Lake Samish

[lowe1648mt]

Fished Lake Samish yesterday. I got there late(8:30) and had the boat in by 9:00, When I got there there were 6/7 riggs in the lot. No inspection.Every one was leaving as I got there. There were fish hitting the surface, and it was easy to find schools no matter which way I pointed the boat. Most were down 30-60 ft. started getting take downs almost from the ramp. I fished from 9:00 until 1:00. fish were caught from the surface to 30 ft. Most were caught on a pink splatter dodger with a pink or pink and silver wedding ring. Bait was pink maggots or pink corn. scent was Mikes Herring or Kokanee DNA.
I lost more fish at the boat that I kept. Three 11" to take home, 5 or 6 lost at the boat, 3 or 4 long distance releases,several drive bys, and 3 squaw fish.
The wind was calm at times and 15 MPH at others. About 1/2 the time it rained hard, and the other 1/2 the time it was a light drizzle. Water temp was around 58 to 6o on the surface .

[lowe1648mt]

I fished Lake Samish this /morning. I no sooner get my 1st pole in the water and My second pole on the down rigger than both get hit. 10 min. into the day and still at the launch ramp and I get my fist 2 fish of the day. Put those poles in the water again and don't have to wait long. one LDR , one Squaw fish, and one
lost at the boat. two more lost at the boat and then I get double #2. I looking for fish # 5 I lost another LDR and one at the side of the boat. Fish # 5 came to the net. All were 11" to 11 1/2 " long. Only 1 fish was top water. All the rest came on the riggers. Depth was 27' to 40' . I fished with Pink splatter dodgers and wedding rings. The rings were 1- all pink w/ chrome blade. 2- pink and silver w/ chrome blade. Bait was pink maggots spiced w/ Mikes Anise glow.
Speed 1.2 Time on the water 1.5 hours. Took longer to drive both ways.

[downriggeral]

Nice job 1648 enjoy those yummy fish! AH

[kokanee_slayer]

Congrats Chris, Nice Work!!!!

[lowe1648mt]

Already eat half of them ( smoked) .

[lowe1648mt]

Already eat half of them ( smoked) . Need to catch some more. I have a new project. It's a 1985 pickup camper. It is now gutted and ready for electrical repairs, new cushions, canvas repairs , and paint. Did I forget to mention the fiberglass cracks and leaks? Want it done by mid June. Lucky me.
now I have to do double duty to get back to Samish.
Chris

[downriggeral]

Hi Chris - Smoked Kokanees are awesome! Planning to make the first trip to Loon lake for kokanee this weekend. The good part is it's only 45 minutes to the ramp from home on paved back country roads. I have a 1990 Northland pickup camper I totally rebuilt a few years ago....love it. Home away from home while fishing; warm, dry and comfortable, sure beats a tent. Even has a potty with shower, all the comforts of home.
Tight lines,
Alan

[lowe1648mt]

I made it to Lake Samish this morning. I fished from 7:00 to 8:30 and had my limit. Water temp was 60*. Winds were 0 to 3 mph. Thee were 7 rigs in the lot when I arrived. There were 3 when I left.
Catching- I used same setup as the last two trips. A pink splatter dodger, a pink and chrome wedding ring with a chrome blade and a pink maggot. scent same as last, Anise.
I fished from top to bottom. The two smallest fish came on the surface. They were 9 and 10" long Both had my hook in their eye. Had to keep them. Then I went to down riggers. One was at 60 foot, and the other was at 20 foot. Caught a 13" at the 60 foot level and 11 1/2" at the 20 level. the last fish was caught at the 30 or 40' depth. It was 11" or so.

[lowe1648mt]

I also drove to Lake Whatcom right after leaving Samish. Lake Samish is going to have an inspection team on Saturday morning. Maybe they will be there in the afternoon. There is no sign at the Samish ramp as of 8:30 AM today. If you go to Samish, be prepared to pay for your Inspection. I was told by the inspectors that boats under 16' and under 10 hp do not need to be inspected on Samish. I did not get it in writing.

