Okay, time to hit the War Zone again! Headed for Green Lake at o'dark-thirty, arrived at 6:45, lines in the water by 7:00. Cloudy with a persistent breeze from the southeast. Temp at the outset was 42 degrees, water temp at the shoreline was 48 degrees. Fishing the northeast shoreline. Began fishing with fl. orange Power Eggs on one rig (3' leader), chartreuse on the other. Ten minutes in, fish on the orange, then the chartreuse, then the orange. Three fish by 7:30, getting much lighter and decided to switch out one rig to shrimp hoping to entice a Brown... have tried shrimp in the past but the Steelhead wouldn't take it. Today, however, their tastes have changed, three fish in a row on the shrimp, including the largest of almost 16". Another fish on the orange, seven fish by 10:00, then nothing for almost three hours.
Huge flock of over 150 Cormorants fished back and forth out front, 30' to 40' offshore... think they may have chased the fish out of the area. Tried various baits (nightcrawlers, Power Dough, more shrimp)... spin-cast several spoons and spinners, even worms under a float... nothing until 12:15, finally a good hit on chartreuse PE... no hook-up, but a glimmer of hope! Wind began to blow harder and started to rain about 12:00. Ten minutes later, fish on, reeled in my eighth... landed two more in next ten minutes and finished by 12:40 and headed home.
Had numerous hits without hook-ups in the early morning, but the lull in the later part of the morning was totally sterile. Really do think that the Cormorants had spooked the fish from the area. Watching the Cormorants fish back and forth three times from about 9:30 to 11:00, saw only two catch a fish... these Steelhead are fast and slippery!
Had an interesting chat with a fellow named Garret, who walks the lake every day with his dog, Charlie. Garret is a naturalist and cares greatly about the lake and it's environment. Said he had had a conversation with a WDFW biologist and that there is a concern about the great number of fish that are being planted in Green Lake. The waste generated by the fish may have a detrimental effect on the water quality, and the available food supply in the Spring... the delicate balance of lake life may be jeopardized...bottom line, they are hoping that most of the fish will be caught through the bonus season. So, fishermen, "GO get 'em"!
Not so many fishermen at the lake in my vicinity. Friend Adam joined me about 8:30, landed three fish before leaving about 11:00... most interesting catch of the day was when Adam reeled in a water-logged tennis ball he had snagged! Another fisher-woman nearby landed four before she left at 12:00... the only other fish I saw landed.
More fish scheduled to be planted this week (November 17-26th). Have fun, "go get 'em!" and save Green Lake! PTL!

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