Ward Lake, Thurston County

It was a Saturday morning in June and my friend Brandon and I couldn't decide on which lake to fish. We've been frequenting Offut Lake at the time and we both wanted to do something new. I suggested we seek out a small lake nearby. Problem was I didn't know what lake it was or exactly how to get there. I've always been curious about this lake that I've passed on the road more than a few times. I knew that it was in a neighborhood in Olympia near Yelm highway and that it is small and surrounded by residential homes. We consulted with my Fishing in Washington book as a reference and determined that the lake was called Ward Lake.

When we arrived at Ward Lake, our first impression was that it was an oasis in the middle of suburbia. The small lake, at around 65 acres, was quite picturesque. As we surveyed the lake and its surroundings it seemed as though there is a balance between the houses that dotted the shoreline and the small sections of woods and foliage - a rare feature especially on lakes that are located in a highly populated area.

We finally launched my boat and we started fishing. We weren't quite sure how to approach this new water. We only knew that there were trout in the lake. With that information we decided we'd try using some Powerbait. As soon as we threw out our rig, we were in awe at the amount of line we had to feed through to get our baits down the bottom -this lake is deep! We figured out later that the deepest parts of the lake went down to 67+ feet. We were fishing the west side of the lake and were consistently catching small trout. This lake also introduced us to Kokanee. Brandon caught one and we were both dumbfounded because it looked very different from the rainbows we were catching. After a few minutes, we finally realized what it was. We were quite excited and were ready for more.

After that first trip to Ward and our first introduction to Kokanee, we've gone back many more times and improved our catches. We learned that trolling was the most effective way of catching these small but tasty land-locked salmon. We also learned that white shoe peg corn was the most effective bait to use. August seemed to be the best time to catch Kokanee at this small lake. I had days when limits of fish were merely two hours worth of effort - which prompted me to buy my own smoker.

This fishin' hole can get crowded during the opening of the season, especially when folks hear about the triploid trout plants. I saw several nice fish being pulled out of this lake last opener. The launch area was a popular spot and seemed to produce consistent fish for the shore bound anglers and the trollers. I never had any luck with the larger trout in this lake. The closest experience I had was when Brandon yanked a nice fat triploid using a small spinner while fan casting in front of the launch area.

I also discovered that the lake holds a small population of bass. I was sight fishing one corner of the lake when I saw a gang of bass ranging from 2 to 5 pounds swimming along the edges. I was shocked to see big bass in this cold and deep lake. I immediately threw a tube bait and was half-heartedly inspected by one of the bass. Since then, I've only been able to catch one bass weighing about a pound. The water clarity in this lake is superb and as a result, the bass are extremely wary.

Ward Lake, for it's size and angling opportunities, is another example of the many small lakes that can keep any fisherman occupied. It has definitely been one of the more challenging small lakes that I've encountered. But because of that challenge, I believe that I will always come back again and again.

Directions:
From Olympia, go S 2 mi on Boulevard Rd.; W .3 mi on 42nd St. to end.