[lowe1648mt]

'Friday, today I fished Samish again. There were 6 rigs in the lot when I arrived. I got to the ramp at 6:30 AM. There was little to no wind. 2/3ds of the lake was covered by fog. Lake temp. on surface was 59*. Fish were jumping every where I could see( fog). I caught my fist fish of the day on the surface using a pink and silver wedding ring and a pink splatter dodger and pink maggots.
As the fog dissipated,the surface bite stopped. I might note that there was also dead calm at the same time. I was marking fish at all depths. The down riggers were put to use. I moved them several times and changed scents, dodgers, and wedding rings . I had some success with a bloody marry wedding ring, and a green ghost spinner. It took me 5 hours to get my 5 fish limit. Not that they were not biting, I could not keep them on the hook. I got hook ups all day. I lost 2 or 3 fish for every one I put in the boat.
The fish were from 9 1/2" to 13 1/2". I was also the last off the lake.

[downriggeral]

Hi Chris - Thanks for the report. We fished Loon last Saturday and found Dick Nite spoons in #270 holo pink worked great. The other thing we found is that the hook up and land ratio with the #2 (1 3/8") that has a single #4 siwash hook was far superior to the smaller #1 (1") spoon with a smaller #6 siwash hook. I think the bigger hooks work better for me overall. - Alan

PS No dodger was needed either and I think that helps the land rate too. By the way I swing them into the boat, nice smooth swing, without using the net on the 10/11" little guys. Some fell off into the motor well where they were captured....slippery little devils!!

[downriggeral]

Hi Chris - Thanks for the report. We fished Loon last Saturday and found Dick Nite spoons in #270 holo pink worked great. The other thing we found is that the hook up and land ratio with the #2 (1 3/8") that has a single #4 siwash hook was far superior to the smaller #1 (1") spoon with a smaller #6 siwash hook. I think the bigger hooks work better for me overall. - Alan

PS No dodger was needed either and I think that helps the land rate too. By the way I swing them into the boat, nice smooth swing, without using the net on the 10/11" little guys. Some fell off into the motor well where they were captured....slippery little devils!!

[lowe1648mt]

Hi Alan,
I only used the net a couple of times. As I was fishing alone, it seemed the way to go.One that I lost when I did not get enough lift on the rod and slapped the side of the boat. That comes from having three different types of rods in the boat. One is a medium lite bait caster. one is a medium lite spinning rod. And the third is a 8 1/2' okuma spinning rod. They are different length also. With a 2 pole endorsement I have to use what I've got. 2 in the water and 1 ready to go.
Chris

[downriggeral]

Howdy Chris,
No Kokes today fished Rock lake for Browns and bowes. Caught limits for the four of us with the biggest brown around 4# and the biggest bow about three. Had a blast and definitely used the net! Beautiful red meat fish.
Smacking those kokes on the side of the boat will sure make them fall off...no doubt about it!! Doubles are a real fire drill by yourself...yahooooo
Alan

[lowe1648mt]

Sounds like good fishing. Also good catching.

[downriggeral]

We took my fishing buddys son in-law and 6 year old grandson. We let the grandson catch most of them...he had a blast!! Hooked on fishing forever

[Kokanee Katcher]

I also drove to Lake Whatcom right after leaving Samish. Lake Samish is going to have an inspection team on Saturday morning. Maybe they will be there in the afternoon. There is no sign at the Samish ramp as of 8:30 AM today. If you go to Samish, be prepared to pay for your Inspection. I was told by the inspectors that boats under 16' and under 10 hp do not need to be inspected on Samish. I did not get it in writing.

The only boats that have to go through the inspection are boats that require registration; over 10 HP or 16' or longer. Confirmed this with the county inspection administration.

[lowe1648mt]

I fished Samish today. Launched at 11:30 AM. It rained the first3 1/2 hours I was on the lake. Also did not catch any fish in those 3 1/2 hours. Finally got it dialed in and schools located at about 4:00 PM. Caught 5 fish in about 1/2 hour Sling blades in red and Bloody Mary spinner, also sling blade in multi color uv with green ghost spinner. ( both spinners were from Wannafishlures) Bait was corn dyed with Pazatski's florescent pink and flavored with Anise Glow. Kokanee were from 11" to 13 1/2'.

