Lake Washington Cutthroat

S

Spike

New member
Anyone with knowlage on the subject please chime in, but hoping Chromer will answer up. Have you heard of or tried cut plug herring for Lake Washington cuts? Just heard about it myself and has piqued my interest. What kind of set up do you use, and with what results? any other secrets you might be willing to share? Thanks for any and all info.
Chuck
Bootleg Hooch
 
I've never trolled cut plug herring for cutthroats in Lake Washington. However, I have caught many cutts trolling with spoons. My favorite fishing area for cutts is on the north side of the 520 bridge at the east end. Start about 1/3 of the way from the eastern end of the bridge and troll along the bridge (YOU MUST STAY THE LEGAL 100 yd's AWAY FROM THE BRIDGE). Troll until things start to shallow up and turn north. Troll along the ledge (60-90' deep) going North for 1/2 mile or so and turn around and do it again. The cutts can be anywhere from 30' down to 90' down. I've typically found them about 40-60' down. For spoons, I've used coyote killers or even the cheapo steelhead specials from Fred Meyers. I've had some good days there. 17"-24" cutts are not that unusual.
 
Don't know if this works on Lake Washington, but on Lake Sammamish, you could predict the bite based upon the weather in the spring. In January - end of March the third day of warm sunny weather would produce a hatch and you troll the center of the lake where it narrows and the north end off the ledge and Cuts were a sure thing with flat fish or pop gear.
 
Thank You for the info. Rodger - what colors and patterns of spoons worked for you. And were you using any attracters such as pop gear? Steve- I have not seen anyone that can predict the weather for the next 3 hours correct much less the next 3 days.
Chuck
 
Chuck, the point is that as you live the second warm day you should be getting the boat ready to launch since the third day produces this hatch.
Ask any of the old timers who fish the lake or go to the boat ramp and see the rush of activity on that third day.
 
Spike":15y8yzvo said:
Thank You for the info. Rodger - what colors and patterns of spoons worked for you. And were you using any attracters such as pop gear? Steve- I have not seen anyone that can predict the weather for the next 3 hours correct much less the next 3 days.
Chuck
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'
I didn't use flashers or pop gear then but that was because I didn't know about either then (this was 5-7 years ago and earlier - I haven't fished for cutts since I got into salmon fishing in the sound and elsewhere). As for colors, orange and orange/brass seemed to work quite well. If I was to go out for them today, I'd start out with a plain orange steelhead special on one rod and maybe a brass/orange spoon on the other. I'd probably also try a small silver dodger in front of the spoons.
 
Hey All Thanks again for the info Steve- I was just trying to make a cutsy referance to the weird weather and overpaid weatherpeople we have in this state. I have heard about warming trends and fishing. Rodger- I have a bunch of spoons to try out plus wedding rings with minnows. But this thing about using cut plug herring really sounds intresting. The same set up as for salmon but at a smaller scale. Orange label herring , 000 dodgers on an 8lb test leader. Lloyd- Pop gear is a string of small metal blades tied just above lure to attract fish. They come in different leagths and sizes. Dont much like useing them, but they do work.
 
Pop gear is widely used in Utah lakes (and other mountain lakes) for those chasing just about any kind of trout. I've heard that if you have downriggers you can attach the pop gear to the downrigger ball and avoid having to reel in the pop gear but I don't know how you would keep them from getting tangled up.

Warren
 
Hooch,

I expect the seas to part, as I divulge all my CT knowledge. :rainbow The internet is the poor trouts worst enemy.

Actually, a friend of mine named Harris, has been on the boat and has recently switched to the herring thing. He has recorded no takedowns on it YET. He has been doing brining as per salmonuniversity. It does look good though, with a tight spin. I expect this to all work just fine as spring progresses. Harris also "mans the rails" as boats with more senior captains pass to port.

As you will note from many a pic, my favorite thing is the 3" brass body, red hed, luhr jensen needlefish. This is my searching pattern, and works year around IF you can find feeding CT.

It is my observation that May and October are the best months for the lake. Other times of year can test your resolve. So, the best is yet to come this spring. As the lake fills with sockeye/king/coho fry and water temps reach trout optimum, if you find ambush points....look out. The CT, like other trout, seek cover with an accessible food supply. Like Bum said, litoral zones gives them a place where they can go deep (cover) or rise higher to attack prey. IMHO, the 520 area is ground zero in late spring, since guess where all the fry are going. I better stop there.

I have taken nice fish from the surface down to 40'. That spoon on the surface at first light can stop the clock.

A few years back, I did a deep dive into fly fishing. I learned a bit about the small things. It all applies to this gear stuff, more than I ever knew.

You might get a kick out of these zekes on youtube, fishing the lake for CT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00gCQLYN4A

I just watched that video again, I dont approve of their fish handling..Chevy the Dog is an innocent
 
Heres a nice cutt that was caught a few years ago. I wish it was me that hooked it. I dont know the guy but this was my screen saver for a while when we fished the lake a lot.
bigcutt.thumb.jpg

If you fish this 60 foot line with a downrigger and some pop gear trailing a worm you can do very well. Cliff and I have limited on 4 to 6 lbers here.
 
lloyds":26bfelb6 said:
Does the lake open for fishing with the general trout season?
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No it's seasons are set in the regs separately. They are (for the period from May 1, 2008-April 30th, 2009):
_____Cut and paste from the regs____________________
WASHINGTON, LAKE (King Co.)
including that portion of Sammamish
River from 68th Ave. NE Bridge
downstream
In all waters of Lake Washington, KOKANEE/SOCKEYE less than 15" in length are KOKANEE while those 15" and over are SOCKEYE SALMON.
CLOSED to fishing from a floating device within 100 yards on either side of floating bridges.

ALL SPECIES - chumming permitted.
TROUT - Mar. 1-June 30 Min. size 12". Daily limit 5. Release all STEELHEAD and RAINBOW TROUT over 20".
TROUT- July 1-Nov. 30 Statewide min. size/daily limit.
TROUT - Dec. 1-Feb. 28 No. min. size. Daily limit 5. Release all STEELHEAD and RAINBOW TROUT over 20".
Other Game Fish Year-round Statewide min. size/daily limit.
north of the Hwy. 520 Bridge and east of the Montlake Bridge only (762)
SALMON - Sept. 16-Oct. 31 Min. size 12". Daily limit 4 COHO only.
 
Not sure if you've been out on the lake much before, but be careful. Perhaps the fishermen know what they're doing, but many (most?) people on the lake have no clue. Basic seamanship seems to be rarely practiced. Honestly, I'm surprised there aren't more accidents. Even though I live on Mercer Island, I rarely go out on the lake. Too crowded with clueless people...
 
Thank you for the info Chromer, gonna give it a shot this weekend. Warren I dont see why it would not work hooking pop gear to the rigger ball. I hook my flasher/dodger to the ball while trolling herring or spoons for salmon. Have got good results. Dont hook into more fish, but not less either. Lots more fun with a light fast action steelhead rod not fighting the flasher with the fish. Wont work troling a hoochie though. Hey Tom what do you figure that fish went for in your picture? What a HOG
Chuck
 
Well it really works We tied into a nice 4lb cut on a cut plug herring sunday. Orange lable herring brined in salt and powdered milk on 8lb test leader 75-80 feet behind downrigger release 45ft down. gonna spend some time learning that lake. There are monsters to be caught.
Chuck
Bootleg Hooch
 
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