Northwest Fishing Reports

Has anyone fished lake sammamish for salmon?
they open today for Salmon.. I've read in the past about people catching them, but thats a whole lot of searching to find those posts..
whats the trick?
its a big waterski lake so i know it gets real choppy for a smaller boat..

Beginning Aug. 16, Lake Sammamish will also be an option for freshwater salmon anglers, who will have a daily limit of four salmon, and can retain up to two chinook. All sockeye must be released, and fishing is closed within 100 yards of the mouth of Issaquah Creek.

Was out there this morning, only saw two kings caught. Managed to pick up a couple of nice cutts on herring, not what I was after but still fun. Most guys were pulling dodgers/flashers with bare hooks. Other options include herring, brad's wigglers, and U-20 flatfish. I definitely marked a decent amount of fish, just a matter of getting them to bite.

How many boats? Was the parking lot full, sorta full, not many vehicles?

is the only launch the one over on the southeast side in Issaquah?? that gets super duper crappy lines..

Yup, that one. I figured it would be super busy, so I went bass fishing yesterday, and don't plan on going again for a week or 2, or next year. lol

I can tell you that the fish are dark and soft. Once they make that run up the shallow and hot slough they are pretty much cooked. Try longer leaders, 24" to 48", with bare hooks behind an 11" flasher or #1 dodger if they won't take the standard sockeye setup. Also, forget tipping the hooks with shrimp and go with anchovy, sardine or herring.

Would a guy have any luck at all using any non-trolling method (jigging? spinners slow and deep?)? I was thinking it would be fun to hook up on my cataraft

I've seen a person, in a float tube, jigging and hooking fish right by the buoy at the mouth of the creek. Just keep in mind that the majority of folks are trolling and it is combat fishing conditions.

I've fished lake Samm the past few years, not very successfully, one king on a flatfish. Some of the guides have pretty good luck. Trollers are the majority of anglers, the jiggers tend to be either too close to the mouth of the creek (i.e. within the 100 yard closed area) or snagging fish.

It is a pretty mellow fishery, not a huge amount of pressure, and lot's of fishing milling around. They are defiantely dark, but I think it's always fun to catch salmon in freshwater. We may fish it Monday, I will have to see how busy my weekend is (plus still recovering from our Baker lake trips)

Here's the video from last year:

Cool video. You werent kidding when you said they were dark.

thanks for the info everyone.. my friend wanted to give it a try and i was thinking about going out with him maybe.. with the weather right now i think dealing with ski boats and jet skis is the toughest thing..

oneshot wrote:thanks for the info everyone.. my friend wanted to give it a try and i was thinking about going out with him maybe.. with the weather right now i think dealing with ski boats and jet skis is the toughest thing..

If you get there when the launch opens at 6:30 you should have a couple hours before things get too rough..

yeah i have jet ski'd and wake skated/boarded out there plenty, we used to go real early to get the glassy waters, just never fished lake sammamish.. my fishing addiction lately keeps me from recreational boating.. kooks ----> http://youtu.be/bbTLHXhH3sI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's not been an issue as you'll be done by 10-11 and they tend to stay out of the trolling lanes.