MERRILL LAKE FISHING REPORTDated 8/30/10 Hex hatch has predominately finished for the year. Good fishing has continued during this time due to large numbers of Triploid Trout and hardy Brown trout. Browns can be had in early evening and night. Best to fish the shorelines and use minnow patterns and leeches. Chironimids are also fair game for larger trout which can be selective in this lake. Sinking fly lines are also good items to have on had when trout are not rising actively. Dated 7/26/10 Many anglers are reporting good catches of triploids and brown trout from the lake in the 4-6 pound range using hex dries and emergers. Dated 6/30/10 According to customers visiting the lake last evening the hexagenia may flies are beginning to emerge. The emergent patterns not dries being the best. No pictures this time but the fish were reported to be over 20 inches in many cases. There were also reports of a select few brown trout being taken but few large ones Dated6/29/10 Open All Year, Catch and Release , Fly Fishing Only. Please consult the regulations for changes on this lake. Be looking for the Hexagenia May flies to appear very shortly.  Ethan Parker with real bruiser about 4.5 pounds for his second fly rod Trout at Merrill Lake this morning. Dated 6/27/10 Dated 6/12/10 Merrill Lake is smoking hot with very large triploid trout being caught there due to the introduction of trpiloid trout a few years ago and a heavy stocking program. Please check out the pictures below.  22 inch rainbow from Merrill Lake.  4.5 pound 23 inch rainbow from Merrill.  Ray Johnson with a 5 pound Rainbow from Merrill Lake. Dated 6/12/10  Another 5 pounder caught by George Foshee. Dated 6/12/10  A nice rainbow about 20 inches from Merrill Lake caught by George Foshee. Dated 6/12/10 6/4/10 Merril Lake has been red hot for over sized rainbows using Carey Specials, Black Buggers and Elk Hair Caddis depending on the situation. Most fish are being sight fished using slow sinking lines and wet flies or dry lines with Elk Hair Caddis along the shorelines. When the weather picks up you can begin to expect a ant hatch with 70 plus temps on the way. Enjoy the pictures of large rainbows from Merril Lake sent to us below.  Dated 6/4/10  Dated 6/4/10  Dated 6/4/10  Dated 6/4/10  Dated 6/4/10 Pete Bratt with his first Merrill Lake Rainbow  Dated 6/4/10  Dated 6/4/10 Dated 5/19/10  22 inch Triploid Rainbow from Merrill Lake.  Merril is very good for large triploids with some German Browns present also. Good patterns to use include Carey Specials, BH Buggers, Damsel Nymphs, Muddlers, BH Princes, Hale Bop Leeches and Copper Jons. Plan on arriving early in the morning and fishing till the wind picks up in early afternoon here. The evening fishery can also be very good using callibaetis and caddis dries here in the evenings. As the weather warms plan on using terrestrials such as ants and hoppers along shore lines.  Ray Johnson with a nice Merril Lake Triploid of about 20 inches. Dated 5/9/10 Good for triploids and German Browns the last few weeks. The snow has receded and gate is open at boat launch. Dated 9/23/09    Merrill lake has been producing some very nice Brown trout in the last few days and should continue through the fall season. Many fish are being caught on Carey Specials and Wooly Buggers imitating dragon fly nymphs and small bait fish.  Another fat rainbow breaking water at Merril Lake. Dated 9/23/09 Fishing has been best during the evening when the wind dies down. Most fishing has taken place using full sinking fly lines in intermdiate sink rates. The clear intermediate fly lines are the best. Some dry fly action is occurring there on caddis flies and ant patterns when present on the water.  Dated 8/10/09 Merril lake is still reporting good hatches of Hexangenia but in shorter time periods. Plan on fishing the north and south ends of the lake as this is where we have had good reports from. According to a sampling study done on Merril in the last two weeks the hex flies were emerging in the south, north and along the boat launch areas in larger numbers than other area in the lake due to the muddy bottom.  Tracy fishing a beautiful afternoon for Brown trout and Triploids. Dated 4/26/10  A 4 pound, 20 incher from Merril Lake caught and released by Butch Brenamin. Dated 8/10/09 Dated 7/25/09 FREE SPEY FISHING CONCLAVE SPONSORED BY BLACK HERON FLY FISHING 1060 14TH AVE LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON 98632 360-575-3970 OFFICE AUGUST 1ST , 2009 ON THE COWLITZ RIVER FROM 10:00AM TILL 5:00PM DETAILS WILL FOLLOW ON LOCATION AS WEB SITE IS UPDATED. Please see home page for map of spey clave location. Merril lake is still producing hex flies for the fish in the evening and late afternoon for several hours. Plan on starting about 4-5 pm and ending about 11:00 pm for best results. Some anglers are reporting good results using damp elk hair caddis patterns with long leaders.  