Northwest Fishing Reports

Well, I think I'm going to be heading down to a Cranberry Lake in Island County to some camping and thought I'd try a little fishing as well. I know that there are some good brown trout in there and have caught them earlier in the year but have never had much luck in summer. Also there is a lot of algae in the water right now and it is relatively warm water. Does anybody have any ideas?

I think if I would try night fishing or else focus on late evening and early morning. if the algae is a problem it might be time to resort to the dreaded pop gear. I wonder if the big browns come up shallow during nighttime to feed... its possible.

check out this maptopographic

notice the deep 25ft whole its possible they will be congregated in the deeper colder water.

physher92 wrote:Well, I think I'm going to be heading down to a Cranberry Lake in Island County to some camping and thought I'd try a little fishing as well. I know that there are some good brown trout in there and have caught them earlier in the year but have never had much luck in summer. Also there is a lot of algae in the water right now and it is relatively warm water. Does anybody have any ideas?

When are you going? I'll be there Sept 4 thru Sept 8.

Might try PM to Dave,he's in this area and might be able to help.

I have never caught a brown at night on a bass plug, especially not a frog pattern Rapala Skitterpop during the summer.

Yep I think it would be pretty tough to catch a brown in the summer here. I went there this weekend and the water was just way to warm for any trout. I think your best bet would probably be to fish the night to morning when there is a moon out so the fish can see something. I would have tried that but was too worn out to go chasing a possible fish. You could probably catch some there in the fall.

physher92 wrote:Yep I think it would be pretty tough to catch a brown in the summer here. I went there this weekend and the water was just way to warm for any trout. I think your best bet would probably be to fish the night to morning when there is a moon out so the fish can see something. I would have tried that but was too worn out to go chasing a possible fish. You could probably catch some there in the fall.

Ok, Thanks. I'll make sure do most of my serious fishing first thing in the morning. Im looking at the topo so hopfully the 25 ft area is easily accessable. Were looking at hitting Pass Lake and Lake Campbell as well. I'll post when I get back. Thanks again.

I think with this hot weather we are having the trout are going to be lethargic and right on the bottom in the deepest part of the lake which is along the road. As mentioned above, I would agree that first light (O Dark 30) would be the best time to fish. Or the last hour before dark. If I was in a boat, I would slow troll Rapalas right off the bottom or from shore maybe bait fish using a marshmallow and night crawler 1.5 to 2 feet off the bottom. I love to fish this lake in April and May and sometimes even into June until the water warms and the bite slows down. This lake is a great fishery that receives minimal boat fishing pressure and the rainbow seem to be in the same spot every year and are aggressive during that time of year. Limiting is common place until the water warms up and the fish slow their feeding cycle. A year and a half ago they planted the lake with a large number of browns and in all my trips trolling my usual green Dicknite spoon I only caught one brown. That leads me to believe that most of the browns in this lake don't get targeted or caught. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Just got back from jump off joe... Mid july a local hooked a 14 pound foot ball brown. We fished right on the bottom and with a corkey about a foot and a half off the bottom, got a couple 16 inchers and some smaller ones. That was after bassen didnt pan out..

Wow, 14 pound... nice fish.

Just got back from Deception Pass St Park, the weather was great. Didnt see much fish action this trip. The lake (Cranberry) is heavily stained and the alge is heavy in spots. I cant believe they have let the dock and concrete by the dock get in such bad shape, really dissapointing. The trip was a blast though, I really like this park.

Cranberry Lake Report

yep, no doubt this a fantastic park, great place to stay. key to fishing it though is get there early in the ear. Feb-June is when the fishing is worth going for in my opinion. Although I did catch a few trout out of there a couple of weeks ago.But very, very slow. attached is some pictures of some browns I have caught out of there.

sweet pic whos that guy holding those fish?:-#

if the water is warm trout go deep. I would toss a worm out in the deep spots. They will hit a worm. I thought about heading over there this weekend to.
Good luck..

Sweet, just got my Deception Pass camping reservations handled for summer '09. Had to do it early since we wanted to be there over the 4th of July. I cant believe how many spots are already reserved.

It would be fun to meet up with some of you from that area and wet some lines when we are there.