Spring fishing questions

Reading through the regs it's hard to find a river that's fishable by kayak AND not closed this time of year...holy mole. At this point I don't care if it's from the bank and not kayakable.

I'm looking at the Snoqualmie this weekend and it looks open through Sunday south of Plum boat launch only (for trout and steelhead?), but wow, is there some map of places that are open in Feb-May in western WA? I almost went somewhere closed (skykomish) before triple checking and have definitely fished there during closed season in the past not knowing.  But the Wallace river is open? And they split the rivers into a bunch of sections with different rules holy crap.

Last weekend I went to Edmonds and paddled around with no success and am undecided this weekend if I should try a river or go back to zone 9. What do you guys do this time of year? Which of those options would you do this weekend?

Sounds like you need a good attorney to fish there.

I'm trying to be a better person.

This time of year we mostly drink, rehash the same conversations we had last February and fiddle with our gear till bottom fish open or we decide we want to be skunked for springers or OP steelhead.

I suggest you spend some solid time finding your favorite IPA.

I keep waiting for someone to restart the "show me your halibut hole" conversation... I have never laughed so hard in my entirely life... i cried. 

It's not much better in Oregon right now. The ocean is a washing machine and steelhead are about the hardest fish to catch.

I thought the steelhead were biting. This was earlier this week in nasty conditions and the guy was nailing em:


Should I be embarrassed if I prefer Ranier to IPA craft beer? I prefer herb.

Seattle area fishing is really tough right now. The good news is that lakes up off the I-90 pass are ice free and fishing well. These lakes are about 1 to 1.5 hours from downtown Seattle. These conditions don't happen very often in February. The pic is a German Brown I pulled out of Lake Cle Elum a couple days ago. Kokes are there for the taking to if you find the schools.

If you want Steel head west to the coast rivers, they should be falling into shape this weekend after that last deluge. I'm sure the banks for the Sky will be packed this weekend with Steelhead bankies as well. Another option is head to eastern WA for lakes, the trout and walleye fishing are well worth the drive.

Brad (aka Ballardbrad on this site) and I post up-to-date Washington fishing report on Facebook - Kayak Fishing Washington.

Thx Yaktrap. That's a huge brown.

I'm in Cashmere/Wenatchee semi regularly for 2-3 days at a time with the in-laws, so will have to check out that Lake Cle Elum next time I'm driving by. Looks like there are a ton of lakes over there and off Hwy 2 which I sometimes take over. I do love walleye though hmm.

I got my plan together. In the morning I'm going to Edmonds for a few hours. Then noonish going to Lake Cle Elum for afternoon fishing, spending night in Wenatchee, then Potholes Reservoir Sunday. Maybe take Monday off and hit something on the way back...

I'll go read up on Potholes now. Good luck this weekend to anyone fishin

Seattle area fishing is really tough right now. The good news is that lakes up off the I-90 pass are ice free and fishing well. These lakes are about 1 to 1.5 hours from downtown Seattle. These conditions don't happen very often in February. The pic is a German Brown I pulled out of Lake Cle Elum a couple days ago. Kokes are there for the taking to if you find the schools.

If you want Steel head west to the coast rivers, they should be falling into shape this weekend after that last deluge. I'm sure the banks for the Sky will be packed this weekend with Steelhead bankies as well. Another option is head to eastern WA for lakes, the trout and walleye fishing are well worth the drive.

Brad (aka Ballardbrad on this site) and I post up-to-date Washington fishing report on Facebook - Kayak Fishing Washington.

I went to Potholes yesterday and there were 100 boats all piled up on each other in the NE corner. It was glassy and sunny, caught some big yellow perch 12-14" long and a nice walleye. The boat next to us caught a 26" walleye and was the most excited person I've ever seen. lol said it was the second one he's ever caught and was telling EVERYONE.

Went to Edmonds on Saturday, unloaded the gear and kayak and then it sank in.......no paddles...ugh, loaded it all up and drove home and was determined to go back so burned up most of the day and didn't get to fish on the way over the passes. I caught some flounder in Edmonds, if they're kinda transparent (see guts if hold up to light) and really soft are they sand dabs? They were 14"-15" and plentiful...I had herring and smelt I brined overnight in pro cure, the smelt were 4.5" long with their heads cut off, looked like cut plugs, so I was using them when catching the flounder. Bought them at the asian grocery store for $3 for a gallon sized bag.

Just came back over the pass today and stopped at Lake Cle Elum but the Mrs didn't want to unload the kayak so I cast from shore but it was way too shallow so threw the ball for the dogs and left.

Gotta find ways to get the Mrs into it for longer, she's game for 4 hours but then becomes grumpasourus rex. I need to get wheels for the yak so I can take it myself. Thanks for the referals, I'll definitely go back to both lakes.

