Northwest Fishing Reports

I personally haven't yet 'intentionally' caught a bass and it's killing me. you don't have to give me your hotspots, but can you share some pointers?

Today it's pooring out... will that negatively affect bass fishing?

locations in the lakes? on Lake Meridean I thought everyone said the docks... but I can't see any action there (on my part, or other fishers when I'm there).

For rigs... I think I understand the drop shot now, although what are you using for bait? What else do you recommend?

if I head out to Bass Lake or Twelve Lake or Lake Washington, what do you suggest?

thanks folks-

from what i understand rain can be good, so long as it isnt a thunderstorm. do a search for bass plastic rigging, there are so many variables for it. i would also suggest buying a book about bass fishing, they arent that expensive, but they contain many of the variables for weather and stuff.

thanks Sharpshooter. my brother ordered a ton of fishing books while he was in Iraq. I think most were flyfishing, but I'll check with him to see if he has anything bass related too.

you got a lot of reading to do, do a google search on texas rigs, carolina rigs, drop shots, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. this will be enough info for you to be reading for awhile. then read on bass fishing for pre spawn, spawn, and post spawn. also do a google video search on all of this. it takes alot of reading and on the water experiance before you can learn the better stuff about bass fishing.

I am going to keep you very busy with study material. One of the first place to look for a wealth of info is at:

Http://www.bassdozer.com

This website is loaded with tech, rigs, and numerous articles written by pros, sometimes too much info#-o .

Here is a link for the dropshot. It even has pictures!

Juat search their site for what ever information you need. As far as weather, I have had great days and nights in the pouring down rain.

I 110% agree with tnj8222 and 200subaru. Bass dozer has been a great place for information. Also this forum as well. I went out last night in the rain and caught 5, 2 of which being 3 lb 10 oz and the other 3 lb 14 oz. So it was good in the rain for me last night. Read, study and ask questions is my answer to you. Everyone here has been great helping me get a little better at feeding this addiction.

you guys, thanks a ton for all the feedback and resources. Just having the links and stuff I can do more research on my own time!

My gameplan... Saturday morning my brother and I are going to head to lake wa and fish the south side of the lake. probably going to start on the north east side of coulon park (shoreline) and work our way to mercer. I think we'll start in the 40' range and try to drift in as far as we dare with the boat (6-10') and see what happens. I want to try the drop shot method, but I am going to wally world tomorrow to 'tool up' with some new lures, crankbaits, and whatnot.

thanks a ton, and if you have any more advice.......... i'm all ears!

You won't find much in the way of bass gear at Wally World. 90% of their inventory is for trout. Any local shop will have a much better selection of bass gear.

Dustin, if you are going to be cranking, make sure to pick up some luhr jensen speedtraps in 1/4 oz if they have them there! Get the gaudy looking bright orange color that looks like it would scare the bejeezus out of anything close to it! Also, rattletraps are great this time of year as well, I like the lucky craft LV 100's and LV 500's, if you find them at any of the Joes you can snag them for 40% off right now, which is quite a deal, but you can still get plenty of other varietys and they will all work just as well and probably be cheaper too. I like chrome with blue back when it's sunny, and a more natural shad or chartreuse shad when it's overcast. If you are dropshotting, use a panic minnow, or any small minnow imitation. I like the Gulp Alive stuff, and use the lightest weight you can get away with. Work Coleman point just north of the launch, you can go out by the marker buoy and find a pretty radical breakline out there, but there is also a huge flat as you work your way in. You can dropshot all over that area and have a good chance to hang a nice fish. You probably can't get to the canals easily in that small of a boat, however, I recommend that you launch at Newport or at Mercer island launch and go staight across to the canals. it's usually protected in there, the water temp is usually 5-10 degrees warmer than anywhere else on the lake, and the smallies stack in there like cords of wood this time of year...same techniques apply there, but really slow down and work all of the docks, and boat shade etc. You'll have alot of company because this is the last weekend to prefish for the NWBAss tourney next Sat. Good luck to you and your brother!

