Today was another great day on the lake.


client Joseph and I met at Idylwood park at 6:00 this morning, then headed to the other end of the lake and started our troll between the weather buoy and the mouth of the creek. within 10 minutes of trolling, we hook into a very nice trout and lose him about 10 feet from the boat. after that, the bite was off for about 20 minutes, then we doubled up on a 13" and 11" fish. Joseph brought them both to the boat like a pro and we were finally on the board. when you are looking to keep fish during the day, it is always bad luck to throw the fist one back. additionally, this 13" fish was bleeding and wouldn't have survived, so we threw him in the box. the 11" fish was healthy and swam right off.

within the next 30 minutes we found one more more fish, about 15 or 16". We saw a very familiar boat approaching after we took care of that fish we caught, and realized it was Mike Carey! The man himself! we chatted for a couple minutes, talked tactics, shared a little bait then we both dropped gear and got back on the troll. in the hour to follow, we found 3 more nice 16" cookie cutter fish to finish out a limit for Joseph.

in just two of the fish, we found 10 smolts. these fish are devouring the poor baby salmon! . later in the year they will switch to sticleback and perch in their fish diet, but as of right now, they are eating a large amount of chinook/coho

even after seeing the massacre of salmon, it was still a fantastic day on the water. thank you Joseph for a wonderful day!

after Joseph was on his way, I decided to drop down and do a little scouting at a different spot on the lake. I started in a shallow spot and worked my way out to about 68 FOW where I marked an enormous school of smolts, then saw some cutthroat looking marks around it. using a diamond flash spinner, I dropped down into it and bang! fish on. a real nice 16" fish, fat with fish. (he had a serious gut). I trolled back thru there and bang! cookie cutter fish, then again! 3 fish in 3 minutes on one pole, it was incredible. I got a little off course, but I circled back thru that spot and wham! fish! 4 fish in about 12 minutes. one last fish and then I was calling it quits. I drop my line down and immediately fish on. from 11:40-11:56, 5 fish saw the side of the boat! what had we learned? the fish locate schools and pig out. this was the first large school I had marked all year, and it was certainly the most productive 16 minutes of fish. dragging any time of lure with some kick and flash, (such as a setup with a diamond flash spinner and a dodger) should produce fish in this instance. the trout will find the "injured smolt" and target them. HUGE THANK YOU TO RELI LURES! YOUR PRODUCTS PUT FISH IN THE BOAT! This was certainly some of the coolest fishing I have seen on sammamish.

during this scouting trip, all fish were released. the WDFW estimates that 30-50 thousand cutthroat live in the lake, and the population is holding very healthily. this being said, unless you have a plan to eat the fish, it is always good idea to practice catch and release. the trout in this lake are natural (not stocked) and are absolutely delicious, so it is saddening when they go to waste. not only is it a loss of DELICIOUS and very healthy food, it is also not a very sporting thing to do.

two trips in one, and both were very successful and provided some interesting and valuable information. cant ask for more than great fishing and learning! it was great seeing Mike out there, so cool to see that new Ultera in action! word on the street is that he hooked into a couple fish on a 4” Rapala and a homemade spinner while stacking. The stacking master does it again!

trips are filling up but there a few spots open in May still, and June and July still have some openings as well. the cutthroat are hot! coming up the smallmouth bass fishing should be very good as well towards the end of May the Smallmouth will be in prespawn mode, which means it is time to drop-shot beds and sight fish for hawgs! whether you want trout, bass, panfish, or a combo, Lake sammamish is a great lake to fish.

in addition to Sammamish, dates are still available for kokanee on Lake Stevens! call or email for pricing.

wish you tight lines and good tines,
Captain Paul
(425)-753-5772
paul@fastactionfishingseattle.com
fastactionfishingseattle.com

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