Northwest Fishing Reports

Hi all,

I recently moved to Seattle and I would like to get into fishing here. I am not looking for big game fish; the fishing I did on the east coast was mainly for blue gill and crappie with a bobber and a worm on a hook. Very simply setup: we would hike out a few miles to the location, sit on a rocky outcropping, and fish some hours away. Fishing for me is fun and a good way to spend some time with the people in your fishing party (wife and kids). Taking the catch home and frying up some dinner is also very satisfying, so I am not looking for catch-and-release waters. I have done searches and asked professionals at shops, but it seems everyone around here talks only about salmon, and if I suggest smaller fish they point to Lake Washington ...
I was hoping someone could advise a few good areas within, say, 1.5 hours of Seattle. Ideally I would like a somewhat secluded place, not where I will be shoulder-to-shoulder with other fishermen and fisherwomen. Also somewhere clean since I would like to eat the fish, so not Lake Washington or all the various lakes close to cities. Hikes out to spots are perfectly acceptable and even preferable, since it would likely mean less traffic. As for the kind of fish I would like to catch, it actually does not matter at all; even the blandest of fish can make a nice soup. I do not have much experience with many kinds of fish, but I am more than willing to learn if I can get an enjoyable experience out of it. I would prefer shore fishing with bobber and bait (kids love seeing the bobber bob), but I have fished large mouth bass with spinners before and that was great, too.
So to summarize: I am looking for a shore-accessible location within 1.5 hrs of Seattle, fish type does not matter, hike out to the place is perfectly acceptable, does not matter if it is a river or lake, should not be (too) crowded.
I have been reading through the posts on this site and it seems many people are very knowledgeable about the waters around these parts, so I hope I can get some good advice from the community. Many thanks in advance.

#1 Log Boom Park dock(Lake Forest) and #2 Coulon Park(Renton) on Lake Washington are two good spots to bring young kids fishing and fishing in spring/summer time can be non stop bites which is very fun for the young ones. Log boom park has so many varities of fish in that spot you'll never know what you'll hook up with next--large/smallmouth bass,crappie,yellow perch,punkinseed sunfish,catfish,carp,squawfish,peamouth,bullhead(scalpin),rainbow trout,cutthroat trout,and blue gills can be caught there.

Check out the WDFW Trout plants for spring. Lots of lakes will get planted with hatchery trout. They also have a Cast for Kids, pay 5 bucks for a kid, you get a tee shirt, free pole, and the kids get to catch 2 trout from a temporary pen at either Green Lake or Lake Washington.

Sadly if youre looking for fishing this winter, Lake fishing is slow on the shores. Best bet is try Green Lake in the evenings, bottom fishing with power bait and worms. Try scouting there one of these days, there's always someone fishing there.

for further South Tacoma lake wood area American lake Bills Boat house it is a fee but from what I been told good fishing.

Also Salt water Pier I rarely left empty handed. Well I will take that back I always Left empty handed I gave all my flounder away! Dash Point Again tacoma Federal way area Also Des moines Pier fishing walmart 5.00 frozen Shrimp worked well for me also Squid Season is coming up! flood light and alot of warm beverages to keep you Toastie I personally like Jameson. it does the Trick to keep me warm!

There are so many good choices. It is late, I'll think of a list tomorrow. But of now what comes to mind is Offut lake. Pierce County I think it is. It's about hour and 15-20 min. from Seattle. The lake has some nice cutthroat and German brown trout, bass, and I'm sure some panfish. There is the "Offut lake Resort" which has a dock which your family can fish from for a simple charge. "Resort" does not equal a stuffy place. All that means is that you can eat something there and find a bathroom. They also rent row boats, and electric motored boat. I would do that, personally. It is very low key atmosphere. The proprieters are very nice people, and have a little tackle store with everything you could need. Besides simple camp spots, they also have some very cheap little cabins. I think I paid 40 bucks last time.
Otherwise.... just go to Google maps, and start fanning your way out of Seattle. Write lake names down.... and then run the names through the "Lake Index" on this website. You can read the reports, and gather info. regarding shore access, etc.

Thanks all for your replies. I have a wealth of information to go off of now. Thanks especially, Quadfather, for the tip of looking up the lakes I find on google maps in the lake index. I originally started looking on google maps but it was difficult to tell which lakes had shore access, and when I then searched for these lakes in google proper, everyone only talked about fishing from boats or float tube - there was no discussion of the kind of fishing us lowly shore-bound fisherpeople enjoy. I hope the lake index feature on this site will provide more information.

There is an excellent resource for info on lakes. The "Washington State Fishing Guide" gives a lot of good information on lakes such as driving directions, lake access, best months, etc. I have the 9th edition, which I believe is the latest. You can find it on Amazon.com for $30.00 new, and around $15.00 used.

I like to use the combination of Google maps to find different lakes, state fishing regs to confirm open seasons, and the fishing guide. Of course you also need this site to get the latest reports.