Friday, April 15, 2016

Mayfield Lake



(My theme is places that I have visited or lived)

Mayfield Lake

For four (4) years this was my third most favorite place on earth. We use to come up to this lake frequently when we had our boat. I had a fantastic eighteen (18) foot open bow Seaswirl I named Shadowfax (Gandalf's White Stallion).

I can't tell you how many hours I fished this lake or pulled skiers and tube toys. We also brought the boat to our annual church camp-out where we would pull the kids around for hours. During one camp out I spent over six hours on the boat pulling adults and kids, only coming in for fuel. 

Mayfield is a reservoir located near Mossyrock, Washington, in Lewis County. It was created by Mayfield Dam on the Cowlitz River, one of the dams in the Columbia River watershed.

The Mayfield Dam was constructed in 1963 as a concrete arch and gravity dam. Some 250 feet (76 m) high and capable of generating 162 megawatts, it supplies Tacoma Power with a large percentage of its entire hydroelectric power supply, second only toMossyrock Dam.

The Cowlitz River Arm is significantly colder than the rest of the lake due to its proximity to the Riffe Lake which is created by Mossyrock Dam. The water from Riffe Lake flows through the Mossyrock Powerhouse's two hydroelectric generators. 

The Tilton River arm is much warmer and shallower due to past landslides. The Lake Mayfield Resort area is often referred to as 'Wally World'.Ike Kinswa State Park is located on a peninsula bounded by the Cowlitz River and the Tilton River.[2] The lake contains an island with a lighthouse.


Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, there were many water ski and wake board tournaments held on the lake's Winston Creek arm where the Lake Mayfield Resort is located. The Mayfield Lake Youth camp is located up the Winston Creek arm adjacent to the Winston Creek Falls

This reservoir was formed by the construction of Mayfield Dam. It is managed for catchable rainbow trout and warmwater species. Tiger muskies were introduced in 1993 to help in controlling nuisance northern pikeminnow (squawfish) populations.

The  lake is located about three miles west of Mossyrock, and has a year-round open season.The big attraction is tiger musky fishing. The state record is currently over 31 pounds; larger ones are out there. The best tiger musky fishing is during the warmer months.Currently the minimum size limit for muskies is 50 inches.


Lake Information

Lewis County
Lake Acreage: 2,021.9
Elevation: 428 feet
Westside Washington
Mixed species - Trout emphasis

3 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

Wonderful post Gregg, I am enjoying your theme.
Yvonne.

Arlee Bird said...

I'm totally unfamiliar with this place. It looks like a peaceful getaway.

Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out

kc bob said...

Would have loved to been in the boat with you Gregg. I'm not much of a fisherman but I do enjoy boating. ツ