Northwest Fishing Reports

Do I need to steer away from my power bait off the bottom with a sliding sinker. I know there is supposed to be an ideal temperature where trout like to hang out but I don't have a boat. I am stuck with fishing off the bottom or using a bobber setup. Any recommendations?

I use power bait year round and catch fish, also nite crawlers work well in the colder weather.
Also you can try throwing spoons and spinners with a slow retrieve.

Stick with the tried and true methods, it's just gonna take a little persistance, patience and maybe some slowing down...

Winter trout fishing on Lake WA can be good on docks. When the daphnia die off in the winter, the rainbows move closer to shore to feed and can be caught by dock fishermen. When fishing off the docks during the winter, I like the slip sinker and PowerBait rig. It's resulted in many limits of rainbows for me on Lk WA back in the late 1990s when I fished the lake a lot.


Some docks are better than others. Chumming the water helps bring them in (and is legal in Lk WA).

A good outing is maybe 3-4 bites in a couple hours of fishing off the dock. Be sure to be out there during the nastiest weather (rain, wind, snow cold)--you can get some good bites on those days in Nov - Jan.

Winter is probably the best time for the shorebound fisherman on Lk WA for rainbows. Late winter and spring is better for cutts from docks.

I can verify Shad Eating Grin's comments. I have taken my fair share of trout on Lake Washington fishing from shore over the years. One thing to remember, bring a long handled net when fishing from the docks as the water level goes down in the winter months. I have also had good success trolling a small wedding ring style spinner tipped with worm from my pontoon boat in the shallows. Great fun and you may even hear a bald eagle start to screech at you when you have a fish on! The dock at Kennydale Beach has been good to me in the past and if you do chum, use something that the fish can easily digest, no corn or cured salmon eggs please! Try chopped herring, worms, uncured fish eggs or my favorite, head and guts from your previously caught trout!

You can get trout from a dock on Lake Washington??!! Niiiiiiiiiiiice! I've been fishing docks on Lake Washington this whole summer, usually with the tried-and-true drop shot rig with worms/pork/bacon/chicken/... I got some smallmouth bass from time to time, but mostly I got perch and perch and ... perch. (I'm not a perch person myself, but my cat just loves them! Give her 2 perch a week.) Sadly, it's been several weeks since I last caught a bass, guess it's getting cold? I always thought the only way to get trout on Lake Washington is to troll in the deep water. So, it's really nice to know you can get trout from a dock. But where? Any particular park on the Eastside?

My favorite dock on Lake Wa. is the T dock in Leschi area.All my old eggs worms herring get chummed off that dock.I usually throw spoons ie...Krokodiles,Lil Cleos and Lil Jewels,Kastmasters,and Bolos.Once the millfoil dies off the best is worm and mallow or eggs and mallow for me on a slip sinker.The other good spot is on the Andrews Bay area off shore where they store the swim Rafts or near the old hatchery.Those areas I use slip sinkers mallows and eggs. Good luck....

P.T.

This is really a winter fishery and almost any dock you can get to in the East Channel has the potential to get you into some fish. I mentioned that I had good success with the swimming dock at Kennydale Beach. It's just a matter of being lucky and having fish in the area you picked for the day. You'll find the action fast and furious as the fish swim by prowling the shallows, the rest of the time it's a waiting game.

Gman hit the nail right on.Some days they hit left and right other days nada.I will add that I dont fish days of night time full moons.They feed at night from what I heard during the full moon days.

Ha! That sounds exciting! Thanks, G-man and racfish. Where is East Channel? Do you mean the section of the Ship Canal east of Monlake Bridge? If that's what you mean, then it would be great 'cause it's sort of on the way to my son's school, I can spend a few hours there if I want (not in the night time, though). I fished there a few times, but no luck yet.

When folks refer to the East Channel of Lake Washington it is in reference to the waters between the East side of Mercer Island and the mainland (Bellevue and Renton). For bank fishing, I normally fish the Southern section of the Channel but don't overlook the docks at Luther Burbank park on Mercer Island.

Trolling flies on a sink line deep and slow.For patterns I like all the wooly buggers and wolly worms and on certain lakes the hares ear nymph.

I prefer floating bait off the bottom to dangling it under a bobber; fish don't feel as much resistance with a sliding sinker rig, when they take the bait.

Here's a couple more suggestions in that regard.

1. Use the lightest leader, and smallest hook that you can get away with. Depending on the fishery, I'll go anywhere from 4# line and a #3.5 test leader, down to 2# test. For hooks, I like to use a #14 caddis fly-hook. A bit spendy, but I find them to be much better for this purpose than treble hooks. For leader material, I've tried many many kinds, and bar none, the best is Umpqua nylon leader Thin diameter, but very strong.

2. Instead of Power Bait, or Gulp, try half nightcrawler, inflated with air, and with a drop of scent attractant added. ( I like Dr. Juice. ) You can find worm inflators at any outdoor store. ( Sportsman's warehouse has 'em. )

Wooly buggers on a fast sinking line or sink tip line are pretty effective, army green or black. I've been doing that on Rattlesnake Lake up and until August. But I was fishing from a boat, not from the bank though.

And, thanks, G-Man.

Thanks for all your input. I bought a new Berkley rod and Trilene 6# line today. I hadn't bought a new rod in about 15 years. My last rod was a Sears.

I will be out on a local Kent area lake next Saturday. Just not sure which lake I will hit after reading all of your input.

Thanks for all your help

G-Man wrote:When folks refer to the East Channel of Lake Washington it is in reference to the waters between the East side of Mercer Island and the mainland (Bellevue and Renton). For bank fishing, I normally fish the Southern section of the Channel but don't overlook the docks at Luther Burbank park on Mercer Island.

what do all those red dots mean?

FishingFool wrote:

G-Man wrote:When folks refer to the East Channel of Lake Washington it is in reference to the waters between the East side of Mercer Island and the mainland (Bellevue and Renton). For bank fishing, I normally fish the Southern section of the Channel but don't overlook the docks at Luther Burbank park on Mercer Island.

what do all those red dots mean?

That map is taken from the King County water monitoring web site. I believe the red dots are the locations where they monitor the lake temp, level, pH, etc.

Hi, I don't have a boat and have been fishing off shores and docks in various lakes all summer with success. On Saturday I caught a good size 15" trout off the dock. I just started fishing off the dock on Lk Washington on Friday. I used 4 lb test line drop shot with a size 12 hook hidden with a nightcrawler with a drop of the nitro gravy. I "trolled" along the dock. This was near Leschi an hour before sunset. The people on the other side of the dock caught perch like crazy. Another guy showed off his trout and bass catch from a nearby dock on the lake. It was fun.

where is Leschi?

Below is a map of where I fish cutthroat from a boat during the months of October - April. Spots are indicated in RED. Larger fish are caught in the south end of the lake during the winter, but I find the quantity of the fish much higher in the north end of the lake per my fishing log. Remember, November is one of the best trout months on Lake Washington. Get out there! No excuses :thumright