Iced Up At Siler's Pond

Day 62: Siler's Pond isn't much bigger than a bathtub. It's set in a little hollow right off the south side of Highway 12, but unless you know where to look, you could easily miss it as you drove by. As a matter of fact, only a handful of people pay it any mind at all: fishermen.

You wouldn't expect it to be stocked, but it is. Each spring, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife pulls up alongside the guard rail on Highway 12 and lowers a very short chute over the edge. When the spill gate is opened, a gush of fish and water jets down the hillside some sixty feet or more, with most of the fish making it all the way to the pond. There, most of them are quickly fished out by the folks "in the know" because they're easy pickin's or are hooked and released by others like myself . However, there are always a few holdovers from the stock of 8-10" "catchables" which in a year or two may grow to 16-18," and a few fish actually make it on downstream to lead long and productive lives in Riffe Lake.