It had simply been too long since I'd been fishing, so New Year's Day seemed a good time to break the fast. Club members Tim Welsh and Greg Gomon joined me on Lone Lake in calm airs and light overcast sky. I'll let Tim and Greg tell their own stories and limit this post to my own experience.

While I have a little experience on Lone Lake, my trips there always begin by reviewing things Clarence Hein told me. I remember that the approximate weed line runs from near the point just west of the boat launch east toward the house with the willow trees in the yard, and that yellow was Clarence's color of choice for Lone Lake streamers. So, I should have been all set. The problem is that I think too much, and I don't like ruts. As a result, I started fishing with a white bala…

I've been contacted by someone visiting Whidbey Island in a couple weeks, and I'm wondering if it's worth suggesting Lone Lake as a fishing destination. Can anyone update me on conditions? Thanks.

Last week my wife and I camped a couple nights with friends at Black Pine Lake, a scenic gem visited mostly by locals of the Winthrop/Twisp area of the Methow Valley in Eastern Washington. It's technically in the Twisp River drainage, but just over the adjacent low ridge is Libby Creek. The U.S. Forest Service maintains a small campground and a couple docks from which it's handy to cast a line into the lake's clear waters. Managed by WDFW as a put-and-take fishery, the lake is stocked annually but has a few carryovers. More times than not, you can cast a small black leach out over the drop-off at the end of the boat dock and catch a few pretty fish. This year was no exception. In perhaps an hour I netted four fish, lost a couple others, and had numerous other strikes. The fish were cutthroat with a partic…

I met up with Ken Price, Bob Adams, and Phil Latendresse at Ala Spit yesterday for some sea-run cutthroat fishing. We caught no fish--didn't even have a strike--but we all enjoyed the sun and scenery and each other's company. Two anglers who had arrived before us each had only one take, so I can blame the fish and not myself.

There were a few ducks and mergansers around, so there must have been a few baitfish, but I saw none myself.

Let's hope the Project Healing Waters folks have better luck when they fish next week.