I have fished this obscure little Fort Lewis lake several times from shore and seen big bass swimming in the shallows, but today was the first time I got my boat out there and did some real exploring. It turned out to be well worth the effort.
Shortly after launching, we were drifting over some lily pads and submerged logs when my partner looked down and saw possibly the biggest bass either of us has ever seen. This beast was easily pushing 10 pounds, maybe more. It was one of those fish that actually kind of scares you when you see it because it's so impossibly huge. We tried everything in the tackle box but couldn't interest it. We came back later in the day but didn't see it again.
The biggest catch of the day was a 3 pounder I caught with a weightless brown power worm. I actually caught the same bass twice in one day. Same spot, same lure, about two hours later. Not the brightest bass in the world but I'm not picky. We saw about 8-10 bass in the 3-5 pound range but the water is very clear so they were usually spooked by the time we saw them. Caught lots( dozens) of small bass on worms and sluggos.
This lake is full of weeds so the best bet is to go weightless. There is more cover on the shorelines than you can really fish in one day, literally hundreds of downed trees.
If you can find it, this lake is a good bet for a trophy bass, possibly even a new state record. It is rarely fished and absolutely full of healthy bass. It is on Fort Lewis so civilians will need to have a Military sponsor with them in order to fish.
Please catch and release, and for gods sake PACK OUT YOUR TRASH!

Tight lines

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