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Washington Lake Report
King County, WA

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03/27/2009
Trolling
Cutthroat Trout
Other
Orange
Flasher
Afternoon
03/27/2009
3
1110

Hit the lake this afternoon with my father to see if anything had changed since my last adventure. The surface temps were even lower, 45 degrees, but the action has heated up. We started on the South end of Mercer Island with my father trolling a flasher and spoon setup and I had out a cut plug herring rig. Both rigs were fished 15' to 20' down but the flasher rig had boated 2 cutts, 17" and 19" in short order which prompted me to switch out my herring for a similar setup. I ended up bringing in a 16" cutt and a 12" rainbow, both of which were released before we called it a day. We marked a good deal of fish 30' to 50' deep but all of the action came near the surface. The fish didn't look nearly as thin as those I had previously caught, so I guess they are in their post spawn feed mode. We saw two other boats fishing one of which was a basser, I guess all the rest are entered in the tournament. I wish you all the best of luck and hope like heck that the weather holds, it's supposed to be pretty nasty on Saturday.


Comments

mav186
3/28/2009 3:33:00 PM
Encouraging...thanks for the report.
SECRET SQUIRREL
3/28/2009 8:31:00 PM
Hi, this fishery is new to me and I am trying to learn it, I was out on the same day on the North end of the lake with a small cut plug hearing on a down rigger, not even a nibble, if you don't mind could you tell me what kind of flasher and spoon are you using, and any other tips you could share. Thanks Greg
G-Man
3/28/2009 10:47:00 PM
If you are going to use herring, I'd suggest using the cut plug method outlined on the Salmon University website. You can run the herring by itself rather effectively or you can use a dodger for some added attraction. Do not use a flasher with herring as the action of the flasher will tear up your bait and you'll be trolling bare hooks in short order. I like to use a small Abe and Al flasher and put a mini hoochie, small spoon or mini Apex type lure behind it. Trolling speed should be just fast enough to make the flasher rotate. If the flasher will not rotate with the lure you are using you'll need to "tune" it. This involves increasing the angle of a bend or two to help it turn over. Tweek the flasher and check it next to the boat, repeat until you get the desired result. Wash your gear with Lemon Joy before you use it and apply scent liberally to your lure and flasher/dodger. Lastly, I use 8lb fluorocarbon leader when I'm using a downrigger. The lighter leaders work well if you are using leadcore or snap weights but I've had too many fish break 6lb and 4lb leaders on the initial takedown.
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Fast Action Guide Service

Phone: (425) 753-5772