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Started out at the North end of Mercer Island as there were smolts jumping all over the place just off of Luther Burbank. As promising as this appeared to be, it did not result in a single take down or hookup. Motored up to the North side of 520 and ran into Slimy Slab who was having some success working the area. I trolled along the bridge using a mini silver Dick Nite behind a sling blade keeping just below the thermocline which was sitting at about 25' in this area. This setup resulted in a hookup with a smaller than average cutt which ran about 15". Continued to work the area up to Evergreen Point with no further luck. At around 1:00pm the weather took a turn with the wind picking up from the SW and bringing light rain with it. I switched to a 3" McMahon spoon and ran it 30' down at a fast pace. I pulled this setup under the east highrise while moving to the south side of the bridge and had a hookup that I really put a bend in the rod. Unfortunatley this 19" hen inhaled the spoon and its 3/0 siwash hook and bled badly, so she got to come home for dinner with me. Prior to being netted she spit up a large sculpin and as you can see by the picture, she had another in her stomach. Continued to troll the south side of the bridge and picked up one more fish before calling it a day and running back to the launch as the waves started to reach white cap status. Surface temps were between 57 and 58 degrees and the thermocline was anywhere between 20' and 35' down.

mav186

5/22/2010 9:14:00 AM

Nice going G...may be heading out there next weekend. Great report too!

The Quadfather

5/22/2010 2:20:00 PM

Glad to see you back on the lake.

snake7676

5/22/2010 2:25:00 PM

Right on the cutts are in there ? I went out last week north of 520 nothing my son pulled a small kok. up thats it . Then I went south end mercer had a hog on bent my rod lost it to my DR cable : ( . thanks for the report as all ways !

G-Man

5/22/2010 9:25:00 PM

Snake, the cutts are not only in, they seem to really have fattened up quickly this year. I bet the winner of the derby next month will go 5+ lbs. Right now I think the trick is to keep moving till you find feeding fish. There are smolts jumping all over the lake, if you don't get bit within a 1/2 hour, try another spot.

fishmanjh

5/23/2010 3:29:00 AM

G-Man .. I was thinking the same with regards to the condition I have seen this Spring. Of the two "Large" fish I have gotten, 1 Buck last weekend and 1 Hen yesterday ... They are in excellent shape. Fat, gorging on bait, clean, healthy and full of Piss and Vinegar. I picked up some smaller fish that looked a little worse for wear ... yet, it's the exception.

Derby??? Didn't know about this? Details?

Warning: If you guys get down to I-90 ... Watch OUT !! They have been working the cables on the Bridge, and if you happen to troll under the East High Rise or West (Not East Channel, but the main span) they seem to have left debris, or cables, or something in the area along the shores in the channels going under the Bridge, North and South of both the High Rises. I have hit something several times, and I'm not running that deep. Something .. Debris, cables, Concrete ?? I'm not sure, yet I've fished that area for years, and there is more crap down there then ever before!!

fishmanjh

5/23/2010 3:30:00 AM

G-Man .. I was thinking the same with regards to the condition I have seen this Spring. Of the two "Large" fish I have gotten, 1 Buck last weekend and 1 Hen yesterday ... They are in excellent shape. Fat, gorging on bait, clean, healthy and full of Piss and Vinegar. I picked up some smaller fish that looked a little worse for wear ... yet, it's the exception.

Derby??? Didn't know about this? Details?

Warning: If you guys get down to I-90 ... Watch OUT !! They have been working the cables on the Bridge, and if you happen to troll under the East High Rise or West (Not East Channel, but the main span) they seem to have left debris, or cables, or something in the area along the shores in the channels going under the Bridge, North and South of both the High Rises. I have hit something several times, and I'm not running that deep. Something .. Debris, cables, Concrete ?? I'm not sure, yet I've fished that area for years, and there is more crap down there then ever before!!

G-Man

5/23/2010 7:52:00 AM

Fishmanjh, you can find out all about the derby by clicking on the banner located on the top of the washingtonlakes home page. It's on the 19th of June and is being run by the Lake Washington chapter of Puget Sound Anglers. Here is the url to their website: http://www.psalakewashington.org/

Jeff_e_d

5/23/2010 11:58:00 AM

G-Man, that's interesting that you believe the thermocline is 25-35'. Does your sonor show that? I have heard from other expects (Curt Welch) who put on a seminar. that it is usually around 45-55' deep. I didn't know that it varied that much....... I can say last weekend I saw al lot of readings 15-25' deep, so I suppose my sonor, which is not an expensive one, was marking fishing hanging above the thermocline. However, the fish that I caught I believe was hanging off some structure about 45' down.

G-Man

5/23/2010 8:24:00 PM

Jeff, the thermocline starts off shallow and gets deeper as year progresses. If you have your sonar set to fish ID it is probably showing you the thermocline the only way it can, with a line of fish. Turn off the fish ID and you'll see it clear as day and fish will show as small arches. Also, you can get a general idea of where the thermocline is in Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish by going to the King County Lake Buoy website. If you are interested there is a link posted in the forum along with directions or just do a google search. Keep in mind that the depth of the water, wave action and water clarity have an effect on the depth of the thermocline, it isn't constant throughout the entire lake.

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