I hit the south end of Lake Union at Lake Union Park around 10:30 in the morning. There is a small bridge (blue mark on map) that I fished underneath for about 2 hours. Had a jig and bobber out for about 45 mins without a bite on my 5’6” light Lamiglas trout rod and Pflueger President spinning reel with Fireline 6lb test. Tried to be persistent and patient and switched depths and colors of grubs with no luck. Decided to switch it up to a small blue and green crank bait hopping for either some crappie or bass. Fished for about 15 mins and saw a small blip in the water and I assumed it was a fish so I casted the crankbait 15 feet pass the blip and slowly reeled in and WHAM! Fish on! I set the hook and my pole bent completely in half! I thought it was a huge LMB, but it didn’t fight like one. I tried putting a little leverage on the pole and tightened up the drag and I heard my pole crack! So I lessened the drag and let the fish run. It stripped line like crazy! It took off towards the middle of the lake and then suddenly veered to the left and headed straight for some old pilings. I thought for sure the line would catch a piling and snap and I’d loose the fish and my crank for sure. But it changed its mind and headed back out across the water. It probably took at least 50 to 60 yards or line before it tired. I kept the line tight and my pole was bent to its limit. I played the fish for 5 mins and I felt the fish grow tired so I started to reel em in. 30 feet out it took off again! This whole time I’m wondering what the hell kinda fish is this…? Couldn’t be a LMB cause they tire pretty quickly. I though smallie, but this had to of been some world record for a SMB. I played the fish again for about 3 mins and when it grew tired again I started to reel it in again. Some lady walking across the bridge watched for a little and asked what kinda fish I had on. I let her know it was an extremely pissed off bass and she wished me luck and took off. As I was reeling in the tired fish, not 10 feet away from shore it breached the water head first. My eyes grew wide and to my surprise it was a HUGE freaking salmon! As soon as it went back into the water I felt my line go limp! NOOOOOO!!! Not sure how it got off cause I had 2 treble hooks on the crank. My guess is that I foul hooked it somewhere near the head and the hooks just ripped out. I’m not even sure what kinda of salmon, but it was bright silver and it had the beginnings of a beak. My guess is either a Coho or Chinook. It had to have been 3 feet long and at least 15 lbs, but I only got a glimpse. I now it sounds crazy, but someone’s gotta believe me! I completely forgot that salmon run through Lake Union into Lake Washington, but what the hell was a salmon doing this far south and shallow in the lake? I had to share this crazy story with my WashingtonLakes brethren. Believe it or not, but it’s the truth! I rated it a 5 star for the experience, but I didn’t land a single fish.