I'm feeling your pain my friend. Sounds like you did everything right. I saw the same fish from 55' to 75' down. I tried the downrigger there, but no luck on two days. The only action is near the surface. So you were in the right depth. On my lower frequency, I could see small groups of fish at around 20', so they are there. I didn't see much catching going on both days. Best of luck out there.

Out of curiosity, what speed were you trolling? Lake Sammamish fishes better on a faster troll, 2mph or so, or even faster. Also, many times if you are not marking fish, it's because they are very shallow and your fish finder won't pick them up. You are seeing a wider swath on the bottom than you are seeing up top. Try speeding up your troll if you aren't going at least 1.8mph, or maybe slow down if you are over 2.5. Also try shallower. Sounds like the fish are spread out a bit, don't be afraid to move it you are not getting bit within 30 minute.

We were out on Sunday 12/31, with lines in at 8:30 AM. Marking fish, but no bites. First fish did not hit until 10:00 AM, then from there it was 6 fish caught and released until we packed up at 2:00. I'm no expert on this lake, but have had good luck with a couple of setups for Coastal Cutthroat. Pole with the best action was running a Rocky Mountain Tackle (RMT) Assassin Spinner in purple/pink and an RMT 4.25 UV Pink Hyper Dodger. Lines setback around 125 to 150 feet. Running at 1.2 to 1.4 mph, at a depth of about 5'. Trolled around the weather buoy as well as zig zags across the narrow part of the lake just North of the buoy. Here's the kicker; 4 of the fish caught were without bait and without scent. They completely ignored anything with nightcrawlers. Did get 2 very nice Cutties on salmon eggs. It can be a challenging body of water to fish, as it seems they like one thing one day, and another thing the next. Water clarity/color may be a huge factor. Also, look for bird activity. The birds seem to like to feed on the Midges just like the Cutthroat. Fish caught were very bright, and in the 16" to 18" range. Did not get to see the one that grabbed my lure and took off like a rocket though. Always the one that got away... Good luck out there!

I fished Sammamish for the first time over the holidays. I read about finding the birds, and you'll find the fish. This worked for me. I only have an electric trolling motor, so I made it as far as the weather buoy. I had pretty good success with an 1/8 oz aerojig following a wiggle fin action disc. No weight, no downriggers, just laid it back 100-115 feet. 1.8 mph seemed to be best, but I also got consistent hits if I'd kill the motor for 30-60 seconds, then turn it back on. Hope this helps!

Yes, forgot loooong setbacks when fishing shallow

Thanks for all the imput guys I will be back this weekend earlier the morning for redemption!