North Lake WA...Salmon....OMG!

[Cantcatchnuthin']

Sadly I have nothing to show for it though. Today I was fishing at the north end of LW just east of Kenmore air. My girlfriends brother works for a dock building co. that has a couple of tugs and a couple of barges back there. I get a phone call from him with a "I know you dont think there are fish in this state but you need to get here ASAP, 20+lb fish coming clean out of the water and they are everywhere". So I grab the tackle box and pole and headed over there.

When I got out of the car I could not believe my eyes. I am a firm believer that there is no aquatic fish life other than perch in this state and what I saw I had never seen before. Absolute MONSTERS jumpin a foot out of the water. Fish larger than what you see at the markets. 5 and 6 fish jumping at the same time by the barges and over by the Kenmore Air float planes.

I spent the next couple of hours throwing everything I had at them and only got one strike. My girlfriends brother got a solid strike but that was it. I was one of the sigle most frustraing things I had ever been through. They were right in front of me and they werent hitting on anything. Buzzbombs, rooster tails, spoons, bass lures, mepps, NOTHING. I almost got to a point where I threw my rod and reel in the water. They were litterally only feet away from us, a couple times a long handled net would have grabbed a few that were jumping.

I have since deduced that these werent acutally fish. It was an anomoly of gas bubbles bursting on the surface of the water and the light of the setting sun going through these gasses made it appear that it was fish jumping. This will go into another one of my "Fish X-files".

All joking aside, I havent seen anything like this since I was a kids at the Ballard locks. One thing I did notice is that these fish appeard to be near the end of thier life span. Some very odd colors on what was definately kind Salmon. Talking with my girlfriends brother, this happens every year when the fish take a wrong turn after passing the slew to get to Lake Samamish and then they get stuck not knowing how to get out of the barge area.

I am curious if that becuase they are at the end of thier life span, they just dont bite on anything. The water in that area is also very murkey from a dirt barge going in and out twice a day. Can anyone shed some light on this for me.

-Cantcatchnothin'

[A9]

Salmon don't bite too well once they are in freshwater, since their main priority is to spawn, so it can be very difficult to catch salmon in freshwater lakes when they are heading from the salt to the rivers, with a pit stop in a big freshwater lake.

The jumpers aren't typically known for being the biters....

Anyways, some say firetiger crankbaits/plugs can really piss a big king off in rivers, who knows, maybe try it out there next time.....

[MikeFishes]

Cool, thanks for the heads up. Looks like now is a good time to take the kids for a walk down along the slough to check out the salmon.

[Shad_Eating_Grin]

Cantcatchnothin' : Be sure that the warden does not see you targeting these fish. Salmon season on Lk WA does not open until the 16th of Sept.

[Cantcatchnuthin']

Cantcatchnothin' : Be sure that the warden does not see you targeting these fish. Salmon season on Lk WA does not open until the 16th of Sept.

Crap, need to check my regs again. I thought it opened in the beginning of Sept. Looks like I'll be waiting a few days before going back out.

[Cantcatchnuthin']

Can anyone give me an idea on when its to late to actually eat some of these fish when they are near the end of thier life span? Please forgive some of my ignorant questions, I have been fishing for most of my life but never really had to much in the way of resources to really learn the "whats" and "hows to's". Most all of my fishing has been in the lakes and ponds of Idaho where they were readily stocked and all it took was a rainbow rooster tail to drag in just about anything.

-Cantcatchnuthin'

[Jake Dogfish]

Once they turn anything other than silver or something close to silver gray, they are best used in the smoker...

[Cantcatchnuthin']

Once they turn anything other than silver or something close to silver gray, they are best used in the smoker...

Good thing I just just ordered my Traeger! Thanks for the info!

[G-Man]

Another quick note. If you catch a salmon in Lake Washington, after September 15th, and intend to keep it, make sure it is a Silver (COHO). Kings can only be kept if caught in Lake Sammamish! If anyone figures out how to hook into the silvers on Lake Washington, please share[-o< I swore I'd figure this fishery out but hunting and coaching Soccer always seemed to get in the way. I'd love to get a bunch of washingtonlakes.com anglers out there to harvest these fish before they get netted!

[VHMLLC]

Once they turn anything other than silver or something close to silver gray, they are best used in the smoker...

Good thing I just just ordered my Traeger! Thanks for the info!

