Northwest Fishing Reports

hey I'm newbie just joined this forum and wondered if you guys could help me out. well basically theres a lake about a half hour from my place with a good population of rainbows and acording to a few fish tales there are massive brown trout that hardly anyone catches. I have already caught around fifteen rainbows, a few weeks ago I went and caught my first brown trout(13in) I also hooked a nice fat 14in rianbow both were released not bad for fishng in february!

anyways this spring I plan on putting my time in and hopefully catching one does anybody here have a faverate lure or tactic for smart agressive trout?

Inflate worm and float it up off bottom. I must just be lucky, I've tied into six browns thus far this year alone. Where, is a secret, which is why the pics/reports are in the secret lakes section under Trout Puddle. From what I've heard, it's determination that catches them in the end.

Big lures. They don't peck at insects like Rainbows. They eat small fish. Try rapalas, flatfish, worms inflated off the bottom....

If it was me I'd try trolling a small plug cut, brined herring off of a side planer. Side planer is to get the bait out away from the boat.

Browns are piscavorious.

Just a thought.

Sam Kafelafish wrote:Big lures. They don't peck at insects like Rainbows. They eat small fish. Try rapalas, flatfish, worms inflated off the bottom....

I remember a gentleman at Pine Lake late one evening, must have been in early July...he was back bouncing an inflated worm off the bottom to the left of the launch area in the lagoon. He had a good 3 brown trout on his stringer all over 17." I busted out my fly rod and landed another 18" brown, for which I have a report posted in the Pine Lake section. Fishing for browns is fun, and like Sam alluded to, they eat small fish, so troll needlefish, rapalas, and lures like that right off the bottom...on Pine Lake they lay right on the bottom...so this is where an inflated worm off the bottom works real well - like VooDuu and Sam said. Very good advice from both these guys.

cutthroatkiller wrote:

Sam Kafelafish wrote:Big lures. They don't peck at insects like Rainbows. They eat small fish. Try rapalas, flatfish, worms inflated off the bottom....

I remember a gentleman at Pine Lake late one evening, must have been in early July...he was back bouncing an inflated worm off the bottom to the left of the launch area in the lagoon. He had a good 3 brown trout on his stringer all over 17." I busted out my fly rod and landed another 18" brown, for which I have a report posted in the Pine Lake section. Fishing for browns is fun, and like Sam alluded to, they eat small fish, so troll needlefish, rapalas, and lures like that right off the bottom...on Pine Lake they lay right on the bottom...so this is where an inflated worm off the bottom works real well - like VooDuu and Sam said. Very good advice from both these guys.

The browns will come into that shallow bay to the left of the launch in the late/early times of the day to hunt for some small trout/bass/panfish that are thick in there....

Fish them like predators. If it looks like a place you would find a bass throw your lure in there. Stumps and wood. I like browns because eventhough they were cursed to be a trout, they think they are bass.

cavdad45 wrote:Fish them like predators. If it looks like a place you would find a bass throw your lure in there. Stumps and wood. I like browns because eventhough they were cursed to be a trout, they think they are bass.

I agree 100%

Caught my fair share of Browns trying for bass with Rapala jerk-baits. Some even 18"+

this fellow caught this big brown at Pine Lake last year with a fullsize night crawler off the bottom.

FishingFool wrote:this fellow caught this big brown at Pine Lake last year with a fullsize night crawler off the bottom.

From the dock?? They are gorgeous fish! I can't wait until Pine Lake opens up to fishing in late April. How many brown trout do you guys think are in there?

what a buety Thats what I'm after

thanks for all the advice

kutthroatkilla wrote:
From the dock?? They are gorgeous fish! I can't wait until Pine Lake opens up to fishing in late April. How many brown trout do you guys think are in there?

Can't be many left. I dunno how much the initial stocking was a few years ago, so it'd be tough to get a decent count on the amount of browns still patrolling the waters of Pine. They are getting caught here and there every year, so I'd think unless they were reproducing, it'd be pretty slim pickings by now. The ones still swimming are big though. All the ones I've caught have been about the size of the fish in that pic (18-21 inches)

Sam are you getting ready for some major cutty action? I'm headed up to some new spots hopefully here soon, should be lights out by late March.

kutthroatkilla wrote:Sam are you getting ready for some major cutty action? I'm headed up to some new spots hopefully here soon, should be lights out by late March.