Smokey Crews with a very nice rainbow from Merril lake. Dated 7/25/09 Most anglers are using the hex emerger as the fish are trying to sink the fly before actually taking it on the second try.  Annette Crews with a nice Merril Lake Rainbow . Dated 7/25/09 The night fishing can be very good as seen below.  Smokey with another nice fish from Merril Lake using a hex emerger. Dated 7/25/09 Dated 7/8/09 The lake has been very good with many people visiting there during the 4th of July. Most anglers are using the Hex Emerger now as the hatch is in full swing. Best fishing is after 4 or 5 pm in the evening till 11:00pm. Contact Black Heron for details Dated 4/26/10 Dated 6/29/09 FREE SPEY FISHING CONCLAVE SPONSORED BY BLACK HERON FLY FISHING 1060 14TH AVE LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON 98632 360-575-3970 OFFICE AUGUST 1ST , 2009 ON THE COWLITZ RIVER FROM 10:00AM TILL 5:00PM DETAILS WILL FOLLOW ON LOCATION AS WEB SITE IS UPDATED. Please see home page for map of spey clave location. Merrill lake is doing very well for triploids. The Hex Hatch has begun and occurring for several hours in the late afternoon and evening as seen on these pictures below. Dated 4/26/10  Nice triploid from Merrill Lake. Taken on a hex emerger tyed by Black Heron Fly Fishing Dated 6/29/09  Jeff Traver of Stonefly Guide Service with a nice triploid from Merrill Lake. Caught and released using a hex emerger. Jeff said the appearance of the eagle was inspiring but alittle hard on the fish since they dont swim well after being skewered with 6-8 talons. Dated 6/29/09 Dated 4/26/10  Another nice triploid from Merrill Lake caught as the sun was setting using a Hex Emerger from Black Heron Fly Fishing. Dated 6/29/09 The anglers having the most success were using a strategy of casting, letting the fly set a few moments and then retrieving with short pulses causing small rings. Vary the retrieve. Casting to rising fish also works in this situation. Dated 6/22/09 FREE SPEY FISHING CONCLAVE SPONSORED BY BLACK HERON FLY FISHING 1060 14TH AVE LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON 98632 360-575-3970 OFFICE AUGUST 1ST , 2009 ON THE COWLITZ RIVER FROM 10:00AM TILL 5:00PM DETAILS WILL FOLLOW ON LOCATION AS WEB SITE IS UPDATED. Please see home page for map of spey clave location. The hex hatch has started at Merrill Lake according to anglers visiting there the last few days. The first reports were of spent shucks 2-3days ago and actual dries yesterday. This action should go on for the next 4-10 weeks depending on the weather and number of insects available in the lake. The first few weeks of this hatch are usually spectacular with hatches lasting up to 2-4 hours and then dwindling to 5-10 minutes during the last few weeks. Plan on using hex emergers and dries this time of year.  Yellow Hex Emerger  Yellow Hex Adult The best time to fish this hatch is from 5 pm till 10pm and make sure you do not start to early. Most fishing occurrs after 7:00pm DATED 6/17/09 FREE SPEY FISHING CONCLAVE SPONSORED BY BLACK HERON FLY FISHING 1060 14TH AVE LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON 98632 360-575-3970 OFFICE AUGUST 1ST , 2009 ON THE COWLITZ RIVER FROM 10:00AM TILL 5:00PM DETAILS WILL FOLLOW ON LOCATION AS WEB SITE IS UPDATED. Please see home page for map of spey clave location. MERRIL LAKE IS DOING VERY WELL FOR LARGE BROWNS AND TRIPLOIDS.  Nice Rainbow caught and released.6/17/09  Nice Brown trout caught and released. 6/17/09 Plan on fishing the weed lines and scum lines in the lake to do the best. Chironimids using a strike indicator can be very effective. Casting to rising fish has also been very effective. Dated 6/3/09 FREE SPEY FISHING CONCLAVE SPONSORED BY BLACK HERON FLY FISHING 1060 14TH AVE LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON 98632 360-575-3970 OFFICE AUGUST 1ST , 2009 ON THE COWLITZ RIVER FROM 10:00AM TILL 5:00PM DETAILS WILL FOLLOW ON LOCATION AS WEB SITE IS UPDATED. Please see home page for map of spey clave location. This lake is fly fishing only please consult regulations. No power Boats allowed but electric engines are permitted The Merrill lake fishery has taken off and lots of triploids from last year are being caught using flying ants and beetle patterns. The lake has been stocked this year with fresh fish in the 1.5 pound size range. The north end of lake has seen the most action where the willows are protruding from the water. Fish in close to the weeds as the fish are holding cloes to the structure. A popular technique this year is to cast to rising fish when they are cruising the weed lines. Alot of angler are seeing 12-15 fish days before the wind picks up and makes it hard to cast. Common triploids are 14-22 inches and aggressive on flies. Dated 5/22/09 The lake has began to produce some nice triploid trout in the 15-18 inch range. The most successful anglers are fishing early in the mornings using slow sink lines and patterns like Carey