SHORT:
Yet another great day on Sammamish! Little weather system rolled through but luckily the pressure stayed surprisingly high and the fish were hungry for some lures. We nailed some BIG trout today, with the average being probably 17.5 inches, and a few that pushed 20 inches and were well over 3 pounds. These fish today were FAT! 15 fish in just about 2 hours and 45 minutes.

There are only a couple spots left! January 14th and 17th are looking primetime for some hawgs!

LONG:

As fishermen, we all have special days on the water where the fish are biting just right, and it just doesn’t seem like you can go wrong regardless of what you throw at them. Then, there are days so special, so meaningful, that the focus isn’t on catching, but rather something far more powerful that leaves a lasting imprint on us as anglers and people. Here at fast action, today was one of those days.

Today was looking prime for fishing so I was incredibly excited to get some clients on a great load of fish. As it turned out, the client that had the day had a family issue to attend to, so at the very last minute the spot opened up. I just so happened to be catching up with my mom at dinner when the cancellation happened, and to my joyous surprise my mom informed me she was free after 9:00 and would love to fish. She said cutthroat would be perfect as she was requested to bring some fresh fish to her friends on her upcoming travels.

At this point, it had been over 2 years since my mom and I had the chance to get out in the boat together, so you could imagine the excitement ensuing as we took off from the dock in search of some gorgeous Lake Sammamish Cutthroat.

We start our troll about ½ mile away from where I have been fishing with clients and troll into the “sweet-spot”. As we enter the zone, one of our rods gets hammered, then goes dead. I give the boat a turn to entice the bite and then the rods gets nailed again. I pop the clip and had the rod off to my mom for the fight. I notice this fish is pulling some serious drag and giving my mom quite the fight, so I ask how it feels, and my mom says with a smile, “Oh, it BIG”. Well, she wasn’t wrong about that! After a solid fight, we net a gorgeous 20” FAT cutthroat that is chrome and shiny. On the board!

With a beautiful specimen on the ice, I continue the troll up to where I expect some action. About 15 minutes later, a check of the sonar shows a big school of nice sized marks filling the screen from 10 to about 40 feet down. We troll right through and get nailed on both sides of the boat. 2 more gorges 18+ inch fatties met the ice.

I dropped a waypoint on the GPS unit to make sure I could stay on the school. With 3 nice fish on the ice we decide to be picky with our harvest, only searching for quality fish. We keep working that school for about another 90 minutes and end up catching probably 12 more cutties and a kokanee ranging from 13.5-19 inches. All of which, including the kokanee, fat and healthy-looking fish. Of course, the kokanee was released unharmed as were many of the cutties.

Finally, we decided to go on the hunt for one more fish. Call it intuition, call it a feeling, call it magic, but my mom points about 100 yards off the bow and says there’s a big one in that area over there, which was at this point probably 250 yards from the school we were hitting. Now, I’ve been fishing with my mom since I would barely walk. When my mom says there is a fish in “x” area, 9 times out of 10 she is right. I don’t know how she does it, but I know not to ask questions or ignore that advice, so I head right to that area and sure enough right as we troll through a rod buries deep, and we are on. It was the fattest fish of the day, absolutely pushing four pounds. Like I said, I don’t know how she does it, but it’s a talent I need to learn!

With that monster, we call it a day and head for the dock with our bounty, we had some monster trout on ice (multiple over 3 pounds, and with the exception of 1 bleeder all were around 17.5-20 inches and FAT) , perfect for my mom’s friends during her travels, and got to see some beautiful pre-spawn fish swim away for the next generation as well.

I couldn’t ask for a better day with my mom on the water, and since it had been so long since we fished in my boat together, it truly was a special day. However, the beauty of this day doesn’t stop with just a great day of fishing.

My mom is the one who taught me how to fish. From the time I could hold a pole, she was the one taking me to the lake, teaching me how to tie a clinch knot, helping me cast, and teaching me the basics. Together, we learned all about catching stocked trout in lakes like Pine Lake on the Sammamish Plateau, and by age 11, I was transitioning further into boats, trolling, bigger fish, and larger adventures. The trips my mom and I would take to Pine Lake stick in my mind constantly, as those were the days that shaped who I am as an angler. My mom, our dog, and me finding the best spot on the pier and catching stocked trout, learning from every trip, knowing we will do better the next, this is what instilled addiction in me.

Now, I am a USCG certified and licensed fishing guide, have all the latest electronics and gear, fancy rods, a nice boat, and every fish catching tool I could ask for. I constantly study weather and patterns to predict fish behavior, I look at water clarity, hatches, and study barometric pressure constantly to decide how to fish on a certain day. My love for fishing is as strong as ever, however sometimes I become nostalgic thinking about the simplicity of fishing with my mom, learning, sitting on shorelines regardless of the weather, and just enjoying each other. The beauty of this learning process is something I am so thankful for, and without a doubt, it has made me the angler I am today.

Way back before guiding, I was a frequent poster on NWFR, through its transition from washingtonlakes.com and for a couple years after. Going by the tag “Wafisherman20”, I was an avid poster, sharing all my trips (and there were lots) from Sammamish, to Stevens, and a bunch of other spots. Almost all of these reports started with myself, mom, and Gracie the Wonder-Dog. We were the dynamic trio for years together, slaying all sorts of fish. Past powerbait fishing, it was my mom and I with Gracie learning together how to attack bigger lakes, troll properly, cure corn for kokanee, and dial in fishing spots. Eventually the reports came to an end, with June 2017 (the last time my mom and I were out previous to this trip) being the last Gracie the Wonder Dog fishing trip. We didn’t know at the time it would be the last, but lucky for us we limited out that day with the help of our super pup.

A few months ago Gracie the Wonder-Dog passed away at the age of 14. As my mom and I boarded the boat today, we couldn’t help but feel she was right with us the whole time. The dynamic trio, back slaying fish. Without a doubt, Gracie has been spotting fish from heaven for us, as she directed us to the HAWGS today! she always seemed to be a good luck charm for big fish.

As a long-winded story comes to an end, one could not ask for a better gift than to be on the water with his mom and slay big fish all day. There is something beautifully poetic about the transition from my mom handing me rods with fish on them up at the stocked trout lakes, to now me handing off rods with fish on them to her to reel in. a full-circle complete, as I now get to teach my mom about new fishing information, as she did to me.

I am so blessed to have the mom I do, she is a warrior, a role model, and she certainly helped her son become one heck of an angler. It is always an honor to have her on board, and I can guarantee it will be happening more often!

Happy new years to all and tight lines in 2020,
Paul
Fast Action Fishing Adventures

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