My first report. Thanks for all the great info, especially the Sammamish and Lk. Washington cutthroat crew. The techniques I've picked up here have been really effective . Hopefully some of this info is useful to others learning to fish the lake. This is a summary of the past week's fishing/experimenting from a standup paddle board. Day-to-day results have been pretty consistent. Times have been late morning to mid afternoon. A couple early evening sessions were also productive.

Quick Version: Been limiting out or close on 16-20" Cutthroats around midday, using smile blade/hoochie/sling blade combos with scent (krill & anise). Chartreuse has been the best producer, but all colors tried have worked. Depth approx. 25'-30' down. As someone here mentioned, trolling at a higher speed, 2-3mph has produced larger cutthroats almost exclusively (zero kokes, one bass near the east bank).

Trolling Area: North end of the lake, s-turns along the 40' contour from west to east and back. The hotspots I posted have been consistent producers in terms of marking fish and getting bites. I thought this area would be too shallow, but not the case apparently. The fish have been in smaller clusters, not many big schools.

Setup: Hoochies in chartreuse (best one), green, purple & white. Mostly a 5" sling blade in chartreuse, also a 4" dodger in clown has worked. Leadcore 130' back with a 30' leader. Trolling speed 2-3mph. I think that puts the hoochie between about 25' to 30'. Deeper Smart Portable Fish Finder.

After filling the freezer in a couple days, I switched to catch and release. I found the trailing hook was rarely the one that hooked the fish, but sometimes ended up doing damage (getting hooked in the eye, etc), so I retied all the hoochie rigs with only one hook and haven't noticed a difference in hookup rate. Do the cutts attack the head? Kinda seems like it. I've only had a couple bad bleeders since making the switch. I may pinch the barbs and see how that plays out.

The eagles sitting in the trees along the eastern tree line were watching closely. One came down and inspected a fish I was fighting at the surface. (anyone have one taken off the line? jeez that made me nervous). 10 minutes later, I caught and released a bass that looked healthy but bellied up about 15' away. It floated there for maybe 5 seconds before getting snatched.

Standup Paddle Board/Kayak related things I've learned: The setup is a pretty simple. A milk crate bungied in front of me, a scotty rod holder almost parallel to the water, pointing at 1-2 o'clock, mounted to the crate. A kokanee trolling rod and reel with lead core line. (tried a small downrigger, but less is more).

I use a Deeper Smart Portable Fish Finder, pulling it about 5' behind the board on a thin cord. It connects to my iPhone via wifi and switches on when it hits water. The phone, in a waterproof case, is clamped to the milk crate. Not having to use a cable, mount a transducer or use a battery was a big plus.

Paddling in an erratic, pulsing way has produced much better than a steady, even speed. Quite a few bites have come after a pause followed by a strong paddle stroke.

The line drag from the leadcore and gear tends to pull the board to one side. Its turned out to be pretty useful and I've stopped trying to correct it. I use it to make long s-turns and loops. Also, positioning the rod upwind helps offset the force of the wind pushing the nose downwind.

When the fish hit, I've found it best to take one or two more strokes to help set the hook. I was stopping right away and going for the rod, but was losing fish before I could get to the rod. Also find a fast way to secure your paddle :) I use a loop of paracord that easily stretches over the t-handle.

Tight Lines!

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