Crappie

[tahjb]

Anyone know of any lakes near by around the UW area to catch crappie? I know Lake Washington probably has them along with bass, but I have no clue where to locate them?

p.s.
are the bass and perch still in deeper water due to the water temp and crazy weather in lk washington? Ive been getting skunked lately.


GO DAWGS

[cole steffens]

well if oyur north of that area by about 30 mile theres an alright little lake outside of marysville thats called lake cassidy you could always try that

[cole steffens]

lake rosiger is also another good choice for crappie as well as trout and bass

[cjanak]

I overheard a salesperson at Outdoor Emporium telling a customer that Lake Union has some good Crappie fishing, but I can't speak from personal experience.

-Chris

[gpc]

Lake sawyer, Lake Dolloff, five-mile ,and star lake have crappie. Not sure how many or the size of the fish but they are there. These lakes are in Kent/Auburn/federal Way area. But thats all I know, I do have directions however but I do all my crappie fishing in central WA

[basshunter425]

lake cassidy,lake roseiger,small ponds around duval to fall city

[Slabking]

Lake Wa and Union are loaded with crappie. They are easier to locate on Union but they grow bigger in Lake Wa. I've caught them up to 13" and about 1 1/4lbs in Union and up to 16" and over 2lbs in lake Washington Try the south end of Lake Union along any pilings or deep water docks you can find. They like water from 12-22 feet deep. They might be on the surface or the bottom but the water has to be deep. Night time is a lot better than during the day but you can catch fish during the day as well is you work over wood docks near new weed growth. They should be spawning in about two weeks if the water temps keep rising. Once it hits 62 they'll be spawning for sure. Right now they are still schooled up and are 12 feet down from the surface over rockflats and humps in 20-25 feet of water.

For a smaller lake Cassidy would be a good bet. There are better lakes and ponds near Seattle but they can't take the pressure of many people catching them.

The largemouth and smallmouth are up shallow on Washington. We've been catching largemouths in less than 3 feet of water for the past month. The smallies have moved up shallow over the last 8 days or so. 4inch lizards, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits have all been working well. Good luck.

[tahjb]

Thanks for the info everyone. Well, my next question is to slabking is "are you fishing from a boat?" Because all my fishing is from the shore. I have only caught one smallmouth this spring....getting me fustrated. I do my lake washington fishing in the cut behind Husky stadium. I was thinking the fish were still out in deeper water because of the water temp/weather and I havent seen any bait fishing swimming around. Any suggestions for shore fishing? Thanks and go Dawgs. I have used perch crankbait, spinner bait, gary's senko... and have got nothing. O yea, as far as lake Union i went last week and they have all those signs saying no fishing because of toxic waste in water?

tahjb

[Slabking]

Yeah I'm fishing from a boat. The schools of crappie move around a lot so you have to stay on top of them. From the shore I'd still stick with the south end. There's a dock in the SE corner of the lake that's about two blocks long and there are old broken down docks and pilings in there. That whole area is good for perch, crappie, bass, and trout. There are a bunch of docks up and down the east shore of the lake as well.

For the bass the cut is about the best you can find but it gets better after they spawn. Around the second week of June it'll pick up over there. Any bass that are in there now are either moving between the lakes to spawn or staging at the mouth of the cut before moving into the flats to spawn. The south shore is best right now. Try the west end where the big rock flat is and toward the east end right along the cement. Cast your lures ahead of you and right next to the cement. If you don't get bit start to fan cast further and further out into the cut. The walkway at Gas Works Park can be good too.

Those signs warnings for the stormwater runoff that goes into the lake during heavy rains. To be on the safe side I wouldn't eat fish that feed on the bottom. Perch and catfish from Union might not be safe to eat in high quantities.

[tahjb]

"There's a dock in the SE corner of the lake that's about two blocks long and there are old broken down docks and pilings in there. That whole area is good for perch, crappie, bass, and trout. There are a bunch of docks up and down the east shore of the lake as well."

You talking about lake Washington right? Regarding your previous post above. SE corner and East Shore.....where exactly, what's it located by. I have only fished at the Totem pole, water front activities center on dock, and Arboretum trail at lake Washington. Sorry if I'm asking to many questions bro.

