OUTINGS
PSFF strives to offer its members seasonally appropriate outings utilizing a variety of techniques and opportunities for various species and water bodies throughout the year.
PLEASE NOTE:
PSFF Outings are open to PSFF members of good standing
and their invited guests
Click on the image above for a printable PDF
January
1/28/23 - Saturday
10 A.M.
Munn Lake,
Thurston County
Meet at boat ramp or at Sheri's Restaurant at 8:30. 3425 Pacific Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501
This special regulation lake is stocked regularly with large brood stock of both Cutthroat and Rainbows. Known for it's chironomid fishing, but also can be fruitful using micro leeches and your typical west-side lake flies on a slow retrieve.
April
4/22/23 - Saturday
9 A.M.
Spencer Lake,
Mason County.
Meet at boat Ramp.
Spencer Lake is perhaps the most popular trout water in Mason County. It receives early and mid- spring plants of half pount rainbow and fall plants of larger one pound rainbow, making it a very steady producer even during the winter months. In addition to trout Spencer has excellent bass and perch fishing.
February
2/22-23/23 Wednesday-Thursday
CANCELED
DUE TO WEATHER
Rocky Ford
Grant County
Meet at parking lot
Rocky Ford is a spring fed, high desert creek offering quality fishing year round - even during the winter months.
May
Annual PSFF Gathering
5/19-21/23
Friday-Sunday
Park Lake, Sun Village Resort,
Grant County
PSFF’s long-established Park Lake outing will be held per tradition on the third weekend of May. Sun Village Resort is situated between Park and Blue lakes, both of which fish great for rainbows (and some browns) but you can also easily reach Lenore Lake (Lahontan cutthroat), Dry Falls Lake, Deep Lake, Banks Lake and Rocky Ford spring creek, among many others.
6/27/23
Saturday-Monday
9 A.M.
Mineral Lake,
Lewis County
This 277-acre lake three miles southeast of Elbe provides excellent trout fishingfor those who enjoy lots of company. The lake sits at 1,770 feet elevation, and on clear days Mt. Rainier provides a scenic backdrop.
March
3/6-8/23
Monday-Wednesday
Yakima River,
Kittitas County
Yakima Canyon is home to Washington’s only Blue Ribbon trout stream. Wade fishing and access with boats gives anglers year-round opportunities to catch both Rainbow and Cutthroat, plus whitefish. Selective gear rules apply
3/10-11/23
NW Fly-Tyer and Fishing Expo
Linn County Fairgrounds,
Albany, OR,
3/15-16/23 Wednesday-Thursday
Rocky Ford
Grant County
Meet at parking lot
Rocky Ford is a spring fed, high desert creek offering quality fishing year round - even during the winter months.
June
6/10/23 - Saturday
7 A.M.
Ohop Lake
Pierce County
Ohop Lake is currently open year-round. The lake supports naturally reproducing populations of black crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass, bluegill, brown bullhead catfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, and coastal cutthroat.
6/23-26/23
Friday-Monday
Leech Lake,
Yakima County
Located immediately east of White Pass near the Cascade Crest Trail on the north side of Highway 12. This high elevation lake is open to fly fishing only. It is usually assessable (ice free) by early June. Rainbows and Brook trout are to be expected.
July
7/14-16/23
Friday-Sunday
Merril Lake,
Cowlitz County
Merrill Lake was formed when lava flows from Mt. St. Helens blocked the stream valley. In the early 1930s the lake was planted with Eastern Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout and Yelowstone Cutthroat. Brown Trout were introduced in 1987 and have proved to be very successful. The lake is known for its Hexagenia hatch.
October
10/7/23 - Saturday
9 A.M.
Island Lake, Mason County
Meet at boat Ramp.
Island Lake is open year-round for fishing. The lake is stocked in April and May with catchable-size (10"-12") and some larger jumbo and triploid Rainbow Trout. The daily trout limit is 5 fish. The lake also provides fair fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass and good fishing for yellow perch.
