Northwest Fishing Reports

Hello Everyone,

I have family coming over in early and mid-August and I was wondering what lakes within 40 minutes of Issaquah would be best to fish at this time of year for trout and kokanee. The main lakes I fish are Beaver, Pine, Sammamish, Meridian, Alice, and Rattlesnake, but I have yet to fish these lakes during the summer. Any recommendations or tips for fishing in late summer in hot weather for trout in King County would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

What I do when I want to find out how a lake fishes a particular month is check the reports here. Back break it down by body of water, month, species. Gives me a heads up and at times some ideas to try.

Does it have to be trout and kokanee? Lake Washington and Sammanish perch should be easy to catch in late summer, with a decreased chance of skunking the family. Has the added benefit of seeing the houses of the rich and famous and/or close up of Seahawks training facility. Probably a bit early but there's at least one report of pink salmon being caught (Area 9 will be closed to boat fishing, but 10 is open I believe).

kodacachers wrote:Does it have to be trout and kokanee? Lake Washington and Sammanish perch should be easy to catch in late summer, with a decreased chance of skunking the family. Has the added benefit of seeing the houses of the rich and famous and/or close up of Seahawks training facility. Probably a bit early but there's at least one report of pink salmon being caught (Area 9 will be closed to boat fishing, but 10 is open I believe).

I agree with this. Trout in the summer can be tricky with the warm lake temps. I usually switch to bass as they're abundant and easy to catch. Can't speak for Kokanee as I've not yet targeted them.

Not King County but Lost Lake, which is to the west of Keechelus, is a deep and cold lake that I've caught August & September trout in. There isn't a lot of bank access so it is better with an inflatable, but I've caught big, stocked rainbows in there and there are Kokanee and brookies as well. The boat "launch" is very rough and the road can be too if you want to drive past the lake. If you're really feeling adventurous you can row into some great campsites on the northwest peninsula of the lake. There's a creek that feeds into a little bay of pretty shallow water that has produced well for me in summer's past. The lake is covered in ice most of the year and the road generally closed because of snow into June. With that and the lack of significant bank access the lake can hold some nice fish and isn't over-pressured. Cooper Lake is another good all-summer option, but that's about 90 minutes from Issaquah.

I agree with lost lake, but there is more bank space available if you have a 4x4. Drive past the main campground\launch and there will be a side road on the left. If you take that and keep left you come to an open parking area. I recommend unless you have a real 4x4 that you park there. It is just a short walk to the lake from there with some good camping spots.
Last year they were logging in the area, so watch out for the big machinery.

That sure beat sitting in the doctors officesad smiley. I hope it wasnt a Scott, ive been waiting for over a month to get one backangry smiley

The river is fishing & producing some good fish.

Grumpy