TRAEGER!!!!!!:cheers: which one did you get? and man are you in for some good eats. let me or racfish or a host of guys on the sitek now if you need any help.:chef:


:viking:

[A9]

[quote="G-Man"] If anyone figures out how to hook into the silvers on Lake Washington, please share[-o&lt]

Plugs or Coyotes I hear. Just north of the three points (Evergreen, Hunts, Yarrow Point) is a popular spot.

[sickbayer]

[quote="G-Man"]Another quick note. If you catch a salmon in Lake Washington, after September 15th, and intend to keep it, make sure it is a Silver (COHO). Kings can only be kept if caught in Lake Sammamish! If anyone figures out how to hook into the silvers on Lake Washington, please share[-o&lt]

When does the netting start. i want ot give it a go on Lake Wa this year for the coho.

[Cantcatchnuthin']

I got the Traeger Junior. It fit the budget and you can still cook quite a bit of stuff in it.

As far as netting goes, from what Ihear they are already doing it on Lake Sammamish. I havent seen it myself, but I hear the natives are bringing are going gang busters right now.

[Anonymous]

I'm with Jake.I dont keep boots.Not even for smoking.If its not palatable without having to salt the heck out of it then its not worth keeping.I have the big Texan Traeger.I got it 2 years ago brand new for 650.00 .I bought 2 of them at that price.I use my Traeger all year long.The best deal on pellets is Joes.Buy 2 get 1 free.that makes each bag about 11.50 each.
I use herring dodger for silvers in Lk Wa. or a flatfish with the hooks swapped out.Salmon in fresh water tend to strike lures out of madness not hunger.I found herring worked well.Ive never got a silver over 4 lbs in lk Wa.I seen biggies but never on a line.From how I understood it salmon jump for two reasons.One is to reposition eggs and spems sacks.the other is parasitics on their outer skin.Jumping helps relieve them of the pesky worms.

[fishing collector]

Over the years I have found just what has been said..."Piss them Off and you will get a strike" I have used a large spinner with silver/chrome on one side and florescent red on the other.; No bait just flash! They are not really eating. These spinners worked real well a few years ago on the Sammish and on the Skagit for Chum. Just make sure if you snag one ...let it go...The game folks look for wounds on the fish other than the mouth. You can't fool em. Good luck and hope for the shiney fish.

[mallard83]

Well, what I have found in the rivers for silvers is to make them angry. I don't really know if it applies to lakes but it is fresh water. I use hand tied jigs and Dick Nites. I won't get into the jigs to much because I have experimented first hand in the rivers how well they can work if presented properly but I don't think that lakes are the best place for them.

Dick Nites however, I think do have pontential in a lake. When Silvers enter fresh water they go into basic instinct survival mode where they bite/kill whatever makes them angry. I have caught Silvers in the high teens in the rivers with Dick Nites (even the Wee size alot). I am not saying that it will deffinatly work in a big lake but it might be worth a try. You might catch a lot of decent trout in Lake Washington on a Dick Nite before you hook into a Silver, but it may be worth it, who knows. Good luck.

[fishing collector]

I use Dick Nites most everywhere I fish. I even took them to Vietnam in the 60's. They worked well and I ended leaving a bunch of them when I left country. I must have 30 of them now. Some in each tackle box and even a few in the glove compartment. I used to tie them behind a 0000 flasher and this works killer for silvers and if using pink ones humpies gobble them up. They aren't real flashy and it would seem that other lures would P...O a salmon more, but by golly they sure work.
I was fishing for humps on the Skagit and I used a pink lure about 1 1/2 in long and very light and my partner used the same lure ,but it was twice as heavy.....I out fished him 3 to 1...Just because of weight of the lure? Maybe... Maybe the nites have something going for them coming right out of the package. Larger is not always better...Sockeye bite on single red rooks and most fish bite on little flies so maybe using little flashy lures with a bit larger hook will work well. Next time I am going to give it a try. Good luck and hope to see a post with some nice silvers in the pics.:thumright

[BassFanatic]

Tried everything at them they are just jumpimg all around but won't hit. what i heard was to try and bounce egss of the bottom.

[Mike Carey]

It's tough on lake Wash but can be done. Go back in the report archives for the lake and look up the salmon reports, there are some detailed and successful trips reported.