Green Lake (Seattle)

[racfish]

Does anyone know if you can take cartoppers or pontoon boats to Green Lake and fish from a boat. 2nd Can you just launch it where you can park and walk it down?

[BentRod]

I don't see why not. They rent paddle boats on the lake, so why not bring your own?

rac, look at the link below. Under the "park features" column, you'll see that there is a boat launch for hand carry boats.

Green Lake Park

[racfish]

Very nice... Thanks BR.

[wolverine]

I've used my toon there a few times fishing with friends from Seattle who get nose bleeds anytime they get out of town at a higher elevation than sea level :joker:
It gets planted and does get fished a lot. I wouldn't eat anything out of there as the local regulars that do look mighty strange.

[racfish]

Thanks Wolverine. I was wondering about just how edible they were.Maybe need to rethink lakes. I havent fished Greenlake since I rowed for the Green Lake Rowing club. That was in the 70's. Hmmm I was just thinking about Campbell Lakes. We fished there in My WWSC days.Nice lake with an aray of fish.

[ingi]

I agree I would not eat anything out of greenlake but I did read a sign today that said"rainbow trout-eat it, its good for you" than a disclaimer about only eat carp once a month.

[The Quadfather]

Racfish, I LOVE greenlake. It is one of my local lakes. As far as car toppers go, yes, of course you can put a car topper in. Don't know the size of your boat, or if you will have a buddy with you to get it the short distance to the water, or maybe it has those portable wheels on it. If you park on the S. West corner where the old Aqua Theater from the 1950's is, you can park about 40' from the water and hand launch there. If you go to the N. East corner where the boat rental area is, there is parking right there, short distance to the water. BOTH of these places will be full on parking unless you get there at fisherman's hours. The official "Hand launch" site is along the Eastern edge, just near the basketball courts. Not very identifiable, but lots of open grass area to launch. Parking is on the street and you'd have to hoof the boat about 800'.

This is an excellent king county lake. The triploids are fat and not hard to find. German browns from planter size up to a couple pounds. I am pretty sure that it was stocked early this year, because last weekend to forum anglers were tying into planter fish pretty easily. Forget the planters, go for the triploids and browns. It is best fished in my experience when it is a little warmer. April-June. in the evening there will be fish surfacing everywhere.
Unfortunately it is HEAVILY populated with crew rowers. These people have been known to buzz at least me anyway, pretty close. If you go, watch out for long lines of buoys that cross the entire lake for these rowing people. There is an entirely NO motor restriction to include, no electric motors. Only the city parks dept. can have there motor on the crew lead boat.

That being said... real nice triploids. I've eaten a couple, they are planters also, so maybe not that long in the lake. I'm still alive.

[David Z.]

If you check the WDFG planter reports they put 6000 in Green Lake this week. As far as eating they are not in the lake that long and I have had them and fried with butter and garlic they are great.

[kzoo]

I use to live by there and fish there with a canoe. Green lake has a ton of trout, and we're not talking about those little hatcheries. The place has lots of holdovers and decent amount of browns. You can car top anywhere, I use to have a dolly for my canoe and launch north end of the lake near the tennis courts. There's a parking lot there that doesn't get used as much as the others.

We had luck with wedding rings tipped with worms just trolling more at the north end and west end of the lake. If you strictly after holdovers, they seem to bite more in the evening.

PS, only requirement they have for the lake is no motors, including the electric ones. It's retarded, the crew team gets to run around with their outboards and they don't care about any one on the lake. I guess that's why the lake has so many trout there, besides the bank fisherman, the place is really underfished. The trout especially the holdovers will eventually be out of casting distance from the bankees.

Good luck, I miss fishing there at times.

As far as being edible. WDFW doesn't issue any health warnings like they do at Lake Washington and they plant the place like crazy. I use to eat them, but I wouldn't eat them every day, just once in a while.

[natetreat]

I'll second or third that the fishing is good. Starting now and throughout this month the fishing will get better and better. I hand launch my big inflatable there from the southwest side of the lake, but there are boat launches spaced all around the lake for hand carry launching, and if you can carry it from wherever you find to park to the lake you're set. I have an inflatable on account of I don't have anywhere to store a big boat, but this lake it ten times more productive with a boat. There is a nice ledge/drop off about ten yards further than casting distance from the west shorline, and another nice hole just south of duck island. The deepest part is off of the dock on the north east side of the lake, where I speculate that the holdovers winter at, but I've only made it out once this year to see. As the water warms up they will cruise the shoreline and they plant the fish by the bleachers in the southwest, so fresh plants generally hold around here just outside the lily pads. Later on as it warms up and the fish move around more, the fish follow the wind. I go out to the middle and troll pop gear with a dick nite and let the wind blow me and do pretty well. When they have the ropes out and the judging dock for the rowers, you may find that you can't troll well, so a 50/50 chrome and blue kastmaster will do the trick every time. I had trips where I got 15 fish in an hour from this. They'd blow right past and you can watch them rise as the wind changes, they'll come back again. Also some lunker largemouth and carp in the lake to pass the time. Last summer when the wife wouldn't let me drive for springers I fished this lake every night. There must be come crawfish in there or other crustaceans, because the holdovers I brought in had pink meat, and was pretty good. The trips are hatchery white as are the fresh plants, but hold overs are delicious, mild and totally good fish. I have no problem eating them. When the first stock it, it's knock out, because they put about 20,000 fish in every year.

[Gonefishing]

I do C&R there. Usually its fish that get caught and released but other times its the rowers :D

[urbanangler]

I too fish Green Lake a fair amount, but usually from the bank. I have fished it twice using my car-topped fold-out portabote boat. It is a heavily stocked lake. I have eaten several and survived, but usually C&R. I launched my boat near the bleachers where you can park pretty close. I had plenty of room to assemble my boat there too. I caught fish both times using the boat.

The downside is the no motors rule. But if you pick a time with low wind, and are ready to row or fin, you probably will have a blast. The shell rowing race lane cables holding the bouys are a hazzard too, along with the boats themselves. They run the cables the full length of the lake. I have tangled up my gear on those cables. Have not been "buzzed" by shell rowers yet, but I bet that will happen someday. And when you bank fish in warm weather, those boats and many other recreational boaters, sometimes come too close shore, blocking your casting or running over your line or bobber.

Many people there seem to not too aware that Green Lake is fished, or even has fish living in it, from the questions you get from the joggers/strollers/skaters/cyclists cruising the path around the lake. It's always a joy to enlighten passers by to the fishing opportunities there, when they have to know what the heck you are doing.

[Gonefishing]

I STILL think its stupid that you can't use any motors period on the lake. But the rowing group can run a gas powered, line cutting, wake making thing whenever they seem to want.

Seemed to be a lot of people fishing the East side near one of the docks Friday. Would have joined them for an hour if my wife didn't have me running errands while she was at her appointment. My favorite year at Green Lake was the year they planted those 2 pound or over trips.... that was fun.

[racfish]

Well darnit It rained way too hard to entice me to the lake. I just wanted it a wee bit dryer to fish. Hopefully this week one evening or the weekend. Sat and sundays rain squalls were really bad. I got soaked in Auburn.