Northwest Fishing Reports

Going crappie fishing tomorrow and I cannot wait. I will be fishing some backwater sloughs and some inlets on the Columbia. Will be looking for some weed beds. Water is still a little cold, but I did see some panfish under a fallen tree the other day and right at dusk saw a lot of perch and bluegill moving around the weeds. Crappie should be showing up soon!! Hopefully, tomorrow is the day.

So, what happened?

I've caught about 5 dozen so far, but nothing of any real size. They are waking up though!

I ended up catching one. The perch were really active and caught two really nice smallmouth. By 5 oclock, the wind was howling as it usually does on the Columbia. They weren't really active though. I have caught some nice ones this week right about dusk. They are starting to get close!!

Any luck in fishing in the northern Hayden Lake bays? Is the water level still rising?

Can I ask you guys,at what temp. do crappie become active and "fishable?"
I have a lake here on the Westside that would be a little cooler than your Yakima lakes. I have never fished crappie, but they are in this lake. Just curious. Any tips/tricks for early season black crappie?

Finally figured out how to download pics from my phone. Caught these Saturday. QF, water temp is 57 F and they seem to be really active and aggresive. Trick seems to be jerking the bait violently. I am using 1/32 jig head and purple and white seems to be the favorite right now. I am dying to try the mustard crappie recipe that Willie Robertson recommends. I love mustard and I love crappie so it must be good!!

Here is Friday's bounty

I wish there was a decent crappie lake on the west side, I'm so jealous!

Mordalphus: Silver Lake in Cowlitz Co is a wonderful crappie fishery, as well as bluegill. There are also several small lakes around Renton that have them, mostly private. If you want a good general source check this out: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/county.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Just click the county(s) and species you want.
Quad: We catch them all year, even through the ice, but now till the end of May is the best season. Just caught 100+ yesterday again. Once you locate a school or pattern, you're set for numbers. If you find small ones, try similar structure or depth, or just a touch (Like3-6") deeper. Once you hit perch on a regular basis though, go shallower.

Haha, it would actually be quicker for me to hit up the east side of the mountains than go down to silver lake, but I get what you're saying, they're around.

I'm just tired of waiting for the water to warm up. I've been trying in some spots that usually have some panfish by now and keep getting skunked. Hopefully when the other lakes open next weekend I can try a few more spots.

Otherwise I'm gonna have to head out east!

I've been getting impatient for some good westside crappie / panfish action too, not much happening yet at my usual local honey holes. Gonna head out right now to a shallow pond near my place here in Everett and see what's shakin' , but my guess is that those 70 degree temps the weatherman is talking about for mid-week will really turn on the switch for warm water fish on the westside. Think positive, right ?

I'm at that point where I am cooking up store bought Dover sole and pretending they are crappie fillets !

Bustin: Ouch!!!

Oh man bustin, I didn't even see the forecast til now, looks like my favorite local lake is going to be primo for opening day! Couple days in the upper 60s and then a day or two of 70s should do nicely to wake up the crappie at cottage lake and hopefully move some perch into the shallows of a few other lakes. Dang, now I've gotta decide between clamming and surf perching or combat fishing on opening day, hahaha, that's an easy one, the crappie will still be there the next week but razor clams gonna close up soon it sounds like.

Been a while. That south end still good on Cottage?

Well we will see in about a week ;) I've got my little pontoon boat now, which is way easier to haul into the lake. Gonna see just how well the lake is holding up!

I shore fished a local peat bog near my home in Everett for a couple of hours this evening, hoping to get a peck from an early season crappie or pumpkinseed. Working a worm tipped jig-n-float rig around the just-emerging lily pads produced nothing , and although visibility was good, I saw not one fish. I switched up to a small Rapala floater and cast it SLOW in the sun warmed shallows, where eventually a decent sized Largemouth decided to take a whack at it. I had my hands full for a minute , on my 4# ultralight crappie rod , trying to steer that bass around all the snags and weeds. He finally gave a mighty leap and spit that tiny Rapala out on the way down. It was pretty fun stuff , but I was really hoping for a slab crappie or two. Good news is, if the bass are waking up, the crappies , sunfish, and perch will be showing up soon as well.

Tomorrow it's kokanee at Stevens, and we'll probably spend an hour or two slow-draggin' carolina rigs and jigs for Smallies, too. Looks like perfect weather is on tap , should be a great day on the water (fingers crossed).

How'd you do BB? I am going out to my crappie hole tomorrow after work. I have about a two hour window before dark, so I always feel a little rushed, but if they are in there still, I should get 'em!

What is your setup for crappie, crappiemaster?

Two weeks ago, I was using a 1/64 oz jig with a microjig and some chartreuse crappie nuggets and they were ok with that. This last week, since they are more aggressive, I am using 1/32 oz jig with mini jigs. I am using a smaller bobber and a split shot right underneath the bobber to keep it straight up and down. It gets the jig vertical quicker and when you are jerkin', the jig doesn't "float" out of the strike zone. I have the jig 18-24 inches under the bobber. The lake I fish is pretty deep, but in the evening that depth seems to be where they are striking. What works for me is to work the weed beds jerk,jerk, jerk, drag it a little, reel slack and do it again. Keep the bait moving slowly. At least that works for me. Panfisher and some of the others may have other techniques and set ups and they are pretty successful. 1" Gulp minnow are also one of my staples as well in fact, last week they seemed to be liking those a little better.

Nice, where on the Columbia do you fish? Paterson area or Tri-Cities area? I've never tried for panfish on the Columbia in the sloughs, just for bass and catfish.