Due to the great coho season we are having in the Sound, I haven’t spent much time on the lake in the past month. I was up late last night, completing my permanent solution to an issue I was having with my autopilot. This resulted in me getting up too late to make hitting the Sound worthwhile. I launched around 10:30am and ran north to the Kirkland area to see if I could spot any signs of coho in the Lake. The sun was out, the pressure steady and there was just a hint of wind out of the North. I started out fishing a Brad’s Mini Cut Plug and had a quick takedown that didn’t stick, and I drug the lure around for another hour with no further action. I switched out the Brad’s in favor of a Mini Apex and worked over the bait that had concentrated in the area. This yielded 1 large cutt in the 18” range, a smaller cutt around 14” and a 14” coho which may or may not have been a jack. I decided to switch out the Apex for a Needlefish Hoochie with a Wigglefin Action Disc. I had tied up the Hoochie using painted Gamakatsu hooks and made the fatal error of not removing the paint from the barb to the bend of the hooks. Coupled with the light release clips I was using, I lost my two largest fish of the day. Both fish came unbuttoned within 30’ of the boat and one looked to be a new personal best Cutt. After losing the second fish, I made the necessary adjustments to the hooks and sent the gear down once again. I took a while for the rod tip to dance again, but the fish held this time all the way to the boat. This would be the only fish I kept for the day, a pikeminnow, first one I’ve brought to the boat in Lake Washington in about 2 years. He was filleted and is currently curing to become bait strips for my future fishing excursions. As for coho, I did see fish porpoising in the area, but could not say if they were indeed coho. I plan on giving it a go early morning next weekend.

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