[AquaKing]

Nice sizes! Finally made all those hours count! Good thing you didn't throw in the wet towel!

[lowe1648mt]

I'm either too stubborn or too stupid to get out of the rain.

[Mharri333]

This is my first post on this forum. It has been killing me to be a lurker... So I thought I would post about my last couple fishing trips.

I fish Lake Samish often and usually have one other person with me. The past two weekends we have been able to limit each day on the water. The weekend before that we caught fewer fish but they were larger. (the biggest being 18 inches) Memorial day weekend was wet but the fishing was solid. We generally start at 5 am and have had our limits by 8 to 10 am in the morning. Sometimes we stick a little longer trying to pick up a bigger fish but depends on what the plan is for the rest of the day.

Two weeks ago we were stacking downriggers at 15 and 30 feet. On the other side of the boat we offset by 5 feet either way to keep from tangling in the turns and a have better lure spread. Memorial day weekend we were a little deeper. I would say that we were from about 20 feet to 55 feet. The largest coming from the 50's. For the most part, the best producers were red wedding rings and red/green combo wedding rings. They are usually behind a 50/50 or a hammered chrome dodger. If things get slow I will sometimes throw on a pink hoochie (which has not been that great yet this year) or an orange assassin behind an orange dodger. The orange rigs have netted the biggest fish this year and the assassin killed them at Chelan three weeks ago. As far as bait offerings, I am pretty consistent. I like to use a gulp maggot on one hook and a piece of corn on the other. The best scent has been Mike's Krill. I just bought Krill/Anis and had equal results.

We have lost several fish like everyone else but have managed to make up for them. Last year we found that the mouths got a little tougher later in the year and we lost fewer fish.

I have learned a lot about catching kokes over the past 2-3 years. It is always a challenge but always a lot of fun. I appreciate the posts as they have given me lots of ideas and things to try. If you have any questions let me know. I am also interested to hear if anyone ever does well at Lake Whatcom. I have not fished it yet this year.

Good luck, be safe!

[lowe1648mt]

It's a big lake and deep. I haven't fished it this year, but the fish are harder to find than on Samish. They also are smaller. I always launch on the South end and fish from the bible camps island to the trestles on the opposite side of the lake. They are where you find them?

[Smalma]

Whatcom has a huge hatchery program located at the SE (upper) end of the lake. That hatchery has been active for more than a century and is the source of most of the kokanee populations in country. The annual release back to Whatcom is typically in the 5 million range. The typical egg take there is in the 8 to 10 million eggs (out of returning run of 50,000 to 100,00/year) with those not needed to for the Whatcom program going to other lakes in the State. As Lowe1648mt mentioned the Whatcom fish are smallish though relatively old (the spawners are mostly 4 to 6 years old; average about 5 years).

Like kokanee populations in larger lakes the Whatcom kokanee use different parts of the lake seasonal. Whatcom is comprised of 3 basins separated by shallow sills. The north basin (at Bellingham) is smallest and shallowest of the three. The combination of it being near the outlet and shallower it tends to warms up earlier than the rest of the lake. As a result much of the kokanee population early in the season ends up in that basin. About this time of year those schools of begin moving up lake. This time of year I would suggest start at the north end of the lake and move south as needed as the fish work their towards the hatchery with the area off South Bay and the hatchery the focus of the fishing during the late season.

Curt

[lowe1648mt]

Thank you curt. always good info from you.

[Mharri333]

Thanks for the info. I have fished Whatcom but only ended up with smaller fish. (glad it wasn't just me) I enjoy fishing the lake but don't like to hassle with the recreational boats at the ramp. I prefer to fish at Samish. Better class of fisherman and bigger fish. Last fall we pulled some really nice koke out of Samish. I am sure I will be there (Samish) this weekend early again. I am in a white Lund. If you see me out there say hi. I am always interested to see how others are doing and what they are catching them on. I certainly don't mind sharing info if I happen to be in the fish.

New electronics this year have helped out immensely.