Lake Washington - Lake Sammamish Cutthroat

If you are looking for something (fishing wise) to do locally you might just want to give Lake Wasington or Lake Sammamish a try for cutthroat. We have been seeing some nice fish coming from both of these wasters the past few weeks. The fish they have been pulling from Lake Washington have been considerably larger than those from Sammamish with fish to 5 or 6 pounds not being out of the question. Most, however are in the 11 - 20 inch range with generally at least one fish 2 - 3 pounds or larger being landed by knowledgable anglers. Most are fishing the area off the southern end of Mercer Island. The Lake Washington fishery generally gets better this next month when the cutthroat start to mass prior to their run up the Cedar River to spawn.

The Lake Sammamish fishery has been putting out good numbers of fish, with five fish limits common for anglers having an idea of what is going on. These fish have been in the 11 - 14 inch range, with some up to 17. The action on Sammamish is hotter than Wahington though the fish are smaller than those being caught on the big lake.

Anglers have been trolling for the most part with most fishing #2 or #3 Luhr Jensen Neddlefish spoons. Though there are lots of other lures as well as techniques that will also catch fish. Both fishing off downrigger or lead core line have been productive with the upper 20 feet of the water being the zone that most anglers are finding the most productive.

Both of these fisheries shoud continue into March, providing some good angling over the winter.