Fishing Lake Joy

First time fishing Lake Joy in Carnation, Washington. a cozy town east of Seattle. Went with a good friend Kevin and his daughter Maya.  We were able to lug his 14 foot aluminum boat down the side of a hill to our make shift launch.  The lake is fully developed with houses and we were the only ones fishing this 60 acre lake for the entire day.  There is a small public access from a short trail with very limited parking. If you have a float tube or a inflatable you could get it on the lake without any trouble.

Lake Joy has a good population of Trout, Bass (smallmouth and largemouth). There have been many large bass caught in Joy over the last few years. Reports of fish up to 8 lbs. have been posted, but the average size is probably 1.5 to 2.0 lbs. This lake has a variety of structure as in docks, pads, wood and weeds. The bottom consist of rock and gravel to mud and sand depending on the area. Best times to fish this lake are June-Aug.

When we first walked to the launch area we noticed a quite a few bass swimming around the lily pads and the dock.  Our expectation to catch a lot of fish was very high, especially after seeing a decent size bass swim by the dock.  Kevin and Maya never fished for bass before.  I rigged Maya with a plastic worm for her first cast and she was able to see the bass hit the lure as she was reeling it in by the dock.  The bass inhaled the worm and as she set the hook...the bass kissed the worm goodbye.  Maya was disappointed that she was not able to land the fish.  This only made her more ready and excited to start trolling this lake.  We were able to catch a few largemouth and smallmouth bass along the shore line and by the docks using a Rooster Tails and Senko worms rigged wacky style.  Maya enjoyed fishing with Mr Senior Frog along the lily pads, unfortunately, the bass let Senior Frog swim freely along the pads and let him be.   

Overall this is a beautiful lake with clear water and plenty of bass.  Due to the difficulty in launching a boat there are very few fishermen fishing from a boat.  I will like to try this lake again from my float tube in the fall and hopefully land a trout while fly fishing or catch more spunky little bass.  At the end of the day, with the help of neighbor we were able to bring the boat back up the hill and Maya was still fishing the dock for the bass that got away.

Tight line and may you say fish on!