You didn't miss much on coastal steelies. Slim pickings for most of us, but Brad managed a couple with an guide on the Queets. Those rivers need rain, and not all in one day.

The Potholes are getting pounded. I hit it at the end of January and had 5 or 6 PBs out with me. Hit it about a week ago and there was nearly 50 PBs out. Sounds even worse now.

If your kayak fishing Lake Cle Elum launch on the east side past the WDFW ramp at the road side pull offs. Then head across the lake to where the bigger valleys dump in. The shore is much steeper there, with points and coves and some streams dumping in. It's a long haul (+/- 3 mi) to get there from the launch by the dam. But the Kokes can be found near the dam so it's not a total waste of time to launch there, just makes for a long day if you hit both areas.

As Yaktrap mentioned, I got out and fished the Salmon River (tributary of the Queets) with an Indian "walk in guide".  Paid $125 ea to fish all day.  River was low and clear but I managed to pull a couple of fish out of there .  It just involved me hiking up river 3 miles. We found out before we left that only one other fish had been caught that day - so I felt pretty lucky. 

I'd recommend you try Lake Sammamish.  Paddle out to the weather buoy and look for seagulls.  There's a midge hatch going on now and a lot of cutthroat trout are up top feeding.  They run 1 to 3lbs but fun to catch.

Seattle area fishing is really tough right now. The good news is that lakes up off the I-90 pass are ice free and fishing well. These lakes are about 1 to 1.5 hours from downtown Seattle. These conditions don't happen very often in February. The pic is a German Brown I pulled out of Lake Cle Elum a couple days ago. Kokes are there for the taking to if you find the schools.

If you want Steel head west to the coast rivers, they should be falling into shape this weekend after that last deluge. I'm sure the banks for the Sky will be packed this weekend with Steelhead bankies as well. Another option is head to eastern WA for lakes, the trout and walleye fishing are well worth the drive.

Brad (aka Ballardbrad on this site) and I post up-to-date Washington fishing report on Facebook - Kayak Fishing Washington.

I went to Potholes yesterday and there were 100 boats all piled up on each other in the NE corner. It was glassy and sunny, caught some big yellow perch 12-14" long and a nice walleye. The boat next to us caught a 26" walleye and was the most excited person I've ever seen. lol said it was the second one he's ever caught and was telling EVERYONE.

Went to Edmonds on Saturday, unloaded the gear and kayak and then it sank in.......no paddles...ugh, loaded it all up and drove home and was determined to go back so burned up most of the day and didn't get to fish on the way over the passes. I caught some flounder in Edmonds, if they're kinda transparent (see guts if hold up to light) and really soft are they sand dabs? They were 14"-15" and plentiful...I had herring and smelt I brined overnight in pro cure, the smelt were 4.5" long with their heads cut off, looked like cut plugs, so I was using them when catching the flounder. Bought them at the asian grocery store for $3 for a gallon sized bag.

Just came back over the pass today and stopped at Lake Cle Elum but the Mrs didn't want to unload the kayak so I cast from shore but it was way too shallow so threw the ball for the dogs and left.

Gotta find ways to get the Mrs into it for longer, she's game for 4 hours but then becomes grumpasourus rex. I need to get wheels for the yak so I can take it myself. Thanks for the referals, I'll definitely go back to both lakes.

Thanks for the report! Potholes has been on my list for a long time but I just never want to drive that far (I'm in Portland). Looking forward to hearing more reports from up there.

A kayak cart will make your life much easier and will pay for itself quickly. As for getting the Mrs. fishing - well, I don't know what to tell you. They either like kayak fishing or they don't

Reading through the regs it's hard to find a river that's fishable by kayak AND not closed this time of year...holy mole. At this point I don't care if it's from the bank and not kayakable.

I'm looking at the Snoqualmie this weekend and it looks open through Sunday south of Plum boat launch only (for trout and steelhead?), but wow, is there some map of places that are open in Feb-May in western WA? I almost went somewhere closed (skykomish) before triple checking and have definitely fished there during closed season in the past not knowing.  But the Wallace river is open? And they split the rivers into a bunch of sections with different rules holy crap.

Last weekend I went to Edmonds and paddled around with no success and am undecided this weekend if I should try a river or go back to zone 9. What do you guys do this time of year? Which of those options would you do this weekend?

I definitely relate!  I grew up here, but lived on the east coast (Florida) for 16 years moved back in 2009 and was simply shocked at the regulation progressions.  I wanted to fish for sprinters and steelhead on the snake.  I was trying to remember all the dams and location to figure out what was open when.  I have mostly decided to stick to fisheries that are open year round, then I just have to know my limits and species....sheesh!