A couple of us went for a swim at Klineline on Monday evening (sans wetsuits) and afterward discovered, to our dismay, that we had been bitten repeatedly by some no-see-ums in the water. My count is 35 itchy bites pretty much everywhere.
So if you are considering a swim at Klineline soon, even though the water is quite warm, I recommend the wetsuit !

Was in Klineline just yesterday and before going in was thinking to myself, wetsuit or no.. I'm now glad I decided to go with the wetsuit!

Any idea what the no-see-ums were??

Cooties!

No idea - never saw anything. But the welts look like giant mosquito bites. The itching is less today. I'm racing Sunday in Seattle and will definitely wear the wetsuit. Unfortunately my cohort is in a wedding on Saturday, poor girl.

I wish I could tell you but I can't see em!

I think they are midges. Females need blood for their eggs to mature, and larva need water nearby. The adults are so small that you usually don't know they are there until you are bitten. DEET is supposed to help but I don't know if DEET is waterproof so might not help when you are swimming. From the Washington State Dept of Health:

Biting Flies

Small biting flies or midges, commonly called No-See-Ums, are tiny, and some types can pass through a window screen. They’re extremely vicious biters in the morning and evening and can be a serious pest at summer camps and near beaches or other water bodies. Although they are not known to transmit diseases in Washington, their bite itches intensely and scratching may lead to infection.

Precautions to avoid being bitten by flies are similar to those of mosquitoes. If you’re bitten it’s advisable to wash the bite area with soap and water, apply a bactericide and an anti-itching ointment.

Thank you, Angela, that sounds exactly like what it probably was. The itching is gone now, just left with red spots and some scabbing. I found antiseptic, like Purell, took the sass out of the bites for the most part. I raced my last event this weekend, so I think it will just be the pool for me the rest of the year.......