Previous Next

Hit the lake again to scout the waters in preparation for the upcoming derby. I decided to stay in the south end of the lake and target waters between 40' and 70' deep. The lure I used today was a gold Brad's Cutplug filled with pike minnow meat behind a teardrop dodger. I kept this offering within 10' of the bottom, hoping to entice a few larger resident fish. As luck would have it, my first fish was a good sized perch that was temporarily kept to entertain my fishing partner. Shortly thereafter, I connected with a 19" tagged cutt off the south end of Mercer Island. She was a recent spawner, so I brought her on board to read the tag number and also snapped a quick pick. As short while later, while working my way towards towards Seward Park, I picked up another cutt just as I adjusted the downrigger depth to match the bottom contour. This fish was a bit more feisty, and turned out to be a plump 17" hen which I also released to be caught another day. Ran into Salmonbarry at Stan Sayers, after docking to give my pooch a bathroom break. From the docks one could see the equipment staged near the I-90 bridge used for replacing the anchor cables, which has been a work in progress for the past couple of seasons. I my opinion, this has caused a drop off in productivity of what was a typically solid area for both cutts and kokanee. After the potty break and chat with Salmonbarry, I headed to the north end of Mercer Island and continued my scouting trip. This section of the lake did not provide me with anything other than a few more perch, much to the delight of my pooch, so I called it a day once I reached the Luther Burbank park area. Overall, the surface temps are much warmer than average and I did not see much bait on the sonar. Next time out I will be working over the deep waters, to see what they hold.

The Quadfather

5/30/2018 6:54:27 AM

I assume it is the DFW that tags lake WA. Cutts.. Do you know what information they gain from this? I’m just curious.

tmanh2o

5/30/2018 5:16:54 PM

Was the tag for one of the prize trophy fish by chance ? By the way a simple thanks for releasing the fish you did.

tmanh2o

5/30/2018 5:24:40 PM

I just looked at the fish you mentioned again. I see now the yellow marked dot on the bottom of the fish. I was under the impression that this means it is a Canadian hatchery stamped fish? I believe specifically simon fraser river. I have seen this on some salmon I have caught in admiralty inlet. Or does the Wa state fisheries used yellow dots on the bottom to mark their fish also ? Pretty cool either way.

G-Man

5/30/2018 7:11:05 PM

Quad - I'm pretty sure it was a University of Washington tagged fish, I'll be sending them the info and will share what I get back.
Tmanh20 - I'm pretty sure it wasn't one of the Cabelas prize fish, it looked like a standard floy tag that is used by researchers. The yellow blotch on the fish is fairly typical of the native cutts in this system. It reminds me of a birthmark as it varies in size, shape and location from fish to fish. I do release most of the cutts I catch, there aren't as many on the lake as people are lead to believe and aren't the cause of poor sockeye returns.

The Quadfather

5/31/2018 6:16:34 PM

Thank you for the attentive replies to comments. I should be out there Sat. AM. (-:

G-Man

5/31/2018 6:38:38 PM

FYI - there will be a Cast for Kids fishing kids event at Gene Coulon park that day. It's going to be a long day for me as the river opener for many of the Puget Sound rivers and streams is that day as well. I'll get some early morning C&R trout fishing in on a local river then volunteer at the kids event.

Leave a Comment:

Login

Flag

×

Why is this comment inappropriate?

Close Submit

Delete this comment? Provide reason.

No Yes

Edit

×

Cancel Save