fishing in the seattle/north seattle area (lakes)

[koolaidwa]

new to fishing, would like to do some trout and maybe some bass, as i dont know much is there any good lakes in the western washington area, mainly north seattle and north areas for noobs?


also any suggestions on what to use to catch trout from casting


thanks
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[davetclown]

welcome to bigfishtackle.

I dont know much about the washington area, I would look for local public areas unless you can meet up with some one who has privet access some where.

spawn is used often, along with worm minnows hand tied flies even crank baits can bring them in.

for more assist you will want to let us know how you will be accessing the water, via boat, wade, float tube or peir and shore fishing.

we have boards that accomidate thiese methods of access.
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[koolaidwa]

i will be mainly doing dock fishing (casting)

i bought some power bait, didnt work, maybe my leader was to short

whats a decent size leader?


i also bought i think they call them roaster tails? idk


i also heard to use marshmellows and worms, i am going try that next time too
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[davetclown]

rooster tails are great along with mepps spinners (same company differant manufactures)

they range in a number of sizes for different species. matching the color with the fish you are after can be a bit of a chore but well worth the effort. for every body lures give different results, for me I like the yellow number one rooster tail for gills crappie. the Mepps black fury #2 for bass (black with red spots)

again there are days when my best lure or best live bait wont produce a single fish, and other days when a bare hook is all you need to pull them in hand over fist.

I use leaders any where from 3 inches to three feet, it all depends on what I am using for bait, the time of year and where I am fishing and how I am presenting it.

genneraly if you are cast and retreiving, 6-12 inches is pretty much standard.

if you are using a bobber the same is good, you can get your depth by ajusting your bobber.

dont think that one or two bad days as a rule. there are bad days and good days, time and location is your best tool, early morning late afternoon and over cast days I find gives me my best results.

hand dug worms work well,

if you are a beginner I strongly urge you to target blue gills crappie and bass then move up to cat fish pike carp suckers then on to trout stripers salmon and stergeon.

reason I say go after the smaller fish is the smaller fish will give you more action and you will axidently catch larger fish in the prossess. That makes going fishing always a treat when you land a big one. If you go after the big ones first you will have a hard time getting back to going after the smaller ones. the smaller ones are also better eating and carry less of the toxins you hear every one hollaring about.

you can fish for big fish from a peir just as easily as smaller fish. several of the biggest fish I ever caught were taken from a peir. along with lots of bass blue gills crappie trout salmon stergeon catfish and so on.

I use different riggings for each fish.

the rate at which I catch fish go from more with the smaller fish and as the fish get bigger I have to work harder to get them.

last year I spent 8 days to bring in only one salmon, I had lots of bad luck a few days cause I missed the runs other days I hit the runs only to be under gunned for some realy big ones. I ended bringing in a 15 pound 36 inch alaskan king.

for gills I like to use worms crickets wax worms and for artificial bait I like to use pink power baits bungie worms number 1 rooster tails and small rappalla like crank baits.

this time of year you should be in the middle of the salmon runs in your area. for salmon I found that leaders about 3-4 feet works well. but if you are using plugs or spoons you wont want to use a leader at all.

I love peir fishing as much as any other kind of fishing. I costomised a wagon just for peir fishing. I am sure you are aware of how hard it is to take all your gear from your car to your spot and the number of trips it takes to cary your box and rods and net and bait and seat. It can be quite a hand full.

I will try in the next few days to pull it out and take a pic of what I did to give you an idea.

you will find you will carry a lot more stuff than you will ever need, but you will use it all at one time or another but cant if you dont take it with you...

you might want to start thinking about ice fishing season. that is right around the corner....

peir fishing is totaly different from fishing on a river and on a lake or ocean. I have never fished the ocean so I cant help ya there.... fishing a peir on a river I like to use set lines on the bottom of the river and on the lake I like to use bobbers to suspend my bait.

I like to use a set line and one casting rod, some times I use two set lines if I dont feal like casting. but I can cast and retreive from both lake and rivers.

this is probably a lot to absorb at one time but will give you some basics. I like to do all kinds of fishing so my methods varry a lot...
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[Spokane_Angler]

Welcome to BFt Koolaidwa. Nice to have another Washington member. I am on the East side of the state so I wouldnt be much help unless you lived on the southwestern part where I used to live. I bet Salmonegg can point ya in the right direction. I might be heading over to western Washngton in late August to do some fishing. Hopefully I can meet some of you westerners.

Sometimes ya just gotta try different lakes in your area and see where you catch fish. I am doing that every weekend here. I usually just use a worm and hook for trout.
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[salmonegg]

Wow, I haven't fished those lakes for awhile... it great to hear they are still stocking them. Did you know that I have caught catfish in Bitterlake around 3lbs. You also mentioned Lake Washington. It my favorite during the winter months. I have caught alot of cutthroat and Kokanee there... not to mention the sockeye run. It crazy! Did you know that Lake Washington is the most under fished lake in the state for it size? There's a lot of different fish as well. Even an occasional sturgeon, Believe it not!

Anyway, it's great to have you participating on the boards.
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[EZOP]

Hello koolaidwa, I'm Quill from GF. I assume it's you, if not welcome to BFT and I'll be in the Idaho Forum for any questions not regarding Sir John.[]
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