[Slabking]

You talking about lake Washington right? Regarding your previous post above. SE corner and East Shore.....where exactly, what's it located by. I have only fished at the Totem pole, water front activities center on dock, and Arboretum trail at lake Washington. Sorry if I'm asking to many questions bro.

Nah, the dock is on Lake Union. It's right near the intersection of Fairview and Eastlake Ave E. You can't see it from the street at all but it's about one block NE of TGI Fridays on the south end of Lake Union. If you stick to that area I know you'll catch some fish soon enough. It's great at night throughout the entire summer as well. There are lights that stay on all night so there is plenty of light cast into the water and a lot of times you can see the schools of baitfish swimming around the pilings. The crappie will be right underneth them. The night fishing starts to happen around mid June until the end of November.

[tahjb]

O ok... got cha. Thanks for the knowledge.

[bpm2000]

tahjb, there are most definitely smallies being caught in the cut right now ;)

Try some reaction baits first like cranks and spinnerbaits and slow it up with classic smallie plastics like grubs and senkos if you arn't getting anything. But make sure you try to cover different parts of the water column as well as fan casting from parallel out.

Theres quite a few Largies in the arboretum as well but I am very unsuccessful when fishing them - I think they are super pressured and easily spooked. I've had a bunch follow my spinnerbaits there this spring but not one hookup yet in there.

Slab, that union dock - is that the one by the floating airplane tour place? It always looked fishy to me but I've never ever seen a single person fishing there. I'll be looking to hook up my first crappie soon!

[tahjb]

Hmm... I have used a perch crank bait that goes "10-12" deep, banjo minnow, senko, jig, spinner bait, and nothing but one smallmouth and that was early in april. Also, to comment on your lg mouth point...I try for them to and have no success. But, maybe I'll try cover more water and different casting angles as you said. But so far no luck. Also, about that dock on lk Unioin, I was trying to look it up today online and do some research....I know where Eastlake and Fairview is for the most part, but I dont recall any TGI Friday's around that area? What about crappie in the arboretum?

[bpm2000]

i got a few dinks at the cut yesterday. The weathers been real sunny/windy and im not sure the fish like it. I'm usually catching them when the severity dies down and the sun is setting these days.

[Slabking]

Slab, that union dock - is that the one by the floating airplane tour place? It always looked fishy to me but I've never ever seen a single person fishing there. I'll be looking to hook up my first crappie soon!

Yeah, that's the one. We should hook up soon man. You wanna chase some bass next weekend?

[bpm2000]

That sounds good man - we need to prep to beat CK and his largemouth run haha

[tahjb]

bpm2000/slabking, hey I went by that dock today that SlabKing talked about. I think I found it...is it down the street from Joey's, across street from Zymo Genetics, and by seaplane tours building? There is no access to the actually dock tho...but it does have stumps and all the wood from dock. What is good bait to use besides white crappie jigs? If not wrong dock I guess, cuz I did not find a TGI Friday's. When will you guys be fishing there soon?

tb
go dawgs!

[gpc]

I dont know if this will mean anything to anyone but while at pothohes res. fishing off the dock a tiny, 2" tops, bass lached on to my mini micro jig. When I tried to pull the jig out his mouth I set the hook the fish slamed into a boat and flew on the dock. Dead as a doornail. I kicked the bass into the water and when it got about 1 foot below the surface a HUGE 2lb plus crappie sucked him up. Last year we went to phantom lake and I caught 4 1" bass (tiny realy tiny). Well I put them into a powerbait jar and kept them in the fridge. Took them to potholes res. and put one on my jig. And in 4 casts I caught 3 fish and missed a fish only one was a keeper. But likeI said take it how you want to dont know if it will help any one. Another thing is I tried useing the minnows in a jar that you buy at Mar Don resort and they didnt work but the bass did

[tahjb]

bpm2000/slabking, hey I went by that dock today that SlabKing talked about. I think I found it...is it down the street from Joey's, across street from Zymo Genetics, and by seaplane tours building? There is no access to the actually dock tho...but it does have stumps and all the wood from dock. What is good bait to use besides white crappie jigs? If not wrong dock I guess, cuz I did not find a TGI Friday's. When will you guys be fishing there soon?

tb
go dawgs!