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Washington Lake Report
King County, WA

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02/03/2009
Bottom Fishing From Boat
Smallmouth Bass
None
Green
Plastics
All Day
02/03/2009
4
2113

My first experience winter bass fishing. Wet with Mark Maderas and BigBassDez out of Mark's boat, launching at Gene Coulon. We fished a series of underwater humps all the way up to Kirkland. I can't say the fishing was red-hot, but it was good, and the QUALITY more than made up for the action. I had a very good day catching three SMB, the largest estimated to be over 5 lb, the other two in the 3-3.5 lb class. Also caught a couple rainbows. Mark and Dez caught rainbows and each caught a species best left unnamed.

The weather conditions were great. Starting temp was a chill 32 but warmed up to around 50, light winds, sunny skies. According to my bass expert co-anglers, the sunny skies may actually have made the bass fishing tougher. In any case, it was good for me. It would have been fun if we had all caught smallies, but that's fishing. Water temp was 46 degrees. Primary method was drop shot, although we did try some "rev" angling which just caught us trout. A big thanks to Mark for taking me out on his boat, and for Dez's help with video duties and good humor. Stay tuned for the video!


Comments

kzoo
2/3/2009 8:11:00 PM
Nice fish! Can't wait for the video!
The Quadfather
2/3/2009 10:39:00 PM
Nice report.... good to hear you are out there and trying for the winter bass.
SPARKY101
2/4/2009 5:55:00 AM
Great job Mike, Dez "commentary"oh i bet thats none stop action right there...good job guys...wow water temp 46 our south end lakes only 40 41 hmmm
WCCT
2/4/2009 6:39:00 AM
Nice Job Mike, Dez and Mark! Way to stick some pigs in tough conditions. Looking forward to the video!
BassinBomber
2/4/2009 7:14:00 AM
Way 2 go Mike!

BB
Bigbass Dez
2/4/2009 8:15:00 AM
GOOD JOB MIKE ON THE NEW PERSONAL BEST , NEXT TIME I PUT A POST SAYING THE I CAN PUT ANGLERS ON THE FISH OF A LIFETIME , MAYBE NOW THEY WILL BELIEVE ME ..LOL
Edgeran
2/4/2009 10:34:00 AM
Well done boyz!!! Hey Mike, What was the species "best left unnamed"? How you gonna tease us like that?
lowvw
2/4/2009 11:42:00 AM
Fish look great. guessing the un-named fish are squawfish? How deep where you marking fish at?
bassmasterderek
2/4/2009 12:16:00 PM
Good job guys! Mike, thanks for making me jealous! BBD when do I get a guided tour of WAWA?
Oneofthesedays
2/4/2009 1:26:00 PM
What size plastice were you using? I was out on lake washington yesterday fishing Mountlake cut channel to west side of 520 bridge from 2-5pm and didn't get a single bite jigging in 15-40 water with 6 inch shad plastics, pumkin jig heads, brined shrimp, night crawlers . Any hints would be killer as I have fished lake washington about 20 times with only 1 smb hookup and getting a little frustrated. I think my boat might be cursed . . . . . . .
fishnislife
2/4/2009 5:08:00 PM
Great work Mike. You are the man. That is a quality fish anytime of year.

fishnislife
Mike Carey
2/4/2009 5:33:00 PM
wow, can't believe I didn't mention - depth 40-45 feet, size of the plastic - there's a close up of the fish posted in the Trophy Bass Thread. (Dez will kill me giving away his "cut-bait" secret wepon). Thanks guys. I'm like a proud papa, :-)

oh, type of fish, you'll have to wait for the video!
SPARKY101
2/4/2009 6:25:00 PM
Dez and secret baits hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...i wonder what it is.....hey its a nothing other than a !@#$%^$#@!$%.....
BassFanatic
2/4/2009 6:52:00 PM
Right on guys. Can't wait to see the video
marktfd88
2/4/2009 7:46:00 PM
So we had a great time out there. I kind of figured it would be tough with the blue bird skies. We didn't catch alot of smallies that day, But oh the quality we got. I wish I had a working scale, Dez and I both est the fish to be an easy 5lb smallie. In the winter it is so hard to guess though. They often weigh more than in the summer because of the bellies on them. The 2nd smallie was in the 4 to 4.25 class and the last one was a 3. Not a bad day, just tough to stay on the water with so few bites. The trout we caught kept it interesting though. They tasted good by the way Mike.
We concentrated on rocky area's I have found over the years of fishing Washington. The depths I concentrate on in the winter are 35 to 65 ft. Each place is unique and the depth is relative to the location I am fishing. Some area's consistently hold fish at 63ft, while on the same day, I can catch a fish at a different location in 35.
It was very rewarding having Mike catch a personal best fish. It was a true trophy class smallie anywhere in the country.

Mark
Powell Fishing Rods
Auburn Sports and Marine
West Coast Custom Tackle
Edgeran
2/5/2009 8:58:00 AM
Looks like the camera man was either shaking from excitement or from the frigid weather with the blurriness of that picture, haha. Its good enough to prove you caught a dandy though and that's all that matters.
ChrisB
2/5/2009 11:36:00 AM
Awesome day on the water. So who's spots were they ? :)
Mike Carey
2/5/2009 5:52:00 PM
pic quality is due to having to do a frame capture, not the best shot I know. There's a better close up on the Bass Trophy thread. ...spot, what spot?... the video may give some clues when it comes out, otherwise I'm sworn to secrecy.
marktfd88
2/6/2009 7:17:00 AM
The spots were mostly mine. Many of the "spots" are well known community holes that most people know already. I learned them by being observant on the water. Both by looking to see where other bass boats are fishing and by using my electronics. When I see a bass boat fishing an area I have never fished before, I make a mental note of it, then the next time I am out and there is NOT a boat on it, I will pick it apart with my graph and fish it to find out what is there. If I like what I find, I will fish it over the course of 3 or 4 trips to see if it actually produces. If it does great, if it doesn't no lose, just not a productive area for me. I also take time to fish NEW water everytime I go out on body of water. Places I have never fished that time of the year, or places I have never fished period. I do this to learn the lake. Also it helps from staying in a rut that may be unproductive. It is so easy to get into a routine in fishing. The "I always catch them with a drop shot in June" mentality. So if you see me out there in a place that seems unusual, or throwing crankbaits in January, now you will know why.

Mark
Powell Rods
West Coast Custom Tackle
Auburn Sports and Marine
ChrisB
2/6/2009 7:33:00 AM
Good post Mark. Good job again, and can't wait to see the video.
sturgeongenerall
2/6/2009 8:36:00 AM
Great report, L W deep winter trophy size smallmouth fishing is a uniquely local opportunity.
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Washington Guide Services

Phone: (509) 881-9052