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This report will include several different days of fishing on Lake Sammamish. Last year was my first year out on the lake trying to learn as much as I could about the fishery and most of it was done with a full sink fly line and flies. Being out on a Pontoon the lake Is/was very daunting, intimidating and flat out BIG coming from fishing only electric motor ponds when compared to Lake Sammamish.

Being a UL angler I had to evolve into lead core line fishing which is a very proven method and not what I would call UL fishing. I got my act together finding a UL set up that could produce fish and a decent fight from from these fish, but lacking when compared to Mono or Braid on my UL spinning set ups. My set up is a 8’6” GLoomis rod 4-10 line and a Pisicifun Phantom X Baitcaster that is a low profile 6.5 Oz reel that will hold 5 colors plus some backing and pre leader....barely!

Lure wise if I am using more speed headed out to a spot or coming in, I use a Needlefish, other wise a Wiggle Hoochie is by far my number one lure. Depth wise depending on conditions I am letting out 3-5 colors. As for locations rowing out from the State Launch, I worked the bay and around the Creek area which produced 4 Coho (pretty sure they were, see pics) in October but it has slowed down around there. Currently I have been working the East shoreline and in front of the beaches. Both areas have produced at certain time and other days it’s truly tough out there for a pontoon angler with no electronics. I have had days when I do very well producing many fish and even larger fish than I got last year.

I’ve been lucky enough to have days that have produced my personal best fish from this lake. First was 20” brut that provided by far the best fight at the boat of any fish to date. Then Wednesday night I bettered that brut with a chunky 21.5” red bellied monster. Both times I was lucky enough to have a friend near me to take a pic as all my pics are normally taken with the fish in my rubber net since I am a catch and release angler and try to not handle them. Hope to see you out on the water this winter!

djw0414

11/16/2019 9:00:12 AM

Just bought a boat last month and have been taking it out for test runs and general shakeout activities. At some point I will deploy some fishing gear to see if lightning would strike. I have fished the lake a few times over the years and had decent luck. Not so this year with the boat. I have trolled wedding rings and spoons behind flashers and dodgers tipped with maggots and worms. I didn't see any fish caught so I wasn't too concerned but my last trip I had my depth/fish finder working so I thought my chances would go up. Not so. Once again, saw no fish caught but the strange thing was that I was marking absolutely no fish anywhere on the lake at any depth until I wandered over to the sunken forest and saw a couple marks in there. My question is should I be marking fish? All other features of the Humminbird are working great but maybe I am missing something in its setup. Any help would be appreciated.

rmrauscher

11/18/2019 9:07:06 AM

No doubt about it Sammamish has been smokin hot. Hey DJW0414 the probable reason you arent marking fish is that this time of year the fish are very shallow 20-25ft. At that depth the cone pattern on your fish finder is very narrow. So unless you run right over the top of them you wont see marks. Fish are boat shy and will scatter off to the side outside the cone so no marks. Nice job!!!

Ben Eggertsen

11/16/2019 9:07:54 AM

Great pictures and report! I have not used a wiggle hoochie on Lake Sammamish. Any suggestions on color, size or leader length?

TMBob

11/16/2019 6:43:08 PM

Ben, as for color? Best for me has been purple but trying an Orange one this week and you can see the results. Also Chartreuse/Glow. As for leader....15’ mono/flouro in 10lbs to a bead swivel and then 3-4’ of 8lbs flouro to a snap. I then make my own 18” leader hook combo and do not use the pre tied double red hooks. I use a barrel swivel/ Single Siwash Hook set up. I release fish so no need for two hooks. Need more details. PM me please

TMBob

11/18/2019 3:02:58 PM

side note....my pontoon and waders are off for repairs so I’ll be looking for an open boat stop the next two weekends with $25 in my pocket to help with gas or your favorite beverages. Would love to meet some new members and learn more about the lake, like further North. Figured it does not hurt to ask. I live close and can fish any hours.

Ben Eggertsen

11/22/2019 9:18:17 AM

Really helpful information on the line and leader setup. Thanks! If I had a bigger boat I would enjoy taking you out on it. It sounds like Stevee (above) would like to go. Tight lines.

cdflett

11/16/2019 9:20:33 AM

Well done Bob. You’re slaying them.

TMBob

11/16/2019 6:43:34 PM

Need to see ya out there soon!

herefishy

11/16/2019 10:49:37 PM

Good report and beautiful fish.

knishino

11/19/2019 5:01:13 PM

Great report, Bob! That's very inspirational. I've fished mostly electric motor only lakes like Spring Lake, Lake Desire, and Shadow Lake out of my kayak. I fish mostly for bass, but fishing has been slow for me lately. I'm definitely going to look into getting a leadcore line setup. I though it would be too hard to troll with paddles (rather than a pedal kayak), but I see that you're doing very well with the paddles! Gotta get out on the water!

SteveE

11/21/2019 3:48:45 PM

Bob, great report thanks for sharing all of the information. I think we may have met one day at the Lake Sammamish boat launch. I was pulling a couple of jet skis out of the lake onto a trailer. I mentioned that I fished the lake using a fly rod and flies exclusively. I have caught some nice cutthroat and bass doing this, but it is definitely hit and miss for me. Did you have success with certain flies more than others, or in some areas more than others on the lake? Feel free to PM me if you want. I keep my boat on a lift on the lake most of the winter so I can fish for cutthroat, maybe we can go out and give it a go sometime. Thanks Steve

TMBob

11/24/2019 4:44:51 PM

Steve, I cannot PM you on this site. If you go to the Facebook page for NWFR and find the link to this page, you can comment there and I will be able to answer your questions

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