August
8/12/23 - Saturday
Little Deschutes River,
Thurston County
Tucked away in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains of Washington there lies another Deschutes River, lovingly refered to as the Little D by those who work it's waters for resident cutthroat, sea run cutthroat, salmon, and the occasional steelhead. Unlike it's namesake to the south, this is not a large river by any stretch of the imagination. At it's widest point, maybe 50 feet across, and in most places much less.
November
10/10/23 - Friday
10 A.M - 1 P.M
Johns Creek
Mason County
This is a Chum Salmon outing, so bring your stiff, Rod, heavy line and a strong back. Johns Creek is just north of Shelton in Oakland Bay.
September
9/2/23 - Saturday
Dash Point Pier - Coho and Pinks
7 A.M. Gates Open
This low lying beach offers plenty of room for back casts and can create an eddie that'll hold fishwith the right currents. Bring a floating line or intermediate sinking line.
9/16-18/23
Saturday-Monday
Cowlitz River
Cowlitz County
From Barrier Dam and downstream, the Cowlitz offers opportunities for Steelhead, Salmon and trout
Camping/Meet-up information TBD
December
12/2/23 - Saturday
10 A.M
Cady Lake,
Kitsap County
Cady Lake's a premier fly fishing water with rainbow trout up to 30 inches. However, this lake is catch and release only and it can be challenging to hook up at times. The lake is surrounded by forest.
Contact
Have questions or can help with an outing?
Never Too Early to Plan (Before It Gets Too Late)
Fishing is at the core of our club. It’s even in our name. Outings offer two of the most valued benefits, social interaction and fly-fishing education.
Our December newsletter included a full-page schedule of outings for the new year. I encourage you to print it out and keep it for your annual calendar planning. It includes some new and familiar destinations I hope you will want to consider. I’m already making reservations at the overnight trips. As with last year, I intend to host all of these events (although I did miss last year’s Snoqualmie River trip due to a light case of Covid).
Pull out your calendars and start marking down some of these events for 2023. You’ll have more fun, make more friends and improve your knowledge of this soul-restoring sport.
A preponderance of the outings will take place on Saturdays immediately following the monthly meetings. This allows me one last opportunity to plug the outing. Details about the fishing location will be provided as outing dates approach, and signup sheets will be posted on clipboards at the in-person meetings two months prior to each event. Expect earlier planning notifications for overnight outings. You can also email me at dfrazier@wavecable.com or call me on my cell, (360) 265-6963, to get added to the participation list.
The importance of seasonality in fly-fishing was also factored into this schedule. Anticipated river flows (Little Deschutes River), hatches (Hexagnenia at Merrill Lake), weather/spawn (Lake Kapowsin), fish runs (pink and coho salmon for Dash Point; coho, steelhead and cutthroat at the Cowlitz)), lunar stages (sqwala activity on the Yakima), overcrowding (Rocky Ford) and stocking programs (triploids in Leech Lake) were also part of the alchemy.
Save-the-Date Shout-Out: PSFF’s long-established Park Lake outing will be held per tradition on the third weekend of May, this year being May 19-21. When making your reservations with the Sun Village Resort, think about adding days if you want to explore the abundance of great waters in the area. Sun Village Resort is situated between Park and Blue lakes, both of which fish great for rainbows (and some browns) but you can also easily reach Lenore Lake (Lahontan cutthroat), Dry Falls Lake, Deep Lake, Banks Lake and Rocky Ford spring creek, among many others. If you haven’t been on this outing, or haven’t been for awhile, please jump on this one. Check out sunvillageresort.com for reservations (tents, RVs and cabins).
I’ve also scheduled four bonus outings: The Northwest Fly-Tyer and Fishing Expo in Albany, OR (March 10-11), Mineral Lake (May 27), Lake Kapowsin (June 10), and Cowlitz River ( Sept. 16-18). And wait, there’s more! I’ll be adding “flash” outings whenever I see special opportunities. Many of these will be mid-week meet-ups with less advance warning. Keep your eyes open for announcements on our club communication platforms.
My plan is to attend each club meeting and, to the best of my ability, act as a gillie at each outing. I will try to make myself available at the arrival times to gab with members and answer any lingering questions. I do not pretend to be an expert, but like so many of you, I know just enough to give some tactical advice. I’ll also be leaning on you to spill the beans!
David Frazier,
Outings Director