me a break on the rough stuff! The lake was pretty calm that day as we worked main lake and secondary points...he picked off 4-5 before I got my first one!! and he just kept on teaching me how the fish were positioning, what they were feeding on and his observations as he problem solved...I felt like I was in the boat with Rick Clunn!!! it is good to see someone so versed in his fishery and having such a passion for the sport!! we each caught 25+ fish with several 15+ inchers in the mix! Along with getting to see the sheer beauty of the lake!! Thanks alot CJ!!!! Friday was a little stormy and when the soreness of all the fishing had caught up..saying goodbye is never fun but knowing we will all meet again is comforting not to mention we are all just a click away!! P.S. Yes...I did go out on Friday afternoon and caught another 8 fish !!! Here is a few shots of the trip.... The view from Kenlake One of the points... Baby Turtles!!! One of the Shore Busters... The Marina Hole! Cypress Tree. Long Mike... Some of the Gang... MMMMMMM.....Dinner!! Scene of the crime...Lost 4 lber in there!! One for the Ladies!! Keeper!! Ode to the Yard Bird!! Parting Shot....

I noted the same thing....even a guy fishing from shore can spend an an entire day whackin fish and getting a decent bag!!! of course he would have red shoes due to the clay in the soil!!! I would like to go back just to get to see more of the lake...Me and CJ went only 10 miles up river and found too many bays and main lake Points and Secondary Points that held fish...it would take 100 years to fish them all and the weather conditions not to mention the fact this is a river system constantly changes this environment so youd have to start again!! I am so envious of the folks who live in this area and bummed I do not!

Head off at 7AM to Silver Lake in Lewis Co. for our clubs Draw Tournament! Will post the results Sunday.

Great Job Nikki! Im so Jealous!! you all are gonna have a blast watchin her learn this new sport!!

I would take two rods each trip....first trip...look for aggressive fish.... Rod #1.....Baitcaster with a mid range crankbait...7-10 ft. change up thru the day...Craw....Firetiger.....Shad etc... Rod #2.....Baitcaster for a slow rolled Spinnerbait...change up...White to Chartreuse/white to Firetiger etc.... Day two... Rod #1.....Baitcaster with a Jig.....throw to wood, Rip-Rap...combo and at bases of weedlines Rod #2.....Spinning Rod with 8 lb line...rigged with a weightless and weighted Senko......cast it to the weedlines, inside and out for the suspended fish and staged Spawn-Post Spawn fish By limiting yourself to two rods you learn to adjust your thinking and eliminate non-productive techniques more methodically and by all means keep notes to aid in the learning process. Feel free to expand this to multiple days but keep the limit at two rods to continue the elimination process.

Done, Larry from Kent Wa.

Just got back from the airport......bbbbooooorrrrriiiiinnnnngggg!!! After all that fun at the lake sitting in two different aircraft was so slow!! Great to meet all you clowns and cannot wait to get into this site more and meet the rest of you. This has got to be one of the best fishing adventures I have ever had. Caught close to 100 fish for the week...Sunday when I arrived three of us went down just before supper and I caught three off the shoreline!!! spent maybe 5 hours a day fishing from shore and the bank is just crawling with fish! I wont see that in the Seattle area till August!! My biggest was around 4 pounds but I suspended her in a bush I was flipping..(With Mono!) and she busted me and got to catch my first bed fish of the year...around three lbs! Thanks to my boaters...Cart,Long Mike,Long Mike again for me and Simp!, and CJ. All you guys are what this sport is about! Will post pics and some hokey movie stuff too....even storm footage! goin nappin now....

Heading to Seatac Airport!! Look Out Kentucky!!! See Ya'll in the AM!!!

My boat in February. Here is last years April draw tournament....

Will try Glenn but I am still doing something wrong when I try to post pics.....guess im still computarded....

My flight gets in at 9:30 am on Sunday or so in Nashville....will be an afternoon thing for me after the rental car drive!...maybe a Jet-Lag nap too!!! Also have a Fish-In at American Lake on Saturday so will still be fishin here in Washington till the last minute as my flight does not leave Seattle till 10:45 PM.

Ive already decided, if I get sick.....ill or otherwise meet my demise I will be there, propped up in Glenn and Keri's rental boat...with my Frosted with mold donut/bagel in my hand and would still be better than fishing at home...oh...it snowed again yesterday in the suburbs of Seattle and it was 38 degrees!!!!

Looks like I will be stopping at a Walmart and getting a cheapo cooler on the way there from Nashville.

I am the AmbBASSador Director for our club and I love it when we meet once a month on the 1st Saturday for our "Fish-Ins"..... good folks learning new things and having a great lunch at noon and then our regular tounament weekend the third weekend...still leaves me two weekends and some weekdays to go it alone for the "ME" time we all need.

Got the Fishing License printed up..3 times, one for each item taken...(Gotta have spares!) Rods are in the Frabill carrier...... Going through final tackle selection and reel line re-loading..... 6 days, 10 hrs and 15 mins till wheels up!!! ;D

Set up my rental car today from Nashville for a week!! tackle running rig is now in place!!!!

Very Sorry to hear you will not make it Ronnie, But thank goodness for the work you have recieved in this recession and you know what?...The fish will be wherever you are!! Thanks so much for all the work you folks have done as this too, is my first Roadtrip and look forward to helping out in future ventures. Larry.

Here in Seattle my local lake, Lake Sawyer is still at 45 degrees but I saw the first fish of the year, a Smally around 1-1/2 lbs cruising in 2 feet of water...skiddish as I thought it would be but it still got me looking so forward to the 4th!!! five more 12 hour work shifts and I am there!!! of course, should be able to get the Procraft out 3 more times here first!!! ;D ;D

Sorry to hear about the theft...My whole boat was stolen in 2005 and was found in a field 3 wks later all the gear, electronics were gone...they couldnt get the motor off and the trolling motor bolts stripped so $3500.00 and 5 months of wrangling with the insurance and re-stocking baits to get back going again....3 other boats in the neighborhood were stolen but they were burned or butchered. The PoPo belive it was meth-heads getting items to guick sell to produce they're drugs. >

Washington State is year round for bass except on select trout lakes where they lock access.....usually urban lakes.

Here is the list of washington tournament waters where permits have been issued and their dates www.wdfw.wa.gov/fish/contests/2009contests.htm .....if they have tourneys...they have Bass!! also hit the W.D.F.W. logo and it will have thelink to all the lakes and their seasons, closures, species etc. Hope it helps!!!

Simp has gotta room......now lets go fishin!!!

I will tell you when I get back from the Kentucky Roadtrip!!

If the rooms are big enough...and they have folding beds or pull out couches he is welcome in our hootch....

I'm the late guy...had my team up after the Classic so I am way behind!