I've always hiked down on the NE corner of the lake with my tube but this year I have a new pontoon boat to try out and don't want to take the usual trails. I have noticed that the CG attracts unsavories but hadn't heard much about shootings and knifings!
Although the Hex hatch at Merrill is spectacular I think the real fun starts later in the evening after everyone abandons the lake. The midnight streamer fishing for monster browns is unbelievable! On nice nights I have kicked streamers around until I was too tired to fight fish anymore. It's a real hoot. Jeff ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sean Grier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 12:04 PM Subject: Re: Merril Lake > It's not! I used to live in Vancouver and Merrill is a favorite place to fish > for large cutt-bows and monster browns. The famous Hex Hatch in late > July/August turns the place into a frenzy, with many people bringing anything > that'd float through that single boat launch. I finally decided that hiking > down to the lake via the trails about a mile north of the campground was the > only way to go. The dregs of northern Portland and SW Washington usually ended > up at that campground, with drugs, knifings and even a shooting taking place > while I lived there. Great place to fish if it wasn't for the people (I think > that could be said about most of our state!) I can see how getting a camphost > to put up with that (no pay, no authority and no way of defending yourself > against drunk, drug-crazed lunatics) would be very tough. True about many of > the campgrounds these day, though.... > > Sean > > Jim Jones wrote:
