Tanwax Crappie/perch? Other places??

[Widgeon11]

Ok, so not your usual fishing post-

My 13 year old is convinced there are large Crappie and perch in Tanwax and maybe a couple more lakes local to the South Sound. I have caught some, only occasionally though- I am more of a salt fisherman and a trout guy.

I do not know squat about how to catch these or where even might be an ok spot (not asking for honey holes). But a hint or direction to help the lad out would be most appreciated if anyone were willing. I have taken him out and caught trout there, and small crappie on Kapowsin- but he knows they are bigger somewhere.

Please drop me a pm if you  can- would love to figure this out!

[Dysfunctional Vet]

Never fished Tanwax, but there is some YouTube videos about catching crappie on that lake. Kapowsin has large crappie but ive never found large schools of them. Just fished structure along shore with jigs under floats and have caught some 12”crappie. There is a ton of the smaller ones, but any bobber down could be a slab. Usually fishing in 3-8 of water for them around grass, Lilly pads and lay downs.

[jstrickc]

I go fishing there for both Crappie and perch with my neighbor. We usually come home with a bucket full of the things. He is the fisherman though, I just tag along and do what I'm told  We usually stay fairly close to the shoreline and seem to have good luck around anywhere you're likely to get snagged on stuff. We use the little crappie jigs that you get just about anywhere, and it works for the perch too.

[Chesterdog]

We caught a fair amount of crappie on Alder Lake 3-4 years ago.  We targeted them in the shallower water on the South West side of the fish shaped island.  Chartreuse was the working color at the time.

[Crunchy]

if you have a boat Alder is the better lake by far for perch and crappie

[Chesterdog]

If you're a trout guy and you fish Tanwax, have you ever hooked a Tiger trout?  I've heard they're in there.  Tiger trout and Beardslee trout in Lake Crescent are on my bucket list for fish.

[Bullkllr]

FWIW, I've always had much better success for perch/crappie/bluegill in the lakes around here after the water warms more in like June, July, August. The water is cold with the late spring this year; seems about a month behind. Trout fishing is holding up well locally for now.

[Widgeon11]

You guys are an amazing group of gentlemen! Thank you for taking the time to reach out-

I haven’t caught a Tiger in Tanwax- Cutts and Rainbows for sure. Will be working the shallows with some jug action….  And I was curious about the H2O temps.

All great stuff!  Thanks again- will keep at it, and let y’all know how it goes

[Alchase]

You guys are an amazing group of gentlemen! Thank you for taking the time to reach out-

I haven’t caught a Tiger in Tanwax- Cutts and Rainbows for sure. Will be working the shallows with some jug action….  And I was curious about the H2O temps.

All great stuff!  Thanks again- will keep at it, and let y’all know how it goes

I use to fish Tanwax a couple times a week. It was 15 minutes from my house in South Hill/Graham. I caught tons of Rainbows,none of the illusive Tigers or Crappy, but I was trolling.

Alder has a bunch of Crappy.

[marinesniper8541]

Ohop is another great spot for crappie and perch. Took my boys there a lot when they were younger and they would catch crappie, perch, blue gill, and catfish all day

[Norman89]

Ohop tanawax alder harts clear and rapjohn all hold decent size crappie. For numbers harts lake is a killer, but smaller size fish. Alder and tanawax hold the tankers, but hard to target the big ones. My go to is slow trolling micro crank baits. Check out https://youtube.com/c/FGKFishing
He is the fishing section guy at sportsman's in Puyallup and my source of crappie information. Salmo and rapala crank baits 

[deerlick]

Ohop tanawax alder harts clear and rapjohn all hold decent size crappie. For numbers harts lake is a killer, but smaller size fish. Alder and tanawax hold the tankers, but hard to target the big ones. My go to is slow trolling micro crank baits. Check out https://youtube.com/c/FGKFishing
He is the fishing section guy at sportsman's in Puyallup and my source of crappie information. Salmo and rapala crank baits 

FYI.  He  is at sportco now

[AL WORRELLS KID]

We used to catch some nice Crappie in Tanwax, along the Westside docks on warm summer nights. Slow trolling a White Uncle Josh's Pork Strip (about one inch long with a forked tail) on a #6 hook with a Small Split Shot a couple of feet above.

[Rick]

We’ve had property on Tanwax since 1968. Unless the state is stocking them again I doubt you’ll catch a Tiger Trout. The state stocked them for a couple years in the early 90s.

[Norman89]

You want perch numbers hit up ohop. You want crappie numbers go to harts. You want black and white crappie good size but not great numbers go to alder. You want tanker bluegill and crappie in hit and miss numbers go to tanawax. You want the perfect mix of all of them to kapowsin you go. My pb bluegill was on tanawax, pb perch on kapowsin, pb crappie on alder. BUT I have caught over 200 crappie on harts lake in one day, small jig tipped with a imitation minnow under a bobber would barely hit the water before fish on. I troll micro crank baits usually for the big ones, just now learning how to jig them suspended. Absolute blast with the kids on the boat, I spend more time unhooking fish then anything every time I take them out on those lakes. Water is still a touch cool, 63-64° right now and fish are just starting to move in the last week from my experiences. Last few weekends in starting to pickup bluegill on lake Lawrence and locals tell me there are perch and crappie in there as well. Should start heating up with this weather!

[Buckhunter24]

Kapowsin would be my go to. Havent seen Whitman mentioned either, I remember pulling in some good ones there as a kid

[Alchase]

Kapowsin would be my go to. Havent seen Whitman mentioned either, I remember pulling in some good ones there as a kid

The Kapowsin parking lot is a break in waiting to happen.
You can tell when you pull in by how much glass there is in the parking lot.

We’ve had property on Tanwax since 1968. Unless the state is stocking them again I doubt you’ll catch a Tiger Trout. The state stocked them for a couple years in the early 90s.

I fished Tanwax a couple times a week from 2005-20014, like I said caught tons of rainbows. Never saw a tiger.

[Norman89]

Kapowsin can get really bad for break ins absolutely. Plenty of room to bank fish and be in earshot of your car
Whitman can be great, but parking fills up very fast

[Alchase]

It can be a fun lake to fish. Trolling gets dicy if you are not paying attention. And you never know whah will take your bait 

Sucks scumbags have to ruin it by breaking into vehicles