Northwest Fishing Reports

I posted this on the lakes section, but in hindsight it was probably better to post it here, so I am.

I've been doing quite well for the largemouth around here, but I would really like to get into some decent sized smallmouth. I live in Elma in Grays Harbor and wondered if anyone would be willing to give me some recommendations for places within maybe a 90 minute drive with some quality smallmouth. I fished Summit once and caught a bunch of smallies, but they were tiny. It looks like Lost, Spencer, Black, American, Steilacoom, Tapps, Clear and Riffe lakes could be options. Anyone have any thoughts on any of these? I fish from a float tube, so I can't cover a ton of water, but I'm willing to give it a try. Thanks.

American Lake has some good smallmouth fishing . Duck lake is a blast, but that's mostly largemouth. Spencer has good bass fishing as well, but again, mostly largemouth.

Not to rain on anyone’s ‘Duck lake parade’, but every time I have gone there in the last 5 years, the water quality is just terrible. It looks the visibility of strong pea soup, like a permanent algae bloom.

Can anyone local, or who has 2018 knowledge, give the current conditions?

G-Man wrote:American Lake has some good smallmouth fishing . Duck lake is a blast, but that's mostly largemouth. Spencer has good bass fishing as well, but again, mostly largemouth.

Thanks for replying. I’ve been very curious about Duck Lake. From the research I’ve done it sounded like it used to be awesome but then they treated the vegetation and it never really bounced back. It doesn’t seem like there have been any reports for a few years. Maybe where it’s not too far away from my house I’ll have to check it out and see how it’s doing.

I've done well for smallies at Tapps. Lots of water and it gets crazy in summer. Haven't fished it for a few years tho. Heard good things about Spencer but I don't like that lake. Heard good things about Lost too. Have seen pics of some nice smallies from American...big lake tho. Duck used to be amazing for largemouth, but as mentioned, it's not the same. I'd like to get over there again and check it out. I fish from a tube too. Keep us posted on where you fish

Will do. I think I might wait until fall to go to Tapps. It looks really promising but I hate dealing with ski boats and jet skis. I may give Riffe another shot, I just hate driving all the way down there only to find whitecaps.