Lake St. Clair

It's 0630 a.m.  and this bonehead wont answer his phone   Another call turns into a few...  Maybe his cell is dead?  I head to the meet up spot off of exit 111 (lacey)  wait until exactly 0700...Screw it I'm OUT    So leaving 1 kayak heavy I head to the boat launch to meet Squidgirl at lake St. Clair. Lake St. Clair is a natural lake just off of Yelm HWY about 20 minutes east of the 5.  This lake has a permanant copper stain from a local feeder creek.  The max depth is around 120Ft or so and there is Bass structure here to boot!!!  problem is  the bass are extremely scarce  I think it has to do with the 53deg  water   I pulled a couple out of there last week drop-shotting a 4' new melon with a chartruse curly tail in 30-40' .  But man it was hard work!!  I mean you had to put it right in there face! and keep it there wiggling it reeeaaaaallllllyy  slow.  Some other guys were throwing senko's into the boat docks and I was like "good luck with that dude"  (in my head).  I'm sure there are a few decent LMB in here but there not giving up there secrets this week.   SOOO  anyways  I get to the ramp about 0720  and sure enough there was another kayaker waiting there...It was Squidgirl.  after a quick introduction and loaning her a 12Vt  we were out.  We mostly all morning with a 1/8 oz thomas buoyant  silver with orange/green dots.  This seemed to be the lure of choice..we were killin'em.
Long story short ..15 or so 10-13" trout and one 1# largemouth on a 4"green/white senko (yeah...yeah)..Oh yeah Squidgirl caught a little brownie..nice!  Wish I could put it in a fishtank. 
OK another long story short>>>  I dropped something thought it was my camera Sooo I didn't take pictures turns out it was my crappy knife that fell in the water (my camera was in the from seat of my truck .  I have one picture of squidgirl and her stringer of trout....coming soon!

like cobrakak said it was a great day the fish were biting. he taught me how to troll for trout instead of just sitting and waiting with power bait on the other end. It was Great Thanks. I had several bites and almost to the boats but walked out with 2 rainbows and a brown trout for a good dinner tonight.

On another note. the lakes is great i think you all would like it and the soldiers with HOW will really enjoy it. Hope we can get a bunch of you to come down and help.

I love trolling with the kayak. Very relaxing.
 
What direction did you troll, forward or backwards?

Scott Clemo here showed me the trick of paddling backwards with the pole facing straight off the bow.  When the fish bites, just paddle faster in reverse and it starts to set the hook and keep tension on the line so you can drop the paddle and grab the rod to really set it.

Hey great job on getting dinner, too!

we were traveling forward and i dont have my rod holder mounted yet so it was just the rod under the leg with the line trolling behind. with the tip pointed out front a little it helped set the hook but i still lossed a few. but yes it was a great paddle also. I will have to try the backwards paddle.

Tried paddling in R a little but the fish were holding  so tight to the docks and logs that it was like bumper cars    

ck76- If you're really serious about some larger bass, especially LMB, look for shallower lakes that will warm up quicker. (Silver Lake, down near Mt. St. Helens is a prime example.) Some of the little lakes around here get little pressure and can be real sleepers. The big and deep lakes that stay cold for a long time are not optimal for warmwater fish growth.

as cobrakak76 promised a pic. here it is. your fish so make mine look like babys.

i had 2 rainbows and a brownie.

The fish look alot smaller in that picture...(somone has not learned to extended arm technique )