Northwest Fishing Reports

I posted earlier about having interest in swinging by Shoecraft or Goodwin, but out of all the lakes in that region (Snohomish county), what do you think would be my best bet for some early season trout?

Truth in general other then Alaska, Idaho remote some BC waters and Montana, Yakima River gave up on trousters 20 years ago FOR MUCH SPORTFISHING GAMES:cheers: in general but still put kids on them.
Still press Ruffy Roids a few times a years :colors:

I would hit Island county for the opener and pound Erie , Heart:-$ and more I have taken 100's of trout out of the Island county lakes.

Goodwin is better trout only in general but bigger waters as well?
Choices:cyclopsan

qwerfdsa12345 wrote:I posted earlier about having interest in swinging by Shoecraft or Goodwin, but out of all the lakes in that region (Snohomish county), what do you think would be my best bet for some early season trout?

Oh, what a chance for a plug. :bball:

Premium Members can generate reports from this web sites database to answer that exact question. Otherwise, you'll have to dig through the reports to get a sense of which ones fish best.

Lake Riley...shhhh
You will find enforcement there...but always big fish.

Really?

qwerfdsa12345 wrote:Really?

Look at the reports for that lake. It's truly an amazing place...

Also, Lake Margaret is stellar, too. Never, ever dissapoints.

Lake Cassidy received 6000 planted rainbow on 03-23-09. It is open year round. I would suggest a trip there. Also, for shore fishing or from a small boat or float tube, you can go to Gissberg ponds in Marysville. I fished the south adult pond last weekend and caught 10 very small trout in 2 hours, all but one released. I was tossing a white rooster tail spinner. Just a few options for you for right now. I also heard they will be stocking Blackman's lake in Snohomish but that is a zoo of a fishery after a plant meaning there will be lots of folks there, kinda like combat fishing. After the lakes open, Lake Ki in warm beach is good but give it a week so the crowd decreases.

Is Lake Riley year round?

Lake Stevens has TONS of big trout but they can be difficult to find. During summer months, ski boat traffic is a royal pain and the boat launches are always busy...

Trout fishing @ Cassidy is pretty good in the spring but tapers off dramatically after May.

Flowing Lake is another good option, but like Stevens, ski boats are plentiful during the summer. I almost got swamped by one a couple of years ago.

What about Blackman's?

qwerfdsa12345 wrote:What about Blackman's?

Blackman's is OK if you like soaking powerbait and catching little planters. It has some decent-sized bass but they are few and far between.

The lake is relatively small and completely surrounded by houses. As a result, it's not very scenic, there's lots of slimy moss everywhere, and swimming is not recommended due to "swimmers itch". :pale:

If you'd rather avoid larger lakes like Stevens & Roesiger, Cassidy and Storm are much better options IMHO.

Have you seen the reporst? Several people caught trout in the 23 inch 5-6 pound range. Do you think it's going to be a zoo?

Have you seen the reports? Several people caught trout in the 23 inch 5-6 pound range. Do you think it's going to be a zoo?

qwerfdsa12345 wrote:Have you seen the reporst? Several people caught trout in the 23 inch 5-6 pound range. Do you think it's going to be a zoo?

Sounds like they stocked triploids recently. It may be worth the effort, but the lake will be crowded. The small dock by the boat launched will be packed. (That's the spot where they stock.)
Fishing from a boat is probably the best bet. Most of the fish will be near the boat launch and close to the surface. Trolling wedding rings or woolly buggers should be effective.
I generally don't go after stockers because catching them isn't much of a challenge. It boils down to whoever gets there first.

How much weight do you usually add for stockers? Would one split shot about 24" above the lure do it?

qwerfdsa12345 wrote:How much weight do you usually add for stockers? Would one split shot about 24" above the lure do it?

When trolling woolly buggers or wedding rings, I don't add any weight because the stockers will stay close to the surface for several weeks after being dumped into the lake. Hatcheries use pellets, so the fish expect food to fall from the sky. First come, first serve. That's why recently-stocked fish are known for hitting just about anything. If they hesitate during feeding time at the hatchery, another fish will grab the food.

I would recommend lake Ki. Its a great lake that produces some nice rainbows once the lake opens in late April. Its a smaller lake that is surrounded by a few houses, but fishing the eastern edge of the lake will produce many fish. Every time i have fished it I have caught fish and there are a few big ones there. Not sure about bass or other species but rainbows are definitely plentiful in lake Ki.

Mike Carey wrote:Premium Members can generate reports from this web sites database to answer that exact question.

This feature works great, my only issue is if you want to know the most popular lure color for you lake. Unfortunatley, I dont have any "Other" colored lures.