Phantom Lake, Bellevue

[JT26]

Has anybody fished at Phantom Lake near Bellevue Crossroads before? I have fished there about 4 times and caught lots of perch, all small, and sunfish, plus my first bass. (also small) People walking on the pier have told me that there is good bass fishing, but u need a raft or boat. The pier is infested with lillie pads with just a small opening in the pads, but will proboly be fully closed in after another warm day.

[gpc]

WOW, that dock is really chocked up. I fished their one time last summer and it wasn't half as bad, and it was a lot later in the summer. Yeah it doesn't look like there is going to be fishing off that dock for too much longer. A small boat or float tube would be perfect for phantom, but I heard that motors are prohibited on the lake. When we were there we saw some nice sized bass swimming around the dock area. The lake was also full of 1" bass fry and frogs, so a plug in either of those patterns would probably work pretty well. We fished there trying to target crappie and perch, but we ended up getting skunked for both

[JT26]

i heard there is good crappie thier also, but never even seen one thier. It would be great to get into them,

[Mike Carey]

hmmm, I have my tube in my truck and was thinking of fishing locally. I've always wondered about this lake. Maybe I'll have to wander by there tomorrow. Unfortunately, we don't have Phantom in our data base yet. If we remidy that maybe I'll get the first post. :-)

[Bodofish]

I grew up on the east side / Issaquah. It's been a secret lake since I ws a kid. We used to float a small rubber boat and dangle worms from the bobber on the edge of the pads. Caught some nice BMB's but after trying to eat the first one it was C&R, a little muddy to say the least. That was 25 years ago. The lake is probably in better condition now, since the sewer system was put in during the dark ages.

[bhuynh]

ya man, i've fished here alot but only caught one bass, about 3#, pretty good, if you're gonna only get one. but there alot of perch, thats about it

[JT26]

ya man, i've fished here alot but only caught one bass, about 3#, pretty good, if you're gonna only get one. but there alot of perch, thats about it

did you catch it from the dock or a boat?

[tnj8222]

you could fish some topwater frogs there really good. heavy action rod, 40 pound braid, and a sumo frog

[JT26]

would medium action with 20 or 30lb braid work?

[mallard83]

stick with a medium heavy to heavy action rod for working the thick stuff but you deffinately don't need 40 lb braid. 15-25lb is more than enough. Most people use way heavier line than than needed. You are not fishing for marlin, ha ha ha.

[tnj8222]

haha you would be suprised 15 pound braid isnt as strong as you think when your wrapped up in lilly pads. alot of bass fishers would actually go over 40 for fishing heavy cover with topwater. especially with frogs. just giving some advice and i have been bass fishing most of my life.

[kzoo]

I agree with tnj. YOu definetely need heavier braided line if your going to fish heavy vegetation. It's not uncommon for bass pros to use 65 lb braided line. Remember this method is usually targeting large bass, if you get a big one in there you need to get her out of there.

[mallard83]

I have landed countless bass in the 5-8lb range in not only heavy vegetation but heavy timber. Must just be experience. And also you are not going to be running into any of those 20lb california mosters here. And the reason the bass pros are using such heavy line is because they are fishing tournaments and need to get these bass in as soon as possible in order to make the most of their day. And sorry I did not mean 15 lb braid, I meant mono. I have never liked using braid. Good Luck at the bass, these are just my preferences/experiences.

[kzoo]

I've been fishing in the thick vegetation and timber for quite a while. I've used heavy mono (17lb +) and caught fish, but I prefer braided line that seems to saw threw vegetation. I don't know about going as light as 15lb, but if someones out there who's catching countless 5 to 8 lbs bass in the slop, then good for him, I just don't recommend it, and probably the guys who make their living on bass fishing won't recommend it either.

[mallard83]

Yeah I see what you mean kzoo I just prefer more of a fight out of my fish, rather than just horsing them across the top of the water. I feel the fish were meant to swim not fly. It just seems more fun to me to actually do battle with the fish in his element and let him have a chance in the game of cat and mouse. I do see your point though with the pros, but they are making a living at bass fishing and depend on landing every fish, I don't make living at it so I would rather have more of a challenge for myself and the fish.