Folks, It is great to be back on the home lake! Lake Sammamish is a gem this time of year for cutthroat trout, and as winter draws on it only promises to get better.

The boat had been in the shop for a little bit getting a professional motor tune-up and some other yearly maintenance, so i asked my buddy Petdawg to hit the water with me before I had any guiding trips to make sure everything was in perfect working order. after fixing a few aesthetic/ electronics kinks that the shop didn't install back quite properly, we were set to go. the motor was running like a dream with a fresh tune up, and with the electronics back hooked up and running, the boat was better than new!

We arrived at the launch around 7:15, got geared up, put the boat back together (downriggers in place, fish finder on, canopy up, trolling motor on etc) and were fishing by 8:00. To start the day, we used Elgin Fishing God's Tooth Spoons, Reli Lures Diamond Flash Spinners, and a prototype Elgin dodger. The fish on lake sammamish have been spread out, which is a bit surprising for this time of year. In our first spot, we got one tap but the fish didn't stick. so, after pounding the area thoroughly, we began to troll up towards the second spot, and along the way caught a nice 15.5" fish. spot two was electric. in three passes we had gone from one fish to limits for the day including a double up, which was a blast! the winning combo was a Elgin prototype dodger in 50/50 gold/silver and a matching diamond flash spinner. We also caught fish on a Rocky Mountain Tackle 5.5" dodger and a red diamond flash spinner. fish were all 14-16" which are a bit on the small side, but delicious nonetheless.

although the fish on the lake have been spread out, once you find an area with some fish it is never a bad idea to circle around and go thru it again. usually, this time of the winter the fish will be stacked up feeding on midges, so you can find a small area that will produce your daily bag of fish. recently, covering water has been important, but once we found a few fish, we ended up limiting making 4 passes through the same troll.

overall a simply fantastic day on the water.

Lake Sammamish will continue to get hotter as the temperature continues to drop. I will be guiding the lake for the next three weeks, and have a few openings left. Lake sammamish trout fishing makes an absolutely fantastic holiday present! weekends are filling up but i still have a couple available!

Tight lines! - Paul

(Previously Wafisherman20)