Figured to have a rainy Fall day, but the rain held off until my trip home. Headed for Tye Lake in Monroe for some of the WDFW Fall plant fish. Traffic slowed me to a later arrival than I had hoped, but arrived at the lake at 7:30 AM, lines in the water by 7:45. Very cold... 32 degrees at the outset, thin coating of ice on the shoreline. Water temp at the shoreline was 48 degrees. No noticeable breeze to begin the day. Started with fl. orange Power Eggs on one rig (3' leader), fishing a nightcrawler under a float on the other (3' leader under the float, with bobber stop about 2' above float). Nothing for the first 45 minutes, then about 8:30 saw the float moving to the right, waited until it slipped under the surface, set the hook and into the first fish of the day... a nice 13" planted steelhead. A fellow named Mike showed up to watch, said he had caught several fish the day before on green PE, so I changed up and... 15 minutes later watched my line grow taut, set the hook and reeled in my second, a beautiful 14" steelhead... fought hard all the way in, leaping above the water several times. About 9:30 caught my third, a 13 1/2" 'er, on the nightcrawler. About 10:00, my fourth... on the "crawler"... and finished the day with my fifth, about 10:30 on the green PE... this a 13 1/2" holdover Rainbow (fully mature sex organs). All the fish were in prime condition and full of fight, the steelhead are especially acrobatic as the leap into the air as they fight all the way to the beach. A very cold morning (temp had risen to 36 degrees when I left at 11:00) but very productive for me.
After watching me for a while, Mike got his rod and fished nearby. He reeled in a nice Rainbow about 9:00 on green PE, that was the only fish I saw caught beside mine. Four other fishermen showed up for varying lengths of time, but other than Mike, were all gone by 10:00. Lots of beautiful fish left in the lake! Mike told me a six pound Rainbow had been taken a couple of weeks earlier. A great morning to enjoy the great outdoors, smoke a bowl-full of my favorite pipe tobacco and joy in the sport I love so much! PTL!

---