FISHING -- No vehicles were parked at the Whitman County road pullouts near the bridge put-in for the Rock Creek that gives access to Bonnie Lake the other day.  That was our first clue that fishing for perch, crappie and bass could be a little off center of perfect.

My buddy Jim and I paddled my canoe upstream for nearly a mile of serpentine creek, narrowed by summer vegetation growth, and came to a beaver dam just before reaching the lake.  

After dragging the canoe over the dam, we paddled into the lake aided by a brisk wind that made uplake travel brisk, but suggested the return could be interesting.

Our first casts revealed we couldn't see our jigs until they were retrieved to about 18 inches or less from the surface.  A bloom was on and water clarity was severely compromised.

We caught some perch, crappie, bluegill and bass, but never more than a couple in any given spot.  We wrestled with anchoring to stabilize in the wind and we just couldn't dial in a consistent bite.

The only notable catch was one 14-inch crappie; the rest were small.

A beaver ushered us out at twilight, with nighthawks swooping in the sky above, as we paddled pack down the outlet stream past its lodge and dam as if to say they would be enjoying the solitude after we left.