Cedar River Regulations - How Close Can You Fish To the River From The Lake

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Sam I think you can help me here, but anyone that knows please let me know.

HOW CLOSE CAN YOU GET TO THE CEDAR RIVER WHEN TROLLING FOR TROUT OR FISHING ANY SPECIES?

I read somewhere once that you have to stay a good amount off shore from the river meeting the lake, I should know this but I don't...is it in the rules phamplet? Thanks guys and gals!

[A9]

Should be in rules pamphlet. Mouth of Cedar..hmm....I think the rules are different for sockeye then they are for trout. Check the pamphlet. I'll bet it says something about that in there under Lake Washington.

[A9]

I checked the rule book and didn't see anything. Weird...

[Shad_Eating_Grin]

The open areas of the Cedar River are defined as "from mouth to Cedar Falls" on page 40 of the regs.

So, Lake Washington is the body of water outside of "the mouth".

With that in mind, the regs on page 25 define a mouth as:

"Unless otherwise defi ned, the mouth of a
stream, river, or slough is a line projected
between the outermost uplands at the
mouth. Outermost uplands are those lands
not covered by water during ordinary high
water"

Good luck deciphering that... In all my years of fishing, I've never been able to figure out that definition, especially for rivers where the "outermost uplands" are tough to identify precisely.

BTW WA 220-56-105 provides specific mouth boundaries for certain rivers. If a river is not listed in this WAC section (like the Cedar), then the default definition of the "mouth" is that quoted above.

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The open areas of the Cedar River are defined as "from mouth to Cedar Falls" on page 40 of the regs.

So, Lake Washington is the body of water outside of "the mouth".

With that in mind, the regs on page 25 define a mouth as:

"Unless otherwise defi ned, the mouth of a
stream, river, or slough is a line projected
between the outermost uplands at the
mouth. Outermost uplands are those lands
not covered by water during ordinary high
water"

Good luck deciphering that... In all my years of fishing, I've never been able to figure out that definition, especially for rivers where the "outermost uplands" are tough to identify precisely.

BTW WA 220-56-105 provides specific mouth boundaries for certain rivers. If a river is not listed in this WAC section (like the Cedar), then the default definition of the "mouth" is that quoted above.

Wow! That's what I thought...very complicated and strange that there is not a better explanation in the rules phamplet considering the Tacoma News Tribute keep mentioning that cutthroat are off the mouth of the Cedar River suspended 20' down in 80' of water. I was there a month ago and couldn't get anything to bite. Has anyone had luck right outside the mouth?

[racfish]

I havent fished that area since the Steelhead run was destroyed by the Sealions.We used to go to the inside area of the mouth and plunk for steelies.We'd catch trout galore.Theres a road in behind Boeing to access this park.Great parking and fishing was really good back when.Now I thought the Cedar was total C&R.

[produce2troutcat]

You can fish up to the end of the runway where the cedar dumps in. It is only during sockeye season do they regulate the distance off the mouth.There is a lot of squawfish in the lower part of the river and mouth.Pay very good attention to the water depth there if you troll. You can easily get stuck on the underwater sandbars,hit tree stumps... the channels change after we have high water conditions.Look for the dropoff ledges,thats where the fish hang out waiting for the fry to come downstream and into the lake.

[The Quadfather]

Cutthroat killa, You got me to thinking about something. It always appears so shallow on my f.f. when I approach this area. ( Like 3' and less) Obviously that's expected with the silt etc. that comes down river, but I am asking have you gone through this area pretty heavily in your boat? And is it pretty safe without hitting one's prop? or are there any downed trees and such?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Cutthroat killa, You got me to thinking about something. It always appears so shallow on my f.f. when I approach this area. ( Like 3' and less) Obviously that's expected with the silt etc. that comes down river, but I am asking have you gone through this area pretty heavily in your boat? And is it pretty safe without hitting one's prop? or are there any downed trees and such?

Thanks

I have fished it a couple times and like the person above mentioned you have to be very weary of sand bars, sudden changes in depth, reebar, concrete slabs, sticks, tree trunks, etc. I have never trolled up to the 3' of water line you are talking about. I do remember trolling along and about 100 yards off the mouth trolling in a west to east fashion and having the bottom go from 65 to 25 real quick...like within 15 yeards trolling distance. I made the mistake once of running and gunnng out of the Kenmore launch and cut it too close on the port side (golf course side of the channel) and drilled my 50HP Yami's shaft right into the sand and mud -- no major damage...just tore the paint and nailed the prop pretty bad, so I would emphasize that post above ours that warns of potential hazards if trolling too close to the mouth of the Cedar. I recall fishing this about 3 weeks ago and there were so many fish I was marking in 30' of water but I couldn't get one to bite...someone mentioned that these were suckers/squawfish...this makes major sense. Trust me, if they were cutthroat trout I would have hooked em, so whatever I was marking were not trout. When April and May roll around trolling herring (orange label) in 10' feet of water off the Cedar's mouth is supposedly one of the most thrilling fishing experiences on Lake Washington. I have never done it. There are downed trees there right now cause I saw them, and after our major flood Dec.4-5th of last year, lots of silt came into the lake...this constantly changes the bottom's depth around the river mouth, and increases the likihood of hooking and snagging twigs and sticks on the bottom as we fish for trout. I would also like to think that Crappie and Perch stage here too, to feast on the small sockeye smolt that manage to make in into Lake Washington.

I would re-emphasize working the ledges and drop off bars here as this would be the most productive way to fish...as the cutthroat lay just off the back sides of these bars. Also, my boat right now floats in as little at 12 inches of water so I'm not worried of trolling onto something I couldn't get off...however I would warn anyone with a nice boat/motor to exercise EXTREME CAUTION around the mouth of the CEDAR RIVER.