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I couldn’t take anymore of this weather sitting inside so I had planned on fishing today come hell or high water. As it turned out, the wind wasn’t overly strong and the rain held off for most of the day. The outside air temps were in the mid 40’s but my Buddy Heater kept the cabin a nice comfy 62. Water temps varied between 49 and 51 and the water was heavily stained at the Mercer launch. As the winds were out of the South and the water in the South end of the Lake was more than likely full of leaves and other debris, I headed to the North end of Mercer Island. I quickly picked up 2 fish in about 45 to 50 feet of water , right near the bottom. Both fish went about 3.5 lbs and put up a great fight now that the water is cool all the way to the surface. I broke the cardinal rule of fishing and left feeding fish to find more fish. I headed to the I-90 bridge and gave it a go for a couple of hours with nothing to show for my efforts except for a nice sized perch. Headed back to the launch and stopped to troll off the North end of the Island again and picked up one more nice fish of almost 3lbs. This fish was a slug at first and came on strong once he saw the boat. He had a very deep body, almost salmon like, and his nose had started to hook. Looks like the spawn is getting underway! All the fish were taken on apex style lures/spoons fished right off the bottom and were released to fight another day.

mav186

11/21/2009 9:36:00 PM

Well thank God there's at least 3 fish for me to try and catch in that lake when I go!! I'm w/ you G...I'm bout ready to go no matter what. I fully intend to try my new rods out next weekend. Great pics as usual...

snake7676

11/21/2009 9:52:00 PM

you runing just a plain apex and how long of leader if you dont mind me asking thanks for the report

The Quadfather

11/21/2009 10:45:00 PM

Yes, I can't take tihs sitting inside anymore. Trying to get out there Monday if at all possible. Nice pics.

G-Man

11/22/2009 3:11:00 AM

Snake, I normally run a dodger or flasher in front of these lures but I fished these alone this time and they produced just fine. They come stock with 48" of 10lb leader, but after each fish I now re-tie them as I've lost a few by being lazy to their sharp teeth. I use 6lb Maxima ultra green or 8lb Maxima flourocarbon when I re-tie and make the leader at least as long as the stock length. Warning - when using 6lb line you may lose a few lures on the initial strike when hooked up to a downrigger. Make sure you aren't in too deep in on the release or go with the heavier line. If you don't use the riggers, ie leaded line, the 6lb is perfect.

snake7676

11/22/2009 8:50:00 PM

Right on thanks for the info G . I have never really tried the apex , I have like 2 of every kind they make hehehehehe ................

fishmanjh

11/25/2009 4:44:00 AM

The one constant thing about Fall Cutt’s that just amazes me, is their propensity to feed!!! In the estuaries where I normally fish, they are just chock full of Candlefish … Just barfing them up on the way to the boat. And in Lake WA. The amount of Stickleback, baby Perch etc … they are just gorging …. They are definitely meat eaters!!

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