Baker Lake Socks

Kayak camping and fishing at Noisy Creek on Baker Lake this weekend. Friday and Sat nights!

See you out there! Excited for slow trolling.

Matt

Matt, any idea how good the fishing is at this point?  I really want to hit baker lake hard this year.  love sockeye!

Just heard a report that it's really starting to heat up.  I'll be hitting it friday, saturday or sunday morning.  not sure which yet.  Prolly depend on weather.  Maybe see ya out there!

Do you have any tips on where to park/launch if yer not spending the night?

Hi Rory. Hope to see you on the water. Don't know where to park but doesn't seem like it will be too hard. I hope!

This is killin me, i'm itching to get out there. Gonna roll the dice and go out tonight and hopefully find somewhere to sleep so i can hit the water before dawn.

Picked up a nice pair of socks at the lake.  Hopefully the first of many.  Also saw laughingsteelhead on the water this morning.  Good to meet ya!

Nice.  What did you catch them on?

Yes, do please share your secrets.  I might get a chance to get up there.  If the ocean craps out next weekend, baker lake could be the new target.

Not a huge secret, but I'll post in reports just to be safe!

nice work! was it packed up there camping spot wise?  or could you just drop in and find a spot?

Beauty fish,Rory! I WISH I was closer to Baker lake.Ihave made the trip just for humpys on the skagit ,so maybe....

nice work! was it packed up there camping spot wise?  or could you just drop in and find a spot?

Is there more than 1 campground? This would definitely be an overnighter for me.Again,congrats and YUM

nice work! was it packed up there camping spot wise?  or could you just drop in and find a spot?

Yeah, there is virtually NO info on baker lake camping on the intarwebs.  And the people that manage the reservations, recreation.gov, are a national call center.  and they know zilch.  They gave me the campground number (eugene, OR area code?) and nobody ever answered.  When I got up there I realized, this campground leaves alot to be desired in the management department.  It's also very, very primitive.   

I did alot of recon.  So here's the deal.  There are three campgrounds that get you in kayak range of where the fish are: Panorama Point (furthest from fishing, not the best option), Swift Creek and Shannon Creek (Shannon is slightly closer, but smaller).  Weekends are tough for getting a reservable spot.  First available reserved spot I see is friday Aug 17th, and that's just for one night:

http://www.recreation.gov/campsiteCalendar.do?page=matrix&calarvdate=08/11/2012&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72307

There are first-come-first served spots (about 1/4 of the spots at each campground), but you can safely assume those will be full too (on the weekends).  I mean by all means, check and see, but don't bank on them being open.  Camping at the campgrounds is $14 and gives you day use of the ramp and "facilities" for the next day (checkout is 2pm).

So I guess it depends on if you're going to try to go up on the weekends or not.  If you are, definitely get there when it's still light out if you can. 

Quick note - camping here is mostly self-service.  You pay at unmanned kiosks.  Bring exact change, or you'll be donating the difference!

weekend:
* try to get one of the first-come-first served spots at swift creek (more) or shannon creek.  Possible, but unlikely.  People who occupy these can stay up to 14 days.  So if you get one, by all means, stay the full two weeks!
* go to the office at swift creek and see if there are any no-shows.  I doubt anyone will be at that office, but worth a try.
* peruse the group spot area at swift creek and see if any of them are being under-used.  If so, make the occupants an offer (money, beer, fish).  And promise them you'll be quiet and unobtrusive.  I haven't tried this but I bet it will work.
* On the gravel road between swift creek and shannon creek (about 4 mi long) There are alot of pullouts.  I saw people parked there and camped in clearings in the woods.  I asked the shannon creek campground host if that was legitimate and he said it was, but those are not part of the park, they are forestry lands.  There is no cost, but he thinks you need a discovery pass.  He was sketchy on the details.  A couple of these spots actually have water access (paths are a little rough but do-able), so one of the state park boat launches (fee) would not be necessary.  If you're in a spot that doesn't, then you'd just go to swift creek or shannon creek and launch in the AM.  Day use is $5.  The downside to this is that it can be very muddy in there, and you're next to a gravel road.
* There is "overnight use" pass (I guess for people who fish overnight and park in the lot).  It is $8 or $9.  If you sleep in your car/van this is might be doable.  Technically you're not supposed to sleep in your car, so it is breaking the rules.  But if you arrive late and it's dark (like 10pm) and are getting up early (like 4am) you can get away with it.  These campgrounds are VERY short on employees.  I'd go to shannon creek if you're going to do this.  The latest I saw an employee there was 6pm.  But then I think you'd need to get a day use pass as well in the AM ($5).  So in the end it would still cost the same as camping!
* looks like there is a private campground on the baker lake road.  I didn't check it out.  Looked a little sketch.  You'd have a 20-25 min drive in the morning.

All in all the weekend is do-able, but there are a few more unknowns.

Weekday:
I'd recommend going straight to shannon creek (end of the road).  Any site that doesn't have a piece of paper with the current day's date on it is fair game.  Some will say "reserved" but have a date in the future.  Totally fair game.  Drive down to the boat launch and see if any of the spots down there are open.  Those are best because you wouldn't need to drive to the launch in the AM.  If not, go up the hill and around the loop and find a spot there.  Still very close.  After choosing your spot go back to the hut near the entrance and fill out an envelope.  Camping is $14.  A dude will come around sometime in the evening, check the payments, and put a tag on your car.  I think you're ok if you come later and don't get the tag.  He'll just do it in the morning.  I came in on a Thursday and all the boat launch spots were taken, but non of the upper-loop spots.  So, I assume it's pretty open on the weekdays.

I think what I'm going to do is go up the evening before on a weekday, roll in at 8pm, pay my mun-muns, go to bed, wake up at 3:30am, fish, and be off the water by 10.  Home by 11:30am, and hopefully my work colleagues will be none the wiser.

Note about cell service.  I use verizon.  You can get a weak signal on the water, but there is no coverage at swift creek or shannon creek.  I went to the very end of the dock at swift creek and got a weak one, but nowhere at shannon creek has one.

Hope that helps!

Whoa! Got a cramp in my hand just lookin at that reply    Thanks Rory...thats a pretty clear picture of the sitch up there.In 3 paragraphs or less...how long do you think the sock fishing lasts ?   just kidding

Matt_K is out there now.  I'll be very interested to hear how it was on the weekend both in terms of fishing and camping

Whoa! Got a cramp in my hand just lookin at that reply    Thanks Rory...thats a pretty clear picture of the sitch up there.In 3 paragraphs or less...how long do you think the sock fishing lasts ?   just kidding

ends tomorrow