Hagg Lake, getting the boat out of the garage...

Finally, it was time to take the boat out of the garage in preparation for ocean fishing in 2026. Hagg Lake is a beautiful, safe location, to make sure all systems, trailer, motors, radio, GPS, etc. are functioning before venturing out into the salt. Left Beaverton at about 7:30 a.m. and got in the water about 8:30 a.m., fishing with my friends Chad and Randy. Very slow to start, caught two decent trout, and lost two others in the first hour or so.

The bite really turned on from about 11:30 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. Makes me wonder if they are still on a “hatchery” feeding schedule. We ended up with fifteen trout, one, a 17” beauty, and were back to the dock about 2:00 p.m.

Hagg Lake remains one of my favorite local options, and I have even gone there just to hike around. There are several very nice, scenic trails, and I really enjoy the scenery.

There were other boats on the water, and several shore anglers, but I would not say it was crowded.

Some of the bank anglers reported getting their five fish limits in a few hours, with some trophy trout in the mix.