Previous Next

My wife and son and I decided to take the Adorah Jane out on a little buzz up to the South side of Mercer Island and do a little trolling for cutthroat. We put in at Newport Marina in late afternoon sunshine and motored up through light chop to the open water in front of Boeing and rigged up with the downriggers.

We'd had some luck a few weeks back with herring, but not in several trips since so we decided that tonight we'd go with the wedding ring some 100 foot back and tip it with a small tail of worm. We still stayed shallow to begin with and kept the downriggers at 20-25 feet. Nothing for a long time and then we got a hook up and my son told my wife to take it... by the time she got the rod out of the holder the fish was gone! That was our one hookup all day. Sorry to say we didn't haul in a load of cutthroat, but we did have a wonderful sunny day together on the big lake and the color of the sunset was fantastic coming off the East Channel bridge as we shot homeward on much lighter waves.

Not sure what to try next to consistently catch these Lake Washington cutthroat? We've had a good day here and there, but also have noticed a lot of seaweed in the water (and our lines) on the last couple trips... also saw a lot of dead stickleback in the lake so maybe the trout have easy pickings right now? Anyhow, good luck everyone and tight lines!

rayborbon

7/22/2013 1:18:00 PM

There is a ton of baitfish in the water right now. I'd imagine (putting my bullcrap hat on right now) that the trout are deeper than 20-25 feet. Are you marking fish in the depth finder at those depths?

sleepyferret

7/22/2013 7:45:00 PM

Hi rayborbon and thanks for your comment! My fish finder leaves a lot to be desired, but we were marking fish from 21 feet to 36 feet on the average. Any suggestions from anyone that fishes Lake Washington for cutthroat would be greatly appreciated! I'm doing my best to learn this fishery!

G-Man

7/22/2013 9:41:00 PM

I was out on Sunday as well and found the fish were very tight lipped. This time of year the cutts will be below the thermocline which is sitting at 35' to 45' depending on where you are on the lake. The salad in the water is due to the large number of watercraft cutting through the shallows and the sprays that the cities have been using to control weeds at the launches and swimming areas. I picked up kokanee and peamouth chubs but no cutts on Sunday, however I was fishing very close to the thermocline to avoid incidental sockeye contact. I suspect with all the boat traffic that the cutts may be deeper and in sockeye territory.

rayborbon

7/22/2013 11:07:00 PM

Sleepyferret I think G-Man is about right. Frankly I refrain from fishing trout in Lake WA this time of year because I can't get my lines that deep without issues keeping my kayak straight unless I add a rudder. Most of my trout fishing in the big lakes ends in early June so I don't have much good advice other than near or below thermocline...

sleepyferret

7/24/2013 2:29:00 AM

I appreciate the comments by G-Man and rayborbon... thanks! It's all excellent information for me as I try to figure out what to do and when to do it. So it sounds like if you fish at all this time of year you go deeper? What are the best times for fish for cutthroat in this fishery? How do you guys determine where the thermocline is on your fishfinders? I know it's a lot of questions, but again I appreciate the information!

G-Man

7/24/2013 9:33:00 PM

have a look through some of my past Lake Washington posts for this time of year. I do believe that I have a few pics of what the thermocline will look like on a sonar unit. Barring that, just go to my home page and follow the link to a a presentation I took part in regarding cutts and Lake Washington. It will have most of the info you are after. This time of the year fish the morning hours or the evening hours, unless you can get on the lake during the weekdays when the boat traffic is minimal.

sleepyferret

7/25/2013 2:05:00 AM

Thanks G-Man! I've read a few of your reports, but I'll definitely take a look at that presentation on your home page! I think it's great that there's fishermen willing to share the knowledge... very pleased to have found this site!

Leave a Comment:

Login

Flag

×

Why is this comment inappropriate?

Close Submit

Delete this comment? Provide reason.

No Yes

Edit

×

Cancel Save