I'm here writing this report this morning but wishing I were on Lake Washington catching Sockeyes. On the other hand, I bet the boat ramps are all crazy mosh pits, so I don't miss that. Anyhow, yesterday I was in the mood for fish and chips, so I put my boat on Lake Sammamish on this warm, sunny day and motored to the Marymoor end of the lake to my favorite perch hole. This hole only seems to hold perch in July and August, and it was crammed full of perch this year. It was busier than a Lake Washington boat ramp on a warm, sunny Saturday when the Sockeye season opens. I fished a brass barbless peewee Dick Nite baited with a small piece of perch meat that I keep in the freezer for bait (with the skin on). I would say that I fished it just off the bottom except that the perch would not even let it get there. Except for a 20-minute lull in the action, the bites were constant as soon as my bait neared the 20-foot mark in about 25 feet of water. They were fat fish from 8-10 inches with one 10 1/2 incher that bent my ultra light to the water 5 times and was the best perch fighter I have caught, even better than the 12-incher I caught in the same spot three years ago. Healthy and strong, they fought well for perch. Often, as I reeled in a fish, three or four would follow it up. I fished from 10:30 am to noon, and by then had caught 50 perch but only kept the larger ones. The heron nearby was also doing well. I filleted them and froze some and dipped others in a beer batter then rolled them corn flake crumbs and deep-fried them. Along with thick fries and malt vinegar and new-picked green beans from the garden and a salad made from crisp, homemade sauerkraut, it was a fantastic dinner.

I won't give the exact spot but just tell you that it was about 25 to 30 feet of water near a bit of a dropoff in the Marymoor part of the lake. I suspect there are other spots but have never bothered to explore. If you can see the weedbed, you are too shallow--just outside the weedbed seems best. Weekdays, of course, are good because of lighter play-boat traffic and less crowding at the boat ramp. I never bother to go there on a warm, sunny weekend day anymore than I would sleep in the same bed with ten fat men.

---