Northwest Fishing Reports

on the lakes around my area the fishing has been terrible exept for perch and bluegill.


bass are almost un-catchable in my favorite lakes and catfish are nowhere in sight.


the trout fishing is terribly slow (as it should be at this time of the year)


so is everyone noticing this or are some people catching fish?

I'm guessing it is the same for most on the west side of the mountains. I don't bother fishing the lakes for trout this time of year. Much too warm for them. As for spiny ray; I haven't spent much time fishing for them over the years and usually spend this time of year crabbing and in a few more weeks, salmon fishing.

Fisherman_max wrote:on the lakes around my area the fishing has been terrible exept for perch and bluegill.


bass are almost un-catchable in my favorite lakes and catfish are nowhere in sight.


the trout fishing is terribly slow (as it should be at this time of the year)


so is everyone noticing this or are some people catching fish?

I have noticed the same general pattern . .but I always figure it's me. All of a sudden fish change and things slow down. So I change lakes and run through everything in my arsenal figuring the next cast will be the one that works. Seems like i am a "should'da been there yesterday or tomorrow" fisherman. Seems like I am always looking for the next thing, wondering about salmon when the lakes house more water skiiers than interested fish. I know they are still out there and still hungry. The WL lake reports indicate that fish are caught all summer long too. Maybe it's us huh?? Nah . .it's the fish! It's a good thing that fishing is mostly about the activity of the pursuit. And the weather is a little nicer than the freezing guides of a steelhead rod. Either way . . we're hooked even if the fish aren't!

Micropterus wrote:. . we're hooked even if the fish aren't!

yea i secound that.

These bright summer days can be brutal. When fishing for largies, I'll either go deep to the deep weeds or I'll go in thick vegetation.

Wait for the next overcast or rainy day, those are the best times during the summer.

the trout are still out there, you just need to change your tactics. Find the deepest, coolest part of the lake and get your gear as close as you can to the bottom. and the bass around sammamish seem to be getting more agressive. I've been keeping an eye on the size of the fry, it helps with lure size and selection. the topo maps on this site are a great help.

Fisherman_max wrote:

Micropterus wrote:. . we're hooked even if the fish aren't!

yea i secound that.

i hear ya guys i'm still hooked but the slow fishing has had an impact on my son fishing he has lost interest cause he can't catch a fish i have even taken him to that kids only pond in kent the old fishin hole and got skunked. he has lost pretty much all interest in fishing. any suggestions? i too thought we were doin something wrong fishing these west side lakes any help would be great i want my boy to have at least a general interest in fishing. thanx

[/quote] i hear ya guys i'm still hooked but the slow fishing has had an impact on my son fishing he has lost interest cause he can't catch a fish i have even taken him to that kids only pond in kent the old fishin hole and got skunked. he has lost pretty much all interest in fishing. any suggestions? i too thought we were doin something wrong fishing these west side lakes any help would be great i want my boy to have at least a general interest in fishing. thanx [/quote]

A last ditch effort may be to take your son fishing at night for catfish. The novelty of being out in a boat at night under the stars may just help get him out there. Just do your research and find a good lake in your area that produces a lot of cats, buy some illuminated bobbers and head out. How old is your son? Both my son and daughter love to fish, at a very early age I started taking them, the secret is if the fishing gets slow and they get bored, find something else fun for them to do like driving the boat or swimming, just make it fun.

Pretty hot for bass in the Lake Sammamish area. I've had a couple 10-bass days in the last two weeks and I can see some big fish feeding where the water is really clear.

I just got back from pine lake and caught 2 small 8" bass using a 4"senko. What I did notice and my advice to you is switch to perch. There are TONS of perch right now in pine lake. Just use small hooks and nightcrawlers. Most of the perch I saw were in 6 - 10 ft of water along the shore. You just need a boat to get to them. If thats not an option I would ask around on here for good shore fishing perch spots. Idywood park on Sammamish comes to mind.

You could also look for panfish lakes that are producing. Since the tend to stay in schools once you find one you can sit on one spot with a bobber. Kids don't care what kind of fish, just as long as they catch something.

I also try to swich up what lakes I go to with the kids to keep it interesting, or throw in a river trip once and awhile.

Hope that helps.

Oh and keep plenty of snacks and a few toys on the boat.

I'm with ya! This week is WAY different than last week -- and not in a good way.

Last weekend I fished 2 days and caught 2 very nice largemouth bass, several big smallmouth, and lots of dinks. It was a GREAT weekend for bass fishing!

This weekend I fished 3 days and caught 1 decent smallmouth, 2 dinks and a slab perch. That's it! The bass bite went cold in a big way. Not sure why. Probably weather, moon phases, etc.

Next weekend has GOT to be better. It can't get much worse... :pale:

HillbillyGeek wrote:The bass bite went cold in a big way. Not sure why. Probably weather, moon phases, etc.

Next weekend has GOT to be better. It can't get much worse... :pale:

A few lakes ago (last weekend) I was pulling the boat out at a ramp. Another guy, who was also retrieving, walked up to me and asked me how I had done. I told him "zip!" He said" Oh wait until NEXT week." He claimed that he lived on the lake and had fished it for years, and that it was about to get hot. But , he said . .it wouldn't be for another week. Today I was at a lake and a great big beautiful bass swam leisurely past my boat. I couldn't quite tell if he stuck out his tongue at me or not! Apparently Mr. Bass hadn't heard from the guy at the ramp. The water was clear enough for a nice picture but I was busy throwing gear at Mr. Bass . . . . (BTW: another zip, but who's counting)
I plan to head out early tomorrow . . . maybe it's a week later!

I find that most low level lakes this time of year are terrible for trout, however, the high altitude lakes this time of year thrive. This is my prime time for going into high elevations to catch trout. Obviously it takes a lot longer for things to heat up in the high mountains, so it's now like "spring time fishing" in the high spots:cheers: As for spiny rays, it's been a little while since I have targeted them.

Beerman

beerman1981 wrote:I find that most low level lakes this time of year are terrible for trout, however, the high altitude lakes this time of year thrive. This is my prime time for going into high elevations to catch trout. Obviously it takes a lot longer for things to heat up in the high mountains, so it's now like "spring time fishing" in the high spots:cheers: As for spiny rays, it's been a little while since I have targeted them.

Beerman

I will be fishing 7000 feet in Wyoming in 13 days The fishing has been hot over there!!!

Fishing was ok for me as well today, me and the lady went out for trout again we caught a few, mostly too small but it was still good to at least get some fish. :bounce: the only bad thing was when i hooked into something good size and he took me deep and snagged my line on something. that was the last swivel in my tackle box.

She caught her first trout which was pretty exciting for her.

good times

Decent on my end, but I haven't wet a line in freshwater for a few weeks. I was nailing the rockfish out in the salt, well only one since that is the limit, but I was pulling up to my spot, fishing for 5 minutes and leaving with one in the cooler....Used to have to work a lot longer to find em. It was slow this weekend....

Found a big lingcod I had to release yesterday. Crabbing has been decent, and thats about all I've been doing for the last few weeks. Crabbing and bottomfishing. Can't wait for salmon season to open here in Area 9. I've seen a ton of bait and active/jumping fish.....

I went to Offut yesterday morning and there were maybe 10 boats on the water fishing for bass. By 10am, about half of them had switched to trout and I only saw 2 trout landed (could have been more, that's all I saw). Just from talking with people no one was catching bass. I had a few hits but got skunked. First time there, so most of it was just checking the place out and looking for structure from the tube. Good day fishing, bad day catching hehe...