Hit Lake Sammamish and had a great time catching around 12 to 15 quality smallmouth. The lake got pretty windy in the afternoon plus the waves from all the water skiers, but the morning bite was great.
Ben joined me in the afternoon and, although it was much slower than the morning and early afternoon, we still managed to catch a few more fish. The big fish of the day was a smallmouth of around four pounds and the average fish was probably two pounds. I was primarily fishing dock pillars in around 10 to 15 feet of water with a 6-weight and a type IV full-sinking line . I did loose about three fish that broke off in the docks… one of them was a solid three to four pounds and another I never did see but it felt like a big-un!
Most the flies we used were olive leech or sculpin-type patterns. The hot fly for the day was the Sheila’s Sculpin , which has become one of our favorite bass patterns. It has all the right colors for a baby bass,yellow perch or a bluegill and it has a nice, slow fall that the bass can’t seem to resist.
If you need a close to home fishing fix, think about Sammamish for its healthy smallmouth population. It is very doable in a pontoon boat too. You would be restricted to the south end of the lake, but there is good looking water all around the lake.