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Sammamish Lake Report
King County, WA

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07/20/2018
Trolling W/Downriggers
Cutthroat Trout
Flasher/Lure
All Day
07/20/2018
4
1799

Just another fine day on the lake today. When we first got out and set up, downriggers set at 40', it only took about 2 minutes before we got our first fish on. While that was being reeled in, another fish hit the other line. We kept one, released the other. 10 miutes later we had another double hook up! Colder, cloudy day to start and a bit windy but the fish were really hitting. It was a lot of fun. Like a firedrill...catch a fish, get the rod reset, the other pole gets a hit. Get that fish in and the first pole get a hit again. It was super fun for a few hours then things died off for a while, I think we were a little too far off the mark. 90% of the fish we caught today were probably inside of a 300 yard radius on the lake.

Our tactic that we used was to troll through this "hot" area then catch fish or not, pull up the lines, turn the boat around and reset the lines.
It got rid of a lot of wasted time troling around in a big circle to get back to the hot spot.

Folks write on here about letting the lures out about 125' or so, we have been letting them back at least a 100 yards or more before connecting to the downrigger. Today I tried through the same spot with a shorter line to downrigger and pretty much most of the time the long line got the hit....more testing is needed to confirm this! Only problem is the fish are on the line a lot longer and that could be why we were loosing a bunch of fish. But, I always say..."Better to have had a fish on and lost it than to never have had a fish on at all!"

We lost a lot of fisn today, I was checking hooks, sharpening them, putting on different ones, the fish were just hitting very soft and light. Weather?? Not sure.

Final fish count...lost count for a day total in the hectic confusion of the hot morning bite. If I was to guess?...20 or so brought into the net, 10 kept, 5 lost and at least 8 on for a few seconds before they got off.

We were using gods tooth spoons today, tipped with a tiny piece of worm, trolled around 1.5mph. Didn't try anything else.

All in all, a good day on the lake full of lots of fun.


Comments

cdflett
7/20/2018 7:50:22 PM
You're crushing it out there.
Ben Eggertsen
7/20/2018 10:06:48 PM
Fun report. Sounds like a really good day on the water.
ElginFishing
7/20/2018 10:34:49 PM
Congrats on a great outing! Thanks again for sharing your experience and giving the God's Tooth spoons some serious work :)
Nice looking fish you have there!
$e@hawk
7/21/2018 4:51:37 PM
What area of the lake were you on. I was fishing around the weather station without much luck.
outdoorchris
7/22/2018 8:02:16 AM
We are a little farther north on the lake. We haven't seen much on the screen around the weather bouy the last time I was cruising around there looking. What about you? If using a depthfinder, are you seeing much there? Try going down to the next point and look deeper, they are deeper there, 60'.

Hope that helps!!
$e@hawk
7/22/2018 10:35:01 AM
yeh, I didn't mark much around the buoy either. Thanks.
greenrowboat
7/25/2018 4:53:10 PM
Nice fish! I may be wrong but--- you should have stopped fishing after the first 10 fish in the net, not 20....since you were using "bait" --(worm bit); "When fishing with bait, all TROUT equal
to or greater than the minimum size are
counted as part of the daily limit whether
kept or released.' from pp 3 of 4, here; https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01998/2018-19_statewide_freshwater.pdf And once you handle 9dry hand) a fish it removes some of the protective coating (slime left on your net) that protects them from disease to die in the near future; http://troutster.com/catch-and-release/ I wish we could pick and choose, all mine would be the bigger ones, lol. G.
outdoorchris
7/26/2018 8:14:05 PM
All great points Greenrowboat!!
The rule is a good one and is in place because when using bait, such as a worm, eggs, powerbait or some other form of boat like that, when left on a loose line on a bobber or on the bottom, fish can and do swallow the bait. I absolutely agree, those fish should all be kept because there is no way a fisherman can get the hook out of a fish when its imbedded in the throut or gut without dooming the fish to die. Even a hook that is in the upper inside part of a fish's mouth could cause death from internal bleeding as there are many blood vessels in that part of the mouth of a fish.

Having said that, when trolling with spoons, such as the gods tooth, the fish are almost always just barely hooked on the edge of the lip of the mouth, much the same way as they get hooked from fly fishing. When we get a fish that is to be released, it is brought to the side of the boat in a net, unhooked with a hemostat used for a hook remover. The fish is never touched by human hands and is out of the water for maybe a few seconds, then released. There is no handling of the fish, (although if one has to handle a fish to be released, wet your hands before handling the fish). From the way the fish hit the lure while trolling, and being hooked so lightly on the edge of the mouth, many times we have netted a fish and the hook comes loose, making for an easier release. There are times though when even trolling, a fish will really hit the lure hard and may be bleeding or hooked back in the mouth, those we always keep and count as our limit, no matter what the size.
I agree that some folks do handle fish the wrong way. For example, taking a picture of a fish, then releasing it. With trout, that can be a very iffy thing to do when well being for the fish is in mind. Or I have seen folks drag a fish up on the bank, then release it...aaarrgggg!!

But I do really appreciate your comment as we need more folks like you in the know to try and teach other folks!!
Tight Lines!
greenrowboat
7/30/2018 2:20:36 PM
Interesting points though you may want to revise your thinking so you don't get fined in the future. (Side note, years ago, a local construction company was fined thousands of dollars due to a newspaper picture showing them disregarding State safety rules)

Using scent or bit of worm is "bait"- otherwise a "Lure" without "bait" is fine to catch/release for the bigger ones.

"Where use of bait is prohibited, or where lures
or flies are used voluntarily, Game Fish may
be caught and released until the daily limit is
retained. " from pp. 2/4 of my first link.

Bait; Anything that attracts fish or shellfish by
scent and/or flavor. This includes any device
made of feathers, hair, fiber, wood, metal, glass,
cork, leather, rubber, or plastic, which uses scent
and/or flavoring to attract fish or wildlife

Lure: A manufactured article, complete with
hooks, constructed of feathers, hair, fiber, wood,
metal, glass, cork, leather, rubber, or plastic,
which does not use scent and/or flavoring to
attract fish.
From pp. 10-11/12, here; https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01998/2018-19_general_information.pdf
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service

Phone: (509) 687-0709