Northwest Fishing Reports

I was telling my friend about the Baker Lake Sockeye run. He has a 24' Bayliner Trophy and was wondering if that's too big of a boat for that fishery. Judging from the stories and reports I've read I thought it might be on the large end of the scale, but still ok. Of course I've never fished Baker Lake myself, so what do you all think?

Thanks.

BentRod wrote:I was telling my friend about the Baker Lake Sockeye run. He has a 24' Bayliner Trophy and was wondering if that's too big of a boat for that fishery. Judging from the stories and reports I've read I thought it might be on the large end of the scale, but still ok. Of course I've never fished Baker Lake myself, so what do you all think?

Thanks.

All depends on the ramp. I've seen plenty of 24' sleds there. If he picks one of the improved (Cement) ramps it shouldn't be a problem. It's a big deep lake.

I think it depends on the skipper and his experience. Not to many 24-foot glass boats on the lake... A 24' sled shouldn't be compared to a 24' trophy in my opinion.

salmonkiller wrote:I think it depends on the skipper and his experience. Not to many 24-foot glass boats on the lake... A 24' sled shouldn't be compared to a 24' trophy in my opinion.

All opinions are welcome. I do agree that the 24' Trophy with the inboard V8 has undoubtedly got a deeper draft than most (probably all) sleds. The skipper has got years of experience on Puget Sound and Lake Chelan on boats ranging from 19'-24', so the ability to navigate or know the boats limits isn't much of an issue, but if the body of water isn't suited for the craft then it's not worth the risk. From what I've gleaned it sounds like the northeast end of the lake is the best place to target. True? Anyone have a link to bathymetry maps of Baker?

I say no problem. If he's used to the boat, it's a cake walk. I've also seen plenty of big glass boats there too. A couple Sea Sports one year. It's a big lake.

I have seen a few large bayliners including a trophy last year on the lake. I say time for a trip good luck and stay safe. I would launch out of the PSE new boat launch at the bottom of the lake and now having a dock to helps. Not a big dock but a plastic dock helps with the ease of getting in and out of the boat.

Hunter757 wrote:I have seen a few large bayliners including a trophy last year on the lake. I say time for a trip good luck and stay safe. I would launch out of the PSE new boat launch at the bottom of the lake and now having a dock to helps. Not a big dock but a plastic dock helps with the ease of getting in and out of the boat.

There ya go, no excuse. Go for gusto!!!

Thanks for the feedback. I agree that it's doable. I appreciate the help.
Now we just need to find time to go!!

BentRod wrote:

salmonkiller wrote:I think it depends on the skipper and his experience. Not to many 24-foot glass boats on the lake... A 24' sled shouldn't be compared to a 24' trophy in my opinion.

All opinions are welcome. I do agree that the 24' Trophy with the inboard V8 has undoubtedly got a deeper draft than most (probably all) sleds. The skipper has got years of experience on Puget Sound and Lake Chelan on boats ranging from 19'-24', so the ability to navigate or know the boats limits isn't much of an issue, but if the body of water isn't suited for the craft then it's not worth the risk. From what I've gleaned it sounds like the northeast end of the lake is the best place to target. True? Anyone have a link to bathymetry maps of Baker?

We have the only bathymetric map for Baker that I know of. Check the Maps section, type in Baker and hit search. The map was made by a member of the site, Larry, using old topo map data before the lake was created, so it's not precise.

It's not very detailed...

http://www.northwestfishingreports.com/ ... es_WEB.jpg

Thank you Mike. That was the first place I looked! Certainly better than nothing. Thought with Baker being a larger body of water there might be a USGS map or something. I wonder if dam regulated lakes are hard to map due to potential level fluctuations. ??

I dont know for sure how the USGS or NOAA make decisions on what lakes and rivers to scan for bathemetry charts, but I think its only "navigable waters", so lakes like Baker would not qualify to be scanned. For example, only the lower parts of the Columbia are charted because commercial traffic doesnt go any further up-stream.

The private companies that provide sonar charts - Navionics, C-Map, Garmin, etc,. choose lakes and rivers based mostly on popularity. If they get lots of requests, it gets put on the list of lakes to scan.

There are a great many lakes with hi levels of detail that fluctuate in level due to irrigation/flood control from dams. There are also a lot of lakes with zero data. More get added each year. I have used C-Map, Navionics and now Garmin charts. They cover many of the same bodies of water but when it comes to lakes, some have better coverage from one brand than with another.

I could not find anything for Baker from anyone who offers charts.

Lowrance, Humminbird and Garmin all have options on their better sounders to create your own personal sonar charts of any body of water as you drive around the lake. That takes a long time for a large body of water and will never come close to a professional job.

A boat that size is probably limited to launching at Horseshoe or Swift Creek but there's plenty of glass boats that size fishing Baker.

OK.. how about the opposite side of the scale. We have a 10 ft dingy with a trolling motor only. Is it possible to get to where the fish are and be safe? It fits in the back of my truck, so could I haul it to productive parts of the lake and shore launch? Also, do any camping areas have electrical hook up so I can charge the battery overnight?

Thanks

You're good to go, there's pontoons, kayaks, row boats, all manner of watercraft out there. If the wind picks up you can always head back to the nearest shore and wait it out for a bit. I'd bring some oars just in case. Most of the fishing is at the north end of the lake and Shannon Creek campground is really close to there, it has a beach you can get to if you get nervous. I would just try to get it in the water somewhere close to where you are fishing, beating up north to get to the fishing would not be enjoyable.

Thanks. I checked with Shannon and they don't have any electrical hook ups. Do any of the other campgrounds have electrical. Really need to charge the trolling battery overnight.

Again, thanks.

Spare battery? or make friends with an RV'er that has a generator.

Pretty sure either or both Swift creek and Panorama have power. Shannon is the most rustic and closest to the fishing grounds, you cannot leave a boat trailer there unless you are camping, but you could park your truck there and pull your boat out to save you some battery life. I got two good days (4-5 hrs each day) last year trolling around with my pontoon boat without recharging since I did not have to use much getting to the fishing area.
I just hope the third year will breaks the skunk. I will be up there weekend after this one.

4n6fisher wrote:Pretty sure either or both Swift creek and Panorama have power. Shannon is the most rustic and closest to the fishing grounds, you cannot leave a boat trailer there unless you are camping, but you could park your truck there and pull your boat out to save you some battery life. I got two good days (4-5 hrs each day) last year trolling around with my pontoon boat without recharging since I did not have to use much getting to the fishing area.
I just hope the third year will breaks the skunk. I will be up there weekend after this one.

Great news.. I hope to make it up on a weekday stretch, avoiding the weekends. We can sleep in the truck, but would like to have a small tent to store the cooler and extra stuff. Expensive gear stays in the front of the truck.

Since the lake is open now, when is best guess for the most fish?

Bay wolf, none of the campgrounds have power at the camp sites. Shannon creek you can only use the boat launch if you are staying at the campground overnight, there is no day use at all. Good luck and watch the wind.