Lake Washington Walleye, Mackinaw, or Sturgeon?

[Fisherman_max]

there could not be a breeding population of mackinaw in lake washington or people would be catching them! honestly. unless there is a huge deep hole that they are all hiding in and not coming out or eating. i am sure that the planted mackinaw in washington died of long ago. just like the walleye i am sure maybe a couple have been smuggled in but not enough to start a breeding polulation.

[zen leecher aka Bill W]

Yes, Lake Trout were stocked in Lake Washington.

So you do recall seeing an article regarding the planting of Mackinaw in Lake Washington.

I did find an article that over 30 different exotic fish were planted in Lake Washington around 1910 for the big Alaskan exposition that took place where the UW now stands.

I'd be interested in reading some of these articles...especially the topic of Macks planted in Lake Washington, cause I have a hard time believing they exist right now in the lake...they may have been planted and never survived.

Cutty, that's my thoughts too. Just because they were stocked once (or twice) doesn't mean it lead to a continued population of lakers.

One should look at old stocking data and see how many lakes WDFW tried to get grayling established in. Upper Granite is the only one fish still in it.

[Palmer]

I'm skeptical but I haven't given' up. I've got a book of the Washington lakes that states that Mackinaw have been caught out of Lake Washington but it is hard to believe that no one on this site has caught any. They normally aren't that hard to catch and their population would proliferate rapidly once established.

I have yet to catch a Laker on Loon Lake and frequently get skunked on Bead Lake. Chelan is not a guarantee either.

A question that I have is how often does the surface temperature of the lake get below 45 degrees. Otherwise a Lake Trout may stay in deep water. I do see alot of fish signals on the bottom. Many of these signals look to be fish well over 5 lbs. These may be Northern pikeminnows. I just can't get them to bite a kwikfish. Today I tried a worm for about 15 minutes at around 120' and had no luck. Last April I had something at 80' take off with a flasher and red hook combination but lost it after a minute of line singing off my reel. It may have been a large cut though.

Another thought may be that the Mackinaw didn't survive the pollution of the first half of the last century. Much of the pollutants sink to the bottom and the lake has bounced back since the 70's.

[Anonymous]

I'm skeptical but I haven't given' up. I've got a book of the Washington lakes that states that Mackinaw have been caught out of Lake Washington but it is hard to believe that no one on this site has caught any. They normally aren't that hard to catch and their population would proliferate rapidly once established.

I have yet to catch a Laker on Loon Lake and frequently get skunked on Bead Lake. Chelan is not a guarantee either.

A question that I have is how often does the surface temperature of the lake get below 45 degrees. Otherwise a Lake Trout may stay in deep water. I do see alot of fish signals on the bottom. Many of these signals look to be fish well over 5 lbs. These may be Northern pikeminnows. I just can't get them to bite a kwikfish. Today I tried a worm for about 15 minutes at around 120' and had no luck. Last April I had something at 80' take off with a flasher and red hook combination but lost it after a minute of line singing off my reel. It may have been a large cut though.

Another thought may be that the Mackinaw didn't survive the pollution of the first half of the last century. Much of the pollutants sink to the bottom and the lake has bounced back since the 70's.

Two Things:

1. The fish that zinged the line off your reel at 80' was probably not a cutthroat. They actually fight pretty pathetically, overall, unless they are of sea-run origin, or are very large. You probably hooked a silver salmon, or some other species of salmon. Cutts are very selective when it comes to bait...i.e. what they will strike.

2. The lake does drop down to 41F at times. I've been out this year (back when it snowed a lot) and it was 41.3 - 42.4F. So, this is something to take into consideration. But, most years, the lake drops to around 45F and then rapidly warms from there. By March we're talking low-mid 50's...depending on location. As another member alluded to the lake temp in the East Channel was in that 43F range...so it's still chilly out there...however where I was fishing the temp was 47F...so it's is indeed responding to our mini-heat spell.

[Palmer]

There are cutts over 10#s in Lake Washington and I've caught a few at 3 - 5#s on Lake Sammamish with the flasher red hook set up. It may have been a salmon but April is pretty early in the season.

I looked up some data on Macks and they are very susceptible to pollution so they may have died out or have not rebounded due to pollution on the bottom of the lake. Pollution may be why there are far less sightings of sturgeon on the lake as well.

[Anonymous]

There are cutts over 10#s in Lake Washington and I've caught a few at 3 - 5#s on Lake Sammamish with the flasher red hook set up. It may have been a salmon but April is pretty early in the season.

I looked up some data on Macks and they are very susceptible to pollution so they may have died out or have not rebounded due to pollution on the bottom of the lake. Pollution may be why there are far less sightings of sturgeon on the lake as well.

And the pollution are why the cutthroats' are thriving! I've seen the cutt that was 15 pounds in Lake Washington caught by a member on WL.com. I know they come big...well over 5 pounds...so you might have hooked a cutt...however, there are always salmon running, and steelhead coming in now and then...Remember...and I know cause I've caught a ton of cutthroat...they fight lazy...they just rise to the top. They don't go crazy...if you got a 10-15 pounder on though...that's a whole different ball game...so you may have had a cutt...you'll never know...ahh the joys of fishing Lake Washington!:-&

[Palmer]

Lake Tahoe had a strong fishery of native cutts that have now gone extinct and it is blamed on the introduction of Mackinaw. I read this while serfing the net this evening. So its a good thing that the Macks haven't established themselves on Lake Washington.

[iPodrodder]

A huge lake like Tahoe dominated by the Mackinaw? Scary. You'd think there'd be more food in a big lake like that.

[A9]

Lake Tahoe had a strong fishery of native cutts that have now gone extinct and it is blamed on the introduction of Mackinaw. I read this while serfing the net this evening. So its a good thing that the Macks haven't established themselves on Lake Washington.

Yes and it's also a good thing that the Walleye haven't managed to build a population. I understand these are both popular fish to catch, but I'd rather not ruin the native cutt fishery, Cedar River sockeye, the runs of silvers/kings, and the salmon that run to Lake Sammamish...

[AdsBot [Google]]

but I'd rather not ruin the native cutt fishery, Cedar River sockeye, the runs of silvers/kings, and the salmon that run to Lake Sammamish...

Absolutely agree. Disrupting this system would have devastating effects. Althou we do need to figure out a way to get these pesky sea-lions from eating our fish before they enter Lk. Washington.

[Palmer]

Here's an email from the WDFW:

Mackinaw were stocked into the lake but we have no verification if they ever reproduced. We have heard rumors of Mackinaw being caught in Lake Washington, but none after 1980. Considering the extensive sampling conducted in the lake for the past 30+ years and no recorded observations, it is unlikely that there are Mackinaw in the lake at this time.


Sincerely,
Region 4 Customer Service

[Palmer]

Does anyone bottom fish the lake?

South of 520 at about 120' - 150', I've seen lots of sign but nothing bites. Next time I may drop a worm down and see what happens. I get curious as to what's in the lake.

While salmon fishing I've had marks at 60' - 100' and after passing through it my line just takes off and snaps. The odd thing was there wasn't much fight. It was as if I snagged something and I wasn't near the bottom. Has anyone had this happen? Perhaps there are fallen logs sticking up 30' - 40' off the bottom from the days of the timber industry on the lake. I remember a lot of logs moving through the lake back in the 70's.

[CaptainJack]

Lake Tahoe had a strong fishery of native cutts that have now gone extinct and it is blamed on the introduction of Mackinaw. I read this while serfing the net this evening. So its a good thing that the Macks haven't established themselves on Lake Washington.

The same thing is happening in Lake Chelan. They are now planting cutts and taking the limit off mackinaw to try and save them.