Baker Lake report! Pic heavy.

[Matt]

Well, we decided to head up for our second annual trip to Baker on Sunday and Monday this week. Had to work on the opener, so didn't make it out until 4:15am on Sunday morning. Launched at Swift Creek and parking was an issue, but we figured it out. About 200 boats on the water Sunday at first light until about 10am when they started thinning out. The key to catching fish? Stay the hell away from the floatilla!

We set up camp across the lake from Shannon Creek at the same site I camped at last year. It had a beautiful view and was protected from the north wind.



Our most effective setup was a 50/50 size 0 dodger with a smile blade setup per Rseas blog suggestion, thanks randy that thing really produced! We ran about 14" of 30lb leader and tipped the offering with a small chunk of cured prawn done up in my own secret sauce. The prawn bait seemed to be the ticket for us! Also, an all chrome setup with just hooks behind it tipped with prawn was the runner up.



Most fish were taken around 30 feet or so, we didn't get any deep, but saw lots of marks. We ended up doing pretty well! Only lost 1 fish the whole trip surprisingly, and caught lots of fish. Here are some pix of a portion of our haul from the second day.







Oh yeah, did I mention they were CHROME?





Here's the start of a very impressive pile!!





Yum!



Another great year, and a new annual tradition. I love Baker Lake and had a great time with my friends.

[Toni]

Very Nice!!!

[rjn cajun]

Matt I`m starting to think that DFW should put restictions on guys that do fish research.[lol]

[RiverChromeGS]

Nice fish, ive noticed that about 25% of the boats are consistantly having luck, and the rest literally catch nothing. We fish mornings for last 3 days, and have landed 15 and lost about 6 between the 3 mornings. heres some pics. Same gear as Matt, all chrome flasher tho and double hook.

[knotabassturd]

LORDY LOOK AT THOSE FILLETS!!!:chef: [love] LOL Y couldn't Baker be a fishery way back when I was up in the 'Ham?...

The combo of fishing and camping with scenery looks almost unbeatable! Throw in an alder wood fire and cook those babies up right there! Awesome reports, pics and results coming out of there even from the guys getting skunked. Although those fillets have to have some of them going "DOH!"

[natetreat]

Wow, now you're getting me excited! My pops and I are planning a trip up there in the next couple of weeks.

[Matt]

The fish we got were literally some of the nicest sockeye I have ever had the liberty of catching. The fillets are UNREAL....

I can also confirm they are DELICIOUS! :chef:

[Bodofish]

Very nice job Matt!!!! I must say we had a very similar scene at my house during the fillet stage.

[Mike Carey]

amazing fishery for sure. Let's hope WDFW can get the hatchery kicking out more fish so this becomes a yearly routine. I'm curious, those of you that had better success, did you let your fish run initially with light drag? I think that may have been a factor in our losing a couple of our fish - we had both jump a good 2-3 ft into the air. One spit the hook and the other came straight back to the boat and got into a DR cable. These fish are so fast! Very impresive fight considering they are 4-6 pound salmon.

[kevinb]

Great pics, dinner at Matt's place!

[blurock]

Awesome Matt! I didn't plan very well... hope I can manage to get over there before they close it!

[rseas]

Hey! That's my campsite. Congratulations Matt and I agree that the quality of these fish is far superior to sockeye originating from any other watershed I have had experience with.

[Matt]

Hah, that's too funny! That is actually the site we camped at last year as well and it is looking like it will now be the "annual" camp site for us.

Hopefully our trips don't conflict! lol

[Bodofish]

In the past Lake WA fish have been very nice too. Large stock! Many 10+ pound fish.

I do have to agree! They beat the heck out of other lake fisheries, so bright!

[Matt]

Last year Baker had some pigs as well. I think there will be some around this year as well. This run is just starting to show I think, we can expect about double what we have now. Also, the reason they are so bright is the timeframe of freshwater exposure. In Lake WA the escapement goal is 350,000 before a season opens. That could take a LONG time to accumulate that amount of fish and open the season, and many of them will have already gone dark. Baker has low escapement goals and went from about 1,000 to about 7,000 fish in one week, the fish currently in the lake are all fresh and chrome.

[Bodofish]

I doubt there will be a Lake WA fishery this year or any time soon. The tribe has refused to discuss it with the State and in doing so has trumped any discussion.
Sockeye fishing in Lake WA is a thing of the past.

[Matt]

No of course not, I wasn't suggesting there would be a lk wa fishery, just illuminating the reason the baker fish are so nice. There could/Would be a lake wa fishery if they could hit 350k fish. Its not a negotiation issue or a tribal matter, it is just escapement numbers. The 350k goal was set a long time ago and need to be re evaluated, but until it is the fishery will remain in limbo.

[kzoo]

Incredible looking fillets Matt.

Since I moved here, I participated in the 06' Lake Washington sockeye event. It was a zoo, but I'd do it again.

[natetreat]

So is this campsite that you're staying at in one of the campgrounds? It looks like there are only about 100 sites in all three campgrounds and they're all booked up. Can you boat across and camp on the shoreline? If so, where do you park?

[racfish]

Matt and FF them are some beautiful fish. It sure is nice seeing fish without net marks on them. Nice pics. Thanks for sharing ...