Northwest Fishing Reports

Hello all, I was looking for some help. i'm not sure if this is the place to post, but here it is.

I'm very new to the area just moving from Florida to Seattle. I am looking to get into some weekend fishing up here.

I dont' have a boat, but I do have a car, heh.

In Florida I did alot of bass fishing, which is okay but when you've fished bass for 15 years you want to try new things! I also did some ocean fishing as well.

What/where would you all recommend up here for someone new to the area? Somewhere easy to get to, but somewhat remote? Id love to checkout some of this beautiful scenergy up here.

I have no tackle as of right now but that will change once I figure out what type of fishing i'm going to plan on doing. If anyone can chime in that'd be great. I'd love to try trout fishing, or even saltwater fishing at a marina or something? River fishing... if you can do that from standing on the side, would also be cool. I'm basically lost...

I know I want to fish this weekend, but I dont know where to start since there are so many options.

thanks in advance!

Ron

ah, the options abound. You're in Seattle and no boat. You may consider Green lake for trout if you don't want to drive much.

Further drives - consider Blackman's in Snohomish (new video just posted) which has plenty of fishing pier and shore access. Pine or Beaver in King, less access, more crowds, but it would give you a chnace to meet other trout anglers and see what shore guys use (mainly powerbait).

Lake Washington - lots of shore access along the west side of the lake around Seward park and north. Great relaxation there...

Tons of options...Why'd ya move?
I'll post a bunch more when I have time..I'm off to work right now and can't spend any time, but I will help you out later...

Well you moved here at the perfect time. The last saturday in april all the trout lakes opened up so most of them are still full of fish. On may 1st puget sound opened for ling cod. And on the first of june the rivers will open up. If I were you I would get the combonation licence. It cost 40 some $, you get fresh, salt, and shellfish and if you were to part it out it would cost 60 some $. For trout get a couple of jars of powerbait and a couple jars of powereggs I would recomend orange, green, rainbow, yellow, pink colors. Any more questions feel free to ask me, this is a very, very , very, brief summary and I would be more than happy to help you

Welcome to the northwest! You'll find the fishing community generally easy going and upstanding. You also found the right spot to post your questions. Please keep coming back!

I'd point you to some spots, but I'm a big lake person (Lake Washington, Sammamish, Stevens, Banks, Potholes, Roosevelt). There are tons of folks on here who have better ideas of where to bank fish.

Welcome!

Hey RonTee

I think the Washington Atlas & Gazetteer is a great tool for the washington sportsman. You will be able to find lakes and streams in your area with ease. Then you can come here and go thru the reports of the lakes you want to fish and get all the info you need. Here is a link to a copy on amazon but its sold every where.

http://www.amazon.com/Washington-Atlas- ... 016&sr=8-2

I think the greatest potential return per unit effort and expenditure for the boatless ones in this state are river fishing for steelhead and salmon (lots of smaller rivers with good opportunity near Seattle), saltwater pier and jetty fishing (Wesport, Illwaco, and various fishing piers around puget sound and then the very unique case of Hoodsport), and the many selective and fly fishing only trout fisheries accessible to those with float tubes that can be de-gassed, folded, and popped in the trunk of the car.

RonTee, glad here man. I too just moved (back) here after a 6 year stint in Cali. If you decide to pick up bass fishing I recommend reading Bruce's Bassin' Essential. On page 6 he has an article he wrote called Washington Bass verses Geogia Bass. This has helped me tremendously to make the adjustment to Northern Strain bass as apposed to what we are use to in the Florida Stain.=p~ Most of my tackle has been put away because it's either to colorful or to big. All my swimbaits have been retired until my next visit to the southern states.
Good luck man, tightlines.


fishnislife

Well, RonTee, I totally understand your situation. Here is a list of steps that I took to becoming a better fisherman in the Pacific NW

1. Get a copy of the Regs- this will answer a ton of questions, "Areas not listed are open year round and follow the state wide general reg"
a. What species of fish are here?
b. Where are they located, types of systems?
c. What are the rules so Johny Law don't bust you for something you don't know
d. What are the seasons I can target these fish?

2. I took a map and starting looking for lakes, rivers and other systems to fish and took a drive checking out the access.. When I did this, I found some the lakes had public launches but lots of private property right on the water, So I decided I needed to find a cheap way to get better access, I invested in a boat.

3. Look at Craig's list for things you need you can find rods, reels, waders, boats, pontoon boats, and float tubes, and just about anything you can imagine. You can find some pretty good deals there, and invest in the gear and buy the good stuff when you get a better idea what you are doing.


4. Look on the Internet for forums and types of gear that people are using to catch fish and what type of fish... Pick one and give it a try.

5. A good place to get gear is is GI Joes, Sportmans Warehouse, Fred Myer, and other places..Look for what is almost out of stock or out of stock..That is a good idea of what people are buying.. Pay attention to colors and sizes.


6. I have made a journal what where I have fished, what gear I used, temps, weather, what worked, what didn't, how long I was out what the previous reports where if there were any..

Finally just get out there talk to people and make friends "remember these are fisherman, they may or may not tell the WHOLE Truth"...That iss when Binoculars come in handy to sneak a peek what those who are catching fish are using...Try to make everyday your line is wet a learning experience. My personal recommendation is start with Trout.. They are pretty easy to catch and they are everywhere in this state..Good Luck
"FISH ON"