Northwest Fishing Reports

Has anyone noticed that the fishing seems to be pretty poor in King county the last couple of weeks? At first I thought it was just me, but I've been several places with other fishermen around and none of them have been catching much either.

For reference, I'm mostly going for rainbows. I've gone to Pine, Beaver, Cottage, Green, and Sammamish with little luck.

I mostly fished for rainbows as well. I fish three of the lakes you have listed.

Green Lake - I always leave with between 1-5 bows. Only limited one time the past few weeks. Last time I fished it was on June 11 and caught 3. The reports look bad for it lately.

Beaver Lake - I got the skunk on this lake.

Pine Lake - Only been there 3 times this year. Last time was in May. It usually gets heavy pressure and becomes SLOW the last few weeks of May. My fishing logs show that I didnt catch any trout last June from Pine.

The weather isn't helping the bite as well.

returnofthefish wrote:I mostly fished for rainbows as well. I fish three of the lakes you have listed.

Green Lake - I always leave with between 1-5 bows. Only limited one time the past few weeks. Last time I fished it was on June 11 and caught 3. The reports look bad for it lately.

Beaver Lake - I got the skunk on this lake.

Pine Lake - Only been there 3 times this year. Last time was in May. It usually gets heavy pressure and becomes SLOW the last few weeks of May. My fishing logs show that I didnt catch any trout last June from Pine.

The weather isn't helping the bite as well.

I've only been to Green once, maybe it's worth another look then. Are you on a boat, or from a pier?

Probly starting to feel the heat after all the pressure since the opener. Those little bows get picked out pretty darn quick. After a lifetime of eating nothing but food pellets with no predators they will eat just about anything they see (including/especially lures) and are an easy target for birds, other fish, and predatory mammals. The fish are in Sammamish but with changing weather and spawning habits the fish are relocating from their usual locations.

Plus certain lakes are stocked with a limited number of rainbow trout. With each passing day you can expect a lesser number of fish in the same body of water. Thats another factor to consider. Pine was stocked like crazy, but the dock was full all the time every single day till it started to get fished out. I would tell you to go to the Pine Lake dock and cast into the 40 ft section of the lake, but its not even hot right now.

I fish from the docks at Green Lake.

yellow perchies were dynamite on Lk WA this past weekend

I havent had any luck in weeks.

Bank fishing gets a bit tougher later in the season as the fish move into deeper water to find comfortable water conditions and food. Fishing from a floating device that gets you away from the shore will help as will hitting lakes that have good natural reproduction. You may want to give the rivers a try as most of them opened recently for trout and/or steelhead.

Ive been seeing less Comorants and diving birds in Lk Wa lately. I too cast my spoons down at the Lk Wa docks and havent seen anyfish of size.Last week hooked into to maybe 12" but that was it and lost them both letting them run. The lake so far hasnt yielded one limit to me yet. Last Sunday I limited on Squawfish.lol

Yeah, I've had little to no luck the last couple of weeks. Been fishing Green, Union down in Fremont to Gasworks park and over on the docks at Magnuson Park on Lake Wa with only 1 dink smallie caught down in Fremont. So, not sure if it's time of day or presentation or what. Mainly been going early in the morning and after work around 4-6:00. I think the strange weather patterns may have something to do with it, but that's just a guess.
Anyone have any luck down on Magnuson boat launch? I tried for bass using senkos, cranks, grubs with nothing, then switched to spinners for trout but not even a nibble in 4 hours of fishing. Any ideas or tips? Thanks!

I caught a few bass this morning, maybe 15. On lake at 4:15 am, off lake at 10:15 am. LOTS of small Largemouth and 1 small Smallmouth. 2 large Smallmouth and 1 large Largemouth. Biggest was 2 lbs 15 oz Largie. Everything on a crankbait. One rainbow about 16" length in SHALLOW water on the crank at about 9:30am. Sawyer of course. Seems LOTS of rainbow shallow this year on both Sawyer and Meridian. Water temp started at 65, couple spots up to 66 by the time I left.

edited: Been catching too many Large Smallies, so called this fish a Smallie instead of a Largie. Guess I'd better go back to bed.

Amx wrote:......LOTS of small Largemouth and 1 small Smallmouth. 2 large Smallmouth and no large Largemouth......

Read that too fast and it's liable to put one in the hospital.

Try typing it one fingered without looking.

LOL ... nice breakdown once all the voices in my head cleared it up.

Bisk1tSnGraV wrote:LOL ... nice breakdown once all the voices in my head cleared it up.

Now you know how I feel ALL the time.

Amx wrote:LOTS of small Largemouth and 1 small Smallmouth. 2 large Smallmouth and 1 large Largemouth..

[lol] Somehow, I understand exactly what you mean. Perhaps I should go see the doctor?

bcalvert wrote:

Amx wrote:LOTS of small Largemouth and 1 small Smallmouth. 2 large Smallmouth and 1 large Largemouth..

[lol] Somehow, I understand exactly what you mean. Perhaps I should go see the doctor?

The doctor probably wouldn't understand and would have to go see HIS doctor to try to understand what they both might not understand.

What people have said is certainly true - there are less trout, and with the water heating up they move to different locations in the lake.

But the trout are still there - just a bit harder to get.

As stated, as the water warms up the fish will move in the lake to find the water they like. In many of these small lakes that means they move to the deeper sections - which tend to be farther from shore.

If you have a boat you can follow them & fish a bit deeper.

If fishing from the bank then some suggestions are:
1) cast out farther (more weight, longer rod and braided line all help here)
2) fish earlier in the morning (i.e. start at sunrise)

If you aren't catching fish then change it up. Try a different color powerbait - or switch to worms or salmon eggs. Change your leader length. Cast to a different location in the lake. Switch to top fishing. Add some scent. etc...

If you have the second rod stamp then setup the rods with different stuff. If you are fishing with a friend have him do something different.

For these planted trout, as a general rule, if I'm not getting hits in 15-20mins then I change it up. Sometimes just casting back out does the trick. I'm convinced that trout - at least the dumb planters - are actually attracted by small splashes, it is like they come over to investigate what is going on.

I think one of the worst things you can do is to sit there and do nothing. Anyone remember the definition of insanity?

What also helps when fishing gets tough is to go stealth. Flouocarbon leader, lighter line, smaller hooks, etc..

If other people around you are catching then pay attention to what they are doing. I've found most people to be friendly and responsive - if you approach them in a respective manner (i.e. don't cross their line several times & then walk up and say "Hi! Will you tell me all your fishing secrets?")

Or you can do as other people has suggested - try the rivers or switch species to a warm water fish.

Really good insight there Nate, thanks. Personally, I've been trying to employ different methods/tackle but usually stick to what worked that one time. Guess you gotta switch it up, stay positive and like Mike Iaconelli always says, "Never g:cheers: ive up!":cheers: