Amber Lake Launch Posted

[Marc Martyn]

Thanks to The Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club and WDFW, Amber Lake launch has a large new sign posted clearly stating the fishing regulations.
Hopefully this will reduce the increasing amount of regulation violators.

Thanks guys!:thumleft:

[Lotech Joe]

That's a nice sign. I hope it works.
Can you tell me if the launch has improved enough to get a 12' jon boat in? My legs don't work well enough any more for a pontoon boat or float tube, so I sold them both.
Thanks,

[Rooscooter]

Great sign, I hope it comes with a full time warden!

Most of the people I see there using bait are fully aware of the regulations.

As always, the sign will keep the honest people honest.


Tight Lines!

[Marc Martyn]

That's a nice sign. I hope it works.
Can you tell me if the launch has improved enough to get a 12' jon boat in? My legs don't work well enough any more for a pontoon boat or float tube, so I sold them both.
Thanks,

The launch hasn't change in many years. The concrete portion still has barriers, but many guys launch 12-14' boats on the gravel side of the pavement. You should be able to launch a Jon boat there. Here is a photo I took in 2002 showing the launch. Still the same.

[Marc Martyn]

That's a nice sign. I hope it works.
Can you tell me if the launch has improved enough to get a 12' jon boat in? My legs don't work well enough any more for a pontoon boat or float tube, so I sold them both.
Thanks,

The launch hasn't change in many years. The concrete portion still has barriers, but many guys launch 12-14' boats on the gravel side of the pavement. You should be able to launch a Jon boat there. Here is a photo I took in 2002 showing the launch. Still the same.

[Marc Martyn]

Great sign, I hope it comes with a full time warden!

Most of the people I see there using bait are fully aware of the regulations.

As always, the sign will keep the honest people honest.


Tight Lines!

The sign can only help. I am thankful to the Inland Empire Fly Club for getting it installed. It takes community involvement to make changes in the situation. This fall I arrived at the lake and 3 guys were arguing with an elderly gentleman who informed them of the regs. The guys bobbler fishing were telling him that he was wrong and that Power Bait was not real live bait and so they could use it. Once on the lake and totally pissed off, I rowed down to the tan house by the old Decker resort and asked the owner if he would make a land line call to the WSP and inform them of the poachers. He informed me that just a few minutes earlier he had tossed them off of his dock and he would be happy to call them. About 30 minutes later, the game department came to the launch. I rowed over to the shore and told him he just missed 3 poachers. Lenny, the enforcement officer told me "No, I got them". He stopped them up on Pine Spring Road, with a total illegal catch of 9 large rainbows.
I had a nice visit with Lenny while he was there. I thanked him for responding and asked him to do as much as he could to lessen the poaching on the lake. He appreciated my gratitude and said that he would do as much as he can. The enforcement division of the department is vastly under staffed.
Sadly, there is no cell phone coverage in that area. The property owners around the lake want the problem resolved also, because they fish the lake too. Those that see these things going on have to do something, anything. When you get home from a days fishing and have seen poachers, email the game department and tell them about it. If they get enough complaints, they will devote more time to the area.
We can't just complain about it, we all have to try to change it. That is what the fly club is attempting.
I will now step off of my soapbox. Thanks for letting me rant.

[Rooscooter]

I agree!!

Community involvement can only go so far though.

I have called from Amber using my cell phone (I can get cell coverage on the lake at the North end) a couple of times this year alone to let WDFW know there is illegal fishing going on. Several other times over the years I have "reminded" fishers of the restrictions on the Lake. Most of the time the "offenders" are fully aware of the restrictions and are trying to hide the fish and their methods.

Unless there is a warden patrolling the lake on a regular basis (twice a day during the season at least) it will continue. The sign is nice, but I don't have much faith in it changing the minds of the people I have seen "poaching" at Amber.

Another solution would be to fence the public launch area so that it would be impossible to fish the lake from that area. It would have to be done in a way that still allows boat access, but would restrict any other access to the water from the public land.

As for the sign....signs only work for the people willing to obey the rules. It will keep the honest people from making a mistake....that's about it. It's a start I guess.

Tight Lines!

[Marc Martyn]

It is frustrating for all of us that fish Amber frequently. All we can do is keep trying.
I am going to start taking pictures of the poachers and e-mail them to the game department. They may recognize some of the previous offenders.:compress:

[cavdad45]

One of the best things for a lake is when a local fishing club or other community group "adopts" it as their own project. I saw the difference when the Fidalgo Flyfishers took "ownership" of Pass Lake. The club keeps "their" lake clean from litter, they often lobby for or pay for quality fish stockings, and they create awareness that keeps the majority of the poachers away. I like it.

[JimLyons]

Amber has been a secret of mine for 25 years. The secret is a little bigger now. The sign is nice thanks for posting the picture. I just talked to a Game warden there 2 weeks ago. I love to take my kids trolling there. The launch could have been open most of the summer before the water got lower. I do launch on the gravela nd it is usually no problem, but occasionally is a great big PITA!, And not the kind you eat. Amber is a jewel that has come about by responsible fishing, if the signs keep out half of the baitfishers we are doing pretty good. Tight Lines.

[Marc Martyn]

Welcome to WL.com Jim:cheers: We have probably crossed wakes with each other at Amber over the years. I had a great year out there this year, getting quite a few 18"-19" rainbows. Hopefully next year we will see more 20"-23".

[A9]

I wish I could see a few more lakes with those signs...Anyways, if you can, get the poachers license plate on their rig or trailer or whatever and send that in. I think it would be easier for them to work with a plate instead of a face that they would have to try and match to previous offenders??

[Marc Martyn]

I have thought about that Sam. Sometimes it is possible, and other times it really isn't a very good idea.
There have been times that I am the only one "on the lake" and poachers are the only ones on the shore. In that case, I will not say anything to them. It could be a very long walk back to Spokane when all of your tires are slashed. Also, with many cars in the lot, it is sometimes difficult to identify who's car belongs to who.
The picture is fairly easy to take now with the back screen feature. As long as you turn off the flash, they probably wouldn't notice you took it.