Juanita Creek

[tsath24]

Is it legal to fish in Juanita Creek? I've looked through the whole regulations pamphlet and can't find anything associated to Juanita Creek. If it is legal to fish, where are some good spots out there?...

[SculpinKing]

The bottom of all the river pages say "Puget Sound and Strait Rivers not listed in this section are closed to fishing" which would lead me to believe that it falls into the category. I would email them and ask to be certain since no matter what anyone here says, they're the ones who write the tickets.

[G-Man]

SculpinKing is correct in his thinking. Any tributary that drains into the Puget Sound or Straight of Juan de Fuca is closed to fishing unless otherwise listed. Juanita Creek drains into Lake Washington, which in turn empties into the Sound via Lake Union and the Ballard Locks. Also, with only the Cedar River and the Sammamish Slough as exceptions, all tributaries to the Lake Washington drainage area, that are open to fishing, are regulated to Juvenile anglers only and open from Jun to the end of August.

[tsath24]

I think I read over the fine print of "The basic rule in these waters is that all rivers, streams, and beaver ponds are closed to fishing unless they are listed in the following tables in the Puget Sound and Strait Rivers section of the pamphlet (see pages 33-48)." Thanks guys much appreciated. That leads to my next question of what creeks are there with good fishing in/around the Kirkland area?...lol

[SculpinKing]

Are you under 15? If not, then I think you're out of luck. As G-Man mentioned, all the creeks in the area that are open, are open to only juvenile anglers. I assume it's because they can't support much fishing pressure.

[tsath24]

Lol! Definitely not under 15! Awww I wanted to test out my new fly rod... :/

[SculpinKing]

Yea, that sucks. I guess your closest bet would be the Sammamish slough/river. It's been pretty high when I've driven over it recently and probably muddy. Selective gear rules (crimp your barbs) as well. Sadly, western Washington is pretty bare as far I'm aware (I'm far from an expert) for good fly fishing rivers.

[tsath24]

Thanks for the info again. It's really helpful. I've only fished rivers and lakes for salmon/steelhead and when it's closed I get that itch...

[The Quadfather]

It is a bummer for sure that stream fishing in Western WA. is not such the good bet. What I really mean is that you are asking about streams in the Juanita/kirkland area.... I would consider the Metro Puget Sound basin to be not a place to look for fly fishing streams. But that being said, you are not THAT far from good times. If you contacted a local fly shop on the Olympic Peninsula you could prob. get some tips for some O. Peninsula streams that might be worthy.
But serioulsy... if you took a look up I-90 going towards the Salmon La Sac road area, Ashahel Curtis road, etc. There are some creeks out there that will put you on fish with your fly rod. Up the Salmon La Sac road, towards Cooper Lake. If you go into the fly shop in Cle Elum, and tell them you want to fish that area..ask some questions etc. MOST IMPORTANLY... buy a few flies in their shop. These guys will put you on a few creeks. Not talking about the largest trout you ever saw, but you have an opportunity to catch fish. That being said, Canyon River Road?? (The Yakima river) Red's fly shop, etc. is only about 1.5 hours from bellevue. Blue river fly fishing.

[natetreat]

Yep, Puget Sound rivers and streams not listed in the yellow pages are closed to fishing, which means pretty much every little creek from Bellingham to Olympia west of the mountains is off limits. This year they did add some smaller streams to the mix that they'd left out previously. This time of year within the greater Seattle area, you're limited to stillwater trout and early bass fishing. But Quad is right, the 1-90 area has some good year round water, and the Yakima river is always a good bet for fly caught rainbows.

If you're really looking to get on some exciting trout close to home, the best bet is to fish puget sound. There are cutthroat in the sound year round, nice big ones, and they can be really fun to fish for. A lot of the beaches around here will give you a good chance to get at them, and you won't have to fight picnickers on your back cast this time of year. This time of year the salad is less of a problem, although a little slower than later in the year can be really fun. I've also caught squid while fishing for cutts, which is really quite neat. Squid on the fly!

[Bodofish]

If not legally closed it should be ethically closed. There has been some restocking or restarting runs that were wiped out due to construction and or backyard netting. If I remember right it got an injection of Sockeyes a couple years in a row from the defunct school program.
If you want to practice some fishing, pop over the hill and pick a lowland lake and whip some trout of panfish.

[tsath24]

Thanks again. All the information is really helpful.