Have been focusing on Snohomish Co. lakes for Fall fishing, but decided to hit the King Co. Cottage Lake this week. Am indebted to Heatherlyfish for her great reports about her experiences at this lake, for inspiring me to try it out. The irony is that Cottage Lake was perhaps the first lake I ever caught a fish in, over some sixty years ago. I grew up in Seattle, but most of my dad's family lived in the Snoqualmie River Valley (dad was born on a homestead in Cherry Valley, above Duvall)... we would gather for family picnics and reunions at Cottage Lake quite often. My first fishing memories are of me fishing with a worm under a bobber around the Lily Pads from the shoreline, and catching Bluegill. My first "trophy" was the 10" Yellow Perch that swallowed my worm and left me shaken and euphoric by the fight and beauty of such a great fish. So began a life-long passion for fishing that has followed me everywhere I have lived.
Arrived at Cottage Lake Park at 7:00 AM, on the pier and lines in the water by 7:15. Began with fl. orange Power Eggs on one rig (3' leader) and worms under a float on the other. Temp was a chilly 42 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, but wisps of fog dancing over the lake's surface. Water temp was 54 degrees at the surface, with no variance through the water column, and 54 degrees at the bottom at 15' depth. Was surprised at about 7:30 as I was joined on the pier by David, who I had met several years ago at Lake Ballinger, a fellow NWF member. David spent about 3 hours fishing worms under floats without a bite, and left about 10:30 for a dentist's appointment. Come on, David, can think of a thousand better things to do on a Tuesday afternoon, LOL! I was doing no better than David, no love on Power Eggs, although I tried every color and combination in my arsenal and not a bite on the worms under a float. I had seen a significant number of fish rising, slurping midges, of which there was a good early hatch... but nothing was interested in the worms. About 10:30 I decided to fish my worms on the bottom, and began to have bites. It wasn't long before I finally hooked and brought in a great 10" Yellow Perch. Throughout the rest of the day I was able to land five more Perch, ranging from the biggest at 10 1/2" to the smallest at 7 1/2". The problem was that the Perch were grabbing the worm and not getting hooked. I had literally dozens of hits that left me with a bare hook and no fish. I tried different hook sizes and tried threading the worm in various ways, but didn't seem to make any difference. Through the afternoon a brisk breeze picked up which made it more difficult to see the tell-tale tap, tap, tap of the rod tip. About 2:00 I had a hit that seemed harder, and finally reeled in my only Cutthroat of the day, an 8" er, which I released, as it was only hooked in the lip. Had two or three hits which jerked my rod off it's holder, which may have been trout. Also landed three Bluegill, one of which was a "monster" of at least 8".
Through the morning, I was joined by only two other fishermen, but later in the afternoon, that number swelled to seven more. I only saw one fish caught off the pier all day, that a small Perch. Every fisherman was fishing worms, some under a float, most on the bottom. Saw perhaps a half dozen small boats and pontoons launched during the day. Spoke with two gentlemen who had fished the morning, trolling from their pontoon boat... they had fished often in the past two weeks and had "knocked the Cutthroat dead", but were able to get only one this morning. Their opinion was that the Cutthroat had moved out of the lake already. They did have one great Crappie. Spoke to a couple and their small daughter who had fished gang-trolls and worms for several hours, without a bite. With the lake closing in another week, opportunities for good fishing at Cottage Lake would appear to be dwindling. The lake still holds a significant covering of algae bloom. Had an interesting conversation with one fisherman on the pier who maintained that Cottage Lake contained "landlocked salmon", which he called "silvers"... bright silvery and slim-bodied fish that have red flesh like salmon. Anyone have ideas? I think that he is speaking of sea-run Cutthroat which can enter Cottage Lake from the Snoqualmie River system. The Cottage Lake drainage system is extensive and the slim-bodied and red-fleshed fish fits the sea-run Cutthroat that I have caught for years and years. Cottage Lake certainly isn't "landlocked".
Was a great day to spend doing what I love. The rising temperature as the sun rose higher in the sky warmed not only my body, but my soul as well. Smoking my pipe and watching a pair of Bald Eagles refurbishing their great nest across the lake, ferrying large branches and blown-down Fir boughs... it doesn't get better than this! Lots of ancient memories of family and great days past made the day great. Six fine Yellow Perch a fine bonus... and a promise to myself to return in the Spring and possibly even to run into Heatherlyfish and her children. PTL!

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