I'll be ready....Gonna be tight in a 10 zodiac though huh??

I'm definitely looking forward to some bassing at the local lakes, some more trout fishing at some lakes and some blackmouth fishing. Late March is a great time for blackmouth....

i have always had very good luck for browns using lures like Bluefox's, Kastmasters, and Roostertails. they are very preditory so any fish imatation lure should work, of course color and action can increase or decrease your catch but i usually go with silver Kastmasters and all white/silver roostertails. Bluefox's have caught me fish on tons of colors, my favorites are the rainbow pattern or the chartruese.

just keep trying you will catch fish!


hell if you can cast them far enough small f-7 rapalas work great, and if the fish are deep you can add some split shot or a swivel and slip sinker 2-3 ft above the lure to get it to the right depth.

big fish lite line wrote:hey I'm newbie just joined this forum and wondered if you guys could help me out. well basically theres a lake about a half hour from my place with a good population of rainbows and acording to a few fish tales there are massive brown trout that hardly anyone catches. I have already caught around fifteen rainbows, a few weeks ago I went and caught my first brown trout(13in) I also hooked a nice fat 14in rianbow both were released not bad for fishng in february!

anyways this spring I plan on putting my time in and hopefully catching one does anybody here have a faverate lure or tactic for smart agressive trout?

First of all, smart and aggressive seldom fit in the same sentence when we are talking about Browns. They tend to be smarter, and often very picky.

Still, there are ways to improve your odds. Consider using cut bait for them, floated off the bottom if there are weeds, or on the bottom if not. I have caught some great Browns using cut sucker meat, but make sure your cut bait is legal.

Fish during the low/no light hours. You will catch more big Browns from a half hour before dark to a half hour after sun rise than at any other time. During the early spring, a rainy or cloudy day, especially if there is a bit of wind, can also work, but if the pressure change is too great, and too fast, the rain and clouds and wind will put them off.

Don't fish small, fish with big lures if you are going the lure route. I have caught Big Browns while fishing Buzz Baits and Spinner Baits for Bass. I have caught Big Browns while fishing hair mice for Bass as well. I have also caught browns on 6" minnow baits like the Rapala. You will not catch as many, and you will put off most of the 18" fish, but if you want a 20"+ fish, you may need to put the hours in.

And most importantly, if you are not confident that the "Big" Browns exist, don't wast your time, you will never be willing to put the time in to get them. I lost three 28"+ Browns last year (no I won't tell you where), using inline spinners sized more for bass than trout, but I know they are there so I am willing to 'pay the price'. I caught a couple of 26" in the same lake three years ago during the night, mid July, while fishing for Bass. I knew then, and know now, that big Browns are there, so it is just a matter of time.

Jim Bashline published a book in 1966 entitled "Night Fishing for Larger Trout". Those fish were mainly browns.

Tube Jigs work very well for large Browns for me... For colors: trout or minnow, salt and pepper, crawdad, Motor oil...

Sam Kafelafish wrote:

kutthroatkilla wrote:Sam are you getting ready for some major cutty action? I'm headed up to some new spots hopefully here soon, should be lights out by late March.

I'll be ready....Gonna be tight in a 10 zodiac though huh??

I'm definitely looking forward to some bassing at the local lakes, some more trout fishing at some lakes and some blackmouth fishing. Late March is a great time for blackmouth....

"Sam" yeah it's gunna be a tight fit, but it works great...anything bigger isn't good. The way I fish, smaller is better. In late March we should be able to launch out of Kirkland and fish up north or launch in Kenmore and not have to run as far...either way, we'll get into them...yeah, and the blackmouth fishing should be getting better in area 9!

zen leecher aka Bill W wrote:Jim Bashline published a book in 1966 entitled "Night Fishing for Larger Trout". Those fish were mainly browns.

Does anyone know how late you can fish for trout in general on local area lakes? Like Pine, Beaver, Margaret, Boren, Alice, Desire, etc. How late can you stay out and get into fish in the late spring months and summer months? Can you fish at 10pm? 11pm? 12am? Or do the trout just become less active and not bite/see your lure/bait? Night fishing...sounds fun, but how realisitic is it? Has anyone done it?