In previous weeks hiking Rattlesnake Mtn., I was able to watch numerous
rises occurring along the crown of this at times immense lake, but recently
about 15 acres. A text, "Washington's Best Lakes" claims this suburban
fishery to be a gem. Jason and I find this claim to be quite the contrary.

The great thing about viewing a mostly dried up lake is that you have the
opportunity to actually view the structure of the lake. We feel that
STRUCTURE is the lake's biggest downfall. The lake is essentially a very big
puddle. We could find no evidence of aquatic plant life that has/is
existing in the lake, though small traces of green algae could barely be
seen in the fissures of clay and silt at the water's edge. The true
structures are the hundreds of stumps that remain from an old growth
clear-cut, and as legend has it, the remains of a house that used to be
operating before this became the runoff to the Chester Morse Dam.
Regardless, the main tactic used at this lake is to troll wooley buggers at
different depths in the hope of a strike. According to a friend of mine,
the chironomid/strike indicator tactic has not been producing, while
callibaetis emergers seem to be doing the trick.

The salvation of this experience was when Jason landed a 15" "golden
bonefish" on a size 14 chironomid. We've got the picture to prove it! I'll
see you out on the lake, but maybe not this one...

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