Fishing

Fishing for bass on December 31 is the way approximately 12 people, in 7 bass boats prepared for the infectious Y2K bug. Just 15 minutes from downtown Seattle lies a jewel of a bass fishery, Lake Washington. Meeting near and around the I-90 Bridge in the east channel of Lake Washington isn't an unusual sight. On any weekend between March and September there would be people fishing in and around this area. Tournament anglers have experienced success in the past bringing smallies to the weigh-in stand from this location. On this day with air and water temperatures in the low 40's, rain in the air and a chilling breeze from the south bass fishermen met to fish and discuss the past and the future. On their minds was the past year tournaments that had been held on the lake, and a look forward to the next years events. Fishing from my 193 Champion Elite along with Bob Higbee we met tournament anglers from around the Seattle area on this stretch of water to fish and swap stories. One fisherman yelled from the front deck of his Champion that the real reason we were fishing on this day was to get out of the house.

A small gathering of 4 bass boats quickly huddles around Paul Hall and Brian Worden, the topic of conversation quickly turned to their consistency. Between the two of them they finished the year as the top money-winning duo in the American Bass Association Team tournament series. Paul and Brian relate that it is their commitment to the sport and each other that drives them to succeed. They work together as a team both during the tournament and in pre-fishing. Each of them has a plan and the plan is talked about, and mapped out before they get to the lake the morning of a tournament. In game planning their attack on the lake and the fish it is not so inflexible as to take into account "Murphy's Law" of fishing, be prepared but able to adapt to the conditions.

Fishing this time of year presents its very own set of challenges so here a few tips about fishing Lake Washington in the wintertime. According to Paul Hall the most important thing to do is keep in contact with the bottom. On an earlier trip with Paul we dragged football headed jigs and splitshots around the lake bottom in 40-50' of water searching out the rocks, looking for the fish. In both cases I like to use a 7' Lamiglas IM 700 or the Lamiglas 6'6 Ti2000. The feel of the bottom structure is brought right to you through these highly sensitive rods. When you do encounter a fish at these depths, hook set is important so I like the 6'6" or longer rods for deep water fishing. As in any other situation the line you use is also important, it is the connection you have when you set the hook. McCoy 8lb test fishing line is a great line to use in this application. The stress of the splitshot crimped on the line is lessened with the abrasion resistant McCoy line. We dragged around the Saturn Leech from Jerry's Tournament Tackle. The week before in the same situation Paul boated himself 2 nice smallmouth keepers. The main challenge of today's fishing trip was to keep warm and locate rocks.

With water temperatures in the 40's and a weather system moving in we focused our attention on the rock piles of the bridge pilings. Dragging in the area of the main channel we lost a few football heads and a splitshot rig or two in the rocks and bridge debris, but to no avail we caught no fish. This article is not intended to teach you how to catch more fish, but to tell you about a state in which bass fishing is growing by leaps and bounds. According to Bob Higbee, an accomplished tournament angler and tournament director for ABA, Washington State is becoming a place where aspiring pro's like Paul Hall and Brian Worden can compete each year for more and more money and respectability. In reviewing the top placement of several anglers from the Washington State area you can see that compared to just a few years ago more and more Washington anglers are making good showings in the national events. Seven bass boats ended the old year gathered together looking towards the future doing something that they love to do. No money to be won or prize to be awarded, just a time amongst friends and good company to be enjoyed. Bass fishing brings together many people from different places, I hope you take the time to enjoy the sport of fishing as we do.