Marka Stewart

My fishing buddy and I go on a yearly fishing trip and have been for the past 5 years around the end of May. We start planning 10 months in advance since reservations can be made 9 months prior for Washington state parks. This year we stayed at Ike Kinswa State Park in Cowlitz county so we could go to 3 lakes close by – Mayfield Lake, Riffe Lake, and Silver Lake in Cowlitz county.

Day One: Departure Day

When we woke up we could barely contain our excitement. The road was calling and we answered. Traffic was a non-issue the whole way down, which felt like a good omen.

We rolled into Ike Kinswa State Park and somehow managed to check in ridiculously early – we’re talking 8 or 9 in the morning. We got straight to setting up camp, the highlight of which was putting up a new pop-up tent with an 80-inch screen and projector. After that we made a run into town, grabbed groceries and supplies, and just hung out and enjoyed the day settling in.

Day two: Out on Mayfield lake

First light, we were up and out on the water. The weather was perfect for fishing: sunny but cool… until about 11 o’clock, when the wind decided it had other plans. We pushed through it, ran all the way up to the dam at Mossyrock and back across the lake a couple of times – all on a single 3-gallon can of gas, which was pretty impressive.

Fishing, however, was a different story. It started on a high note when I hauled in a very large Northern Pikeminnow right at the start – a really nice fish. After that? Completely skunked. Came back in and had dinner.