Panfishing Lake Whatcom

[tbakko]

Can anyone tell me where to go in Lake Whatcom for some good Perch / Crappie fishing. We are fairly new to fishing in Whatcom as we just recently bought a boat? Any help would be appreciated & we do have GPS, thanks..Tom

[Hewescraft18]

Whatcom has Perch but you can't eat them because they are filled with Mercury. If you want Panfish you can eat Terrell and Sunset ponds are close and have good number of pan fish anywhere with structure.

[G-Man]

Actually here is the advisory for Lake Whatcom as found on page 30 of the current regs

Body of Water/ Location

Lake Whatcom / Whatcom Co.

Fish Species Women of Childbearing Age Children General Population
Smallmouth Bass DO NOT EAT DO NOT EAT Unrestricted
Yellow Perch 1 meal per week 1 meal per week Unrestricted

Once you fillet the fish and remove all the skin, I believe the remaining meat is pretty darn safe. As for where to fish for perch, it is just like any other lake. Find the weed line/cover and fish just on the lake side of it. The north (shallow) basin is where you will find most of the perch. If the perch haven't moved into the shallows yet, it gets a bit tougher to locate them. If that is the case, the kokanee should be near the surface in the deeper basin and will take wedding ring\stacked bead type spinners and Apex kokanee killers.

[Mike Carey]

and don't forget, this lake has a restriction on 2 cycle motors, doesn't it? Only 4 strokes allowed I believe.

[G-Man]

Mike that is a misconception, there is carbureted 2 cycle restriction. Fuel injected/direct injected 2 strokes are ok as long as they meet certain requirements. The motor restiction is as follows:

Summary of Boating Restriction Timelines - Lake Whatcom, WA

January 1, 2006—The operation of all carbureted two-stroke engine powered watercraft is prohibited
on the portion of Lake Whatcom in the City limits, except: Watercraft powered by a two-stroke
engine whose engine is certified and labeled as meeting the 2006 or later model year US EPA emission
standards and two-stroke carbureted engines of 10 horsepower or less.

January 1, 2007—The operation of all carbureted two-stroke engines including 10 horsepower or
less is prohibited on the portion of Lake Whatcom in the City limits.

January 1, 2009—The operation of all carbureted two-stroke engine powered watercraft on Lake
Whatcom is prohibited, except: Watercraft powered by a two-stroke engine that is certified and labeled
as meeting the 2006 or later model year US EPA emissions standards, auxiliary sailboat engines, 10
horsepower or less engines, and all electronic fuel injected two-stroke engines originally purchased
before August 2004.

January 1, 2013—The operation of all carbureted two-stoke auxiliary sailboat engines, all carbureted
two-stroke engines of 10 horsepower or less, and all electronic fuel injected two-stroke engines
originally purchased before August 2004 is prohibited.

City of Bellingham Ordinance 2005-06-045 and Whatcom County Ordinance 2004-02

[MarkFromSea]

Sounds clear to me! LOL sorry, couldn't resist.

[Mike Carey]

Sounds clear to me! LOL sorry, couldn't resist.

what he said.

but thanks for the research. I think Whatcom is crossed off my list based on those restrictions. But could you fish with just an electric if you never started the main motor?

[G-Man]

Well since they use the words, "the operation of" leads me to believe that as long as you don't start it, you are ok. I know that any motor that has a CARB rating of 1 or more stars is good to go. If your 2 stoke is fuel injected and model year 2005 or newer, it most likely will have a CARB rating on it's cowling.