Specials and Wooly Buggers cast towards the weed line. BH nymphs have also produced fish from this lake using strike indicators. The lake is crystal clear so plan on using long fine leaders. DATED 5/13/09 THE AREA AROUND MERRIL LAKE HAS OPENED. THE FISHING HAS BEEN SPORATIC AT BEST BUT SHOULD PICKUP WITH NICER WEATHER IN THE FUTURE 10/25/08 Some very good reports have occurred since last. Thes trout seem to be congregating along the shorelines and feeding actively. Large wooly buggers and streamers have been producing for the anglers visiting the lake. 10/12/08 We have had three reports from the lake this week saying large browns have began to feed. The anglers fishing there they have lost several fish in the 5-6 pound range and caught several others. Plan on fishing larger patterns like muddler minnows and woolly buggers along the shore line as the Browns are cruisers and very predatory. The area around the island has been very good and many people note the trough to the south of the island has held quite a few browns. 10/3/08 There have not been alarge number of anglers reporting on this lake but the few that have ventured there have done well using streamers such as wooly buggers and muddlers. 9/23/08 Recent trips to Merril have produced a few fish using Comparaduns, Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Wooly Buggers, and an occasional take on the Hex Emerger. The lake has fish which are actively feeding for the fall season. DATED 8/29/08  Jo westlind with a nice Merril Lake rainbow fishing a hex emerger. 8/28/08 LAST DATED 8/25/08 There have been several people saying the pressure has diminished at the lake and fly fishing for the big browns has really improved in the last 2-3 days due to the changes in temperature. Fishing has been best early in the morning at sunrise and also 2-3 hours before sunset till about 10pm. Be flexible and fish other patterns if the Hex patterns are not working. The hex adults do not appear to be as popular this year due to the higher water levels and length of time the emergers are spending on the surface. The water levels have been reportly dropping though from there higher levels. Guides, clients and customers are all saying make an extremely large ring with the hex fly emerger as you retrieve the back to yourself to make your fly more attractive to the fish. FISH IT LIKE A POPPER!!!!!! There have been 6-7 people with pictures who say they have caught upwards of 7-15 fish each last night (8/16/08) all using the yellow hex emergers. Most people spoken to were fishing the north end of the lake in the shallows. GO NOW OR HOLD YOUR PEACE. This hatch may last till mid september but generally is over by the last part of August. This was the first comfirmed date(7/12/08) that people have said they caught fish on the Yellow Hex patterns. Speaking of Hank(Might be Henriette) the Bald Eagle! You need to be very aware of this large bird. He is in prime feeding mode most days and will rob you of some very nice fish if not cautious. The triploids are still being caught in good numbers and Brown trout are active. The brown trout are really starting to pick up their feeding on Merril in the evening keying in on the Hex emerger flies. You can see these flies below in list of photos.
 George Foshee with a 6 pound Brown Trout C/R using a Carey Special.  Nice Cutthroat C/R courtesy of Ray Johnson caught on a Olive Woolly Bugger. That is a 24inch net by the way.  Nice rainbow caught by Ray Johnson from Merill Lake. C/R  Rainbow C/R from Merrill Lake caught by John Kendall using a Olive Elk Hair Caddis #12.  Another C/R Brown Trout from Merril Lake. Thanks to George Foshee.  Don Harris with a solid Rainbow from Merrill Lake. C/R The hex hatch has not began7/6/08 but is expected any day now as we enter into July. Here are the patterns you would need to fish Merrill Lake effectively. With the high water at the lake this year we may see a very long hex hatch as we did last year. Most of the fish are in the weeds and bushes along the shoreline. Plan on casting to the shoreline and letting your presentation rest. After a few moments give your fly a few small retrieves and then rest again. Another tactic that has worked in the past at Merrilll has been to fish rising fish and cast ahead of them approximately 5-10 feet. This works with the hex pattern and the other dry patterns not to mention the other patterns listed. The flying ants and termite patterns can also be extremely effective on this lake as there are alot of fallen rotten trees in this area around the lake. We like to position ourselves on the side of the lake that the wind blows from to maximize the ant and termite fall from the trees. Usually this is the north end of the lake. Here are the patterns we like for Merrill Lake: Yellow Hex Emerger size 8 Yellow Hex Adult Extended  Carey Special Size 6 -8  Monster Beetle Size 8  Olive Elk Hair Caddis Size12  Olive Woolly Bugger Size 6 - 10 |