Folks, let me tell you, the weather has been making some interesting fishing on the lake, but when you hit it in stride, its fantastic.

On 12/16, I went out to try some prefishing. the fishing wasn't what I am used to. the barometer had dropped the fish significantly. the low pressure systems pushing in have constantly changed the fishing patterns, as the fish fluctuate to keep their swim-bladders balanced as the barometer changes from high to low. this turns the bite off, making it crucial to change tactics. the fish had gone very deep, hugging the bottom of the lake, anywhere from 60-80 feet down. every day is a learning opportunity no matter how much experience you have, so we take what we learned and apply it to the next day.

The next day, 12/17 I had a last minute cancellation so I decided to try some new tactics. the tactic change was to fish in shallow water, close to the bottom, at slow speeds. however, the barometric pressure change was significant (well over .3 inHg), which meant the fish would be starting to feed again. This means that fishing would be back to normal. with this in mind, I went looking for schools of trout, but stumbled across some coho had a blast on them. The coho are very aggressive right now and when they see your lure they will hit, no questions asked if they are there. mixed in with the coho I found some cutthroat and one chinook.

I ended the day when I had caught five fish of a mixed bag. I ket 2 coho and 1 cutthroat, just enough for a birthday snack for my sister and her friends.

It is important to note that keeping the coho is new and the regulations on them are as follows:
- 12 inches or larger
- Must have a clipped adipose fin.
- It is important to note that they look similar to Kokanee, so make sure they are the coho before they are kept. coho have small spots on the upper lobe of their tail, they have good sized teeth, and they have a dark mouth with light gums and they have teeth on their tongue. sockeye have very fleshy mouths and very little teeth on their mouths.

MAKE SURE TO PROPERLY IDENTIFY THE FISH BEFORE YOU RETAIN. IF YOU ARE UNSURE, THROW IT BACK.

Fishing for cutts will only get better as the winter draws on, up until the main spawning season towards the start of February. book now for your preferred date and get out on the water! the boat is fully covered and all gear is included.

Fast Action Fishing Adventures
(425)-753-5772
paul@fastactionfishingseattle.com
fastactionfishingseattle.com

mizefish

12/19/2018 9:27:58 AM

Great report, Paul. Do the cohos hit the same presentations we typically use for cutthroats (i.e. wedding rings, God's Tooth spoons, and Needlefish)?
And are you saying the cutts prefer steady pressure, higher pressure, lower pressure, or moving pressure. As a bass guy, I've always heard that lower pressure is better, and pressure MOVING lower is the best, like just before a storm. Different preferences for cutthroats? Also, I caught a female on Saturday whose flesh wasn't the typical bright peach color I'm used to. Paler, more like raw chicken. Taste seems a bit off also. Do spawning cutthroats experience a "boot" stage like spawning salmon?

FastActionGS

12/19/2018 5:11:06 PM

Yessir! The coho I caught came on a 50/50 gold/silver reli lures diamond flash spinner with some crawler. They hit the same stuff as cutts, they will probably even eat the Kokanee. Today was the highest the pressure has been in a long time, and fish were jumping everywhere. Sadly, I couldn’t get out and fish.

Pressure moving is great! The lateral line in fish is an organ that helps them predict weather. If they sense a storm, they aggressively feed since they don’t know when the next opportunity is. Low pressure once it settles isn’t great.

Low pressure makes the fish dive to balance out their organs. As we all know from swimming, the deeper we go our ears pop and our head feels compressed as pressure builds on our bodies. So, fish dive to balance the pressure they lose from the air pressure (barometric pressure). As pressure rises, they settle back to normal.

So, low pressure is bad, high pressure dropping is good, low pressure rising is ok , and pressure above the sea level average is better than low pressure.

mizefish, steady pressure is good after a couple days as they balance out and get hungry. Dropping means they are aggressive.

I read the comment on sharphooks post, and I appreciate the kind word my friend. Hope to see you out there, and I hope my midge prediction is correct!

I’m hopeful due to the amount of fish we are marking. I’m still marking tons from end to end on the lake.

Also, give me a call sometime mizefish and let’s talk shop! I have some ideas to share with you!

Ben Eggertsen

12/19/2018 11:08:55 AM

Very interesting. I didn't understand the coho rules nor did I even realize they were in Lake Sammamish in catchable numbers! If it looked like a kokanee, I have always just released it immediately. I will now start checking them for a clipped fin. Any idea if the sockeye have a clipped fin too? Thanks for the very informative report.

FastActionGS

12/19/2018 5:13:14 PM

I am not sure, but the Kokanee aren’t. If the Issaquah hatchery is going sockeye, id imagine they are clipped. As far as I know, they aren’t sockeye focused though, as all sockeye they go thru the locks are “supposed to be” going to the cedar.

TMBob

12/19/2018 7:33:58 PM

Paul, what weather site/app do you like to use for pressure? Thanks for the report

FastActionGS

12/19/2018 9:25:36 PM

I use a few, and when I’m home I have a personal weather station thing that I got from Costco

Mainly on the boat I will google the pressure for my closest city or zip code, or if not the apple weathwr app has a barometer reading.

But as Mizefish says, weathwr underground is good.

For my marine forecasts, I use national weather service

stevertd2010

12/21/2018 9:45:30 PM

Yes, weather underground Whileaway Court station is on the lake, so a good source.
https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/wa/sammamish/KWASAMMA59?cm_ven=localwx_10day

For up to date data on the lake go to King County Weather bouy data.
https://green2.kingcounty.gov/lake-buoy/
Just hover over the red marker in the water and it will provide current data.

Sharphooks

12/20/2018 6:39:56 PM

FastAction, although I tend to be skeptical regarding how healthy the Lake Sammmamish native Cutthroat fishery is at this point and how it will unfold into the future, I do very much hope your positive comments about this fishery bear out fruit. I've found them to be very interesting and I hope you will continue to make comments about this fishery. One way or another, the verdict on this fishery will make itself quite apparent as we move into and through 2019. Good luck to you.

FishingTenor

12/22/2018 10:59:25 PM

Excellent report Paul. Also, really great discussion with Sharphooks and mizefish. I know there are autumn runs of coho and chinook up to the hatchery. It sounds like there are also resident salmon Spawning...?

FastActionGS

12/22/2018 11:20:55 PM

fishingTenor, as of this year there are indeed resident coho in the lake. the hatchery let a batch of fry go that ended up staying in the lake for some reason, which is what is making this fishery possible. they aren't large but they are fun for sure! 12-16" fish on light tackle, you cant go wrong. just make sure you identify the fish correctly, it has to be hatchery, and we have been catching kings and Kokanee mixed in, so always double check.

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