Dustin07 wrote: on Lake Meridean I thought everyone said the docks... but I can't see any action there (on my part, or other fishers when I'm there).

Realize that 90% of the people fishing off the dock are fishing for trout, so don't let that get you down.
I fished in lakes that had bass all my life, and until I started throwing bass gear, I'd never even seen one.

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll hit auburn sports and marine if i have to.

David- our boat is big, a 22' lund, so I can only go inland so far right now. and it's my old man's baby so I try not to beach it...

Quadfather- thanks for the words- that's like deep lake. I keep hearing there are all these bass there but i've never seen one. I'm going to learn how to get these things then go back to my trout stompin grounds!

Dustin07 wrote:Thanks for the tips guys, I'll hit auburn sports and marine if i have to.

David- our boat is big, a 22' lund, so I can only go inland so far right now. and it's my old man's baby so I try not to beach it...

Sorry man, I misread your post and assumed you were fishing out of a small boat for some reason! A 22' Lund is an awesome boat, and it's still a baby compared to the beasts that moor in the canals, but of course they aren't fishing out of their yachts in there either! Even with a boat that big though as long as you have a trolling motor you can get in plenty close for the style of fishing I was describing! If you don't have a trolling motor, strap one of those crankbaits on and troll it on the outside edges of the docks with the big motor. also, you can fish out in front of the canals too 10-20 feet deep, that's a big staging area that a lot of fish go to right before they go in the canals.

David- the Canals- are you talking the Union Bay area?

ok we have a late night plan tonight. Can you guys recommend an ALL NIGHT boat launch where we won't get the truck locked in if we come in very late? (like 1am)?

Dustin, the canals are just south of the Eastside I-90 bridge. I am pretty sure that Coulon Park launch is open 24 hours. You can get there by taking 169 out of maple valley and then get on 405 N, then take the 900 Sunset exit, go left then right and you'll be right there.

Dustin07 wrote:I personally haven't yet 'intentionally' caught a bass and it's killing me. you don't have to give me your hotspots, but can you share some pointers?

Today it's pooring out... will that negatively affect bass fishing?

locations in the lakes? on Lake Meridean I thought everyone said the docks... but I can't see any action there (on my part, or other fishers when I'm there).

For rigs... I think I understand the drop shot now, although what are you using for bait? What else do you recommend?

if I head out to Bass Lake or Twelve Lake or Lake Washington, what do you suggest?

thanks folks-

If you go to basspro.com scroll to the bottom of the page you will see video and articles link in it covers all the different rigs and baits. As for the rest here's my 2 cents.............Learn to fish the plastic, it is ALMOST always going to produce fish. Texas rig, split shotting and drop shotting are the core. Today with colder water slower presentation would also be a key. If you have a boat and you want to hit the same lake we can buddy fish some areas and help to get you going if you want!!!!! Give me a call if you want (about anything bass.......) Troy 425-281-8438 Good Luck and I hope they bite for you!!

Troy are you in a club? I think I Need to take you up on that offer! What are some good lakes you wouldn't mind buddy fishing on?

we went out Friday night but had boat problems! Battery was dead... my fault, I should have checked before we left. Spent Sat and Sun fishing deep lake, catching just trout (although I did put in some efforts for bass).

We lured-up at the Auburn Marine shop. a guy there gave us a 30 minute rundown on bass fishing and sold us some plastics and taught us how to use them. I spent some time watching how the plastics reacted in the water, how they were hooked, etc so now I just need to find some bass to try these new skills on!

davidwat1 wrote:Dustin, the canals are just south of the Eastside I-90 bridge. I am pretty sure that Coulon Park launch is open 24 hours. You can get there by taking 169 out of maple valley and then get on 405 N, then take the 900 Sunset exit, go left then right and you'll be right there.

yeah before we headed out I had checked the coulon info on the City of Renton's website. it is indeed open 24/7 but if you buy your pass before midnight I think you need to buy a 24hr pass (only $2 more).