It only took over 3 years to finally lock down a time and place to go fishing but I finally made it out on the water with The Quadfather! We met up on Sunday morning to try our luck at trolling for some winter Cutthroat Trout! I was starting to suffer from a severe case of Cabin Fever so I was really excited to get out and hopefully catch a fish to help me save what's left of my sanity!

We launched and were on the water at about 9am. We made our way a bit down the lake and then started to gear up.

I had originally planned to troll various bass crankbaits that I had plenty of luck trolling in the fall for both bass and trout. But then I read up that from Jan 1st to April 30th that Sammamish has a single barbless hook rule. I was stubborn and still wanted to try trolling crankbaits so I took off both of the treble hooks from a few of my crankbaits and added a single drop shot hook to the bank and pinched down the barb/broke it off.

Quad rigged up with a spoon (sorry I forgot exactly which type of spoon it was) and set it up in the down rigger.

We started trolling for a while and engaged in some good conversation just talking about various fishing experiences. I'd guesstimate that approximately 30 minutes went by without a bite. Quad changed up the color of his spoon and I changed crankbaits. I think we then went roughly another 30 minutes or so without a bite. It was at that time that Quad decided to change up his rig and go with a good old fashioned wedding ring tipped with a piece of nightcrawler. I was curious to see who would get bit first so I kept trolling crankbaits.

I'd say that maybe another 30 minutes or so go by while we're still exchanging fishing stories. Then I just happen to look over at Quad's rod and watched it jerk down a couple of times and I shout out "Oo! I think you got a fish on!". Quad reaches over, grabs his rod and whips it free from the down rigger. Fish on! There was quite a bit of line out so the initial fight was slow and pretty eventless. Then once the fish got closer to the boat, it started showing off and jumping all over the place. I reach for the net and miss on the first attempt but get it on the second. Woo Hoo! A very beautiful, chunky cutt makes it in the boat! I measured it at 15.5" and snap a pic of it. This one was put in the livewell since it was a good eating size.

The best part about it all? I got it all on film! You can watch the video here:



We trolled for about an hour or so more with no bites. The wind started to pick up and made it very chilly outside. Plus the Hawks game was going to take place in a couple of hours so we decided to call it and start to head in. We kept trolling and heading back for the launch and as I'm constantly looking back and forth at both of our rods, I could have sworn that I saw Quad's rod make a few small movements outside of the constant rhythmic vibrations. They weren't very big and did keep coming back. Even though I suspected that a fish was on. As we got close to the launch and were going to bring our lines in, Quad whips his line free of the down rigger and guess what? There WAS a fish on! We probably dragged this fish for a good 10 minutes or so. Surprisingly, it still had some fight left in it. Quad bring it in to the boat and we see that it is has a very bright, flashy silver tone to it. Before we got net it and get it in the boat, the fish shakes off right at the side of the boat. We both believe that it was a Kokanee.

All in all, it was a nice day out on the water. I would have loved to catch a fish but I'm not complaining. The lake was calm and the water was glass for the first half of the trip. It wasn't too cold but the air was brisk and fresh. But then the wind started and changed all that towards the second half of the trip. Quad got 2 nice fish so there was no skunk! Woo Hoo!

---