A sheet of GLASS.

That would describe Badger Lake on this early morning; just before sun-up. Quiet as a church--- except for some early-morning coyotes howling in the distance.

We poked the bow of the boat into the stillness of Badger Lake and, using the electric trolling motor, slowly made our way along the S shoreline, using our leaded line rigs to probe the deeper depths of the lake in hopes of enticing some of the piscatorial residents into chomping onto our lures. The lake is about 2' lower than it was at the beginning of fishing season; the shoreline rocks were mute evidence of the lowered water level.

There were no disturbances of the lake surface as we approached the basalt cliffs that the power lines towered over--- it was gratifying to see the osprey nest was back, looming big over the deepest part of the lake. We made passage through this part of the lake, with plenty of fish showing on the fish finder--- but no takers to our offerings. Wait 'til later in this report, though...

We made it to the NE part of the lake--- the part that HAD the motorcycle on the shoreline (it was there for YEARS, but is now gone...) Still no nibbles or bites. This was looking kinda like the SKUNK was beginning to get ready to appear.

During our sojourn we again tried various set-ups, all in hopes of getting Badger Lake's fish population interested in hopping-into our boat. No dice. Until...

We caught-up with the COLOR and SET-UP that proved to be the bomb for CUTTHROAT!! This was no easy feat, either...

We caught our limits using the SAME EQUIPMENT near the place where the osprey screeched its approval of our discovery...

A great day for fishing at Badger Lake--- quiet, warm but with a slight breeze to keep it from getting too hot---

The restrooms were clean, despite the 'foreign' aroma.

THANKS, WDFW for making Badger Lake a fun destination for fishing.
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BAITS THAT WORKED: Maggot-inis

TYPES OF FISH: Cutthroat Trout, all of 'em. About half of them over 14" long, too!!

LENGTH OF FISH: See last entry.

WEIGHT OF FISH: Dawggone it; I GOTTA GET A SCALE!!

TIME OF DAY: Morning, 6:00 AM to Noon.

LOCATIONS ON LAKE: Entire length--- with special interest near where power lines hang over the lake...

LURES USED: Wedding Rings--- a specific COLOR. We found out trial-and-error; you can, too!! It's easy...
Also--- Flashers are important, too. Use the SAME COLOR FLASHERS AS THE WEDDING RING COLOR. I tried the lure of the preferred color by itself (no flashers) at depth and caught NOTHING. I then tried putting an old flasher set onto the line (silver flashers) and still did not catch any fish, Then, just by placing the SAME COLOR flashers on the line at the same depth, I quickly caught my limit of cutthroat (true story!! And I'm sticking with it, too...) Just think: You have to realize the fish have to SEE your lure as well as FEEL the vibrations from it.

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Early-morning predawn conditions; clear skies, no wind--- still.

DEPTH: A definite thermal layer showed on our fish finder (varying in depth at different locations around the lake)
We found that depths were 25' and as deep as 60'. There are fish there...

BOAT SPEED: Less than 1 MPH. The flashers were working good...

NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON THE LAKE: 4-5 boats; maybe a dozen or so people fishing along the shore...

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