August 13, 2015
Fishing Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Rating: 6
Weather Conditions: Sunny with clear skies
Bait: Drop Shot with Poor Boy’s Baits Green Pumpkin Drop Shot Darter and Quick Drop 1/4 ounce weight; Strike King 3/8 Ounce Gizzard Rocket Shad Spinnerbait
Rod: Megabass Orochi XX Drop Shot Rod; Abu Garcia Medium Veritas 2.0 Winch Crankbait Rod
Reel: Shimano Sustain; Shimano Curado I
Line: 7-pound Sunline Super Sniper FC; 12-pound Yo-Zuri Hybrid
Total Bass Caught: 3
Final Weigh in Weight: 3.40 pounds
After a successful last outing, I thought that I had the smallmouth pattern nailed, so I decided to get back out onto the water and try to catch some more quality bass. I had recently bought a new mini-spinnerbait specifically for Lake Sammamish, so I began the day by throwing it around the lilies in the State Park. I worked it by casting it to the edge of the lilies, letting it sink to the bottom, and then burning it back to the boat. It didn’t take long for me to get a bite and on my seventh cast I was able to hook into a largemouth bass. Unfortunately, it jumped just before the boat and shook the hook. However, I wasn’t too mad about this loss, as I would estimate it to be a dink 0.5 pounder. After that, I spent a few more minutes fishing the lilies and then headed over to the second point on the right hand side to fish the drop offs. I worked them just as I had done a few days before and cast my drop shot rig to the bottom of them and bounced it back to the boat. This technique didn’t take long to attract the attention of the bass and on my third cast, I was able to hook into a nice 1.28 pound smallmouth. Shortly after this, I landed two rainbow trout in a matter of minutes. One measured 16 inches and the other measured 18 inches. This is the second time in a row that I have landed monster rainbows, so I am starting to think that there is an abundance of them in the lake. I then continued to work my way down the right side and fished all of the drop offs that came up on my fish finder. On the second drop off that we came to, I cast my drop shot rig into deep water and as soon as it touched the bottom, I felt my line get heavy. I set the hook and landed a decent smallmouth bass. This one weighed in at 1.12 pounds. I then cast back to the same spot to test my luck and was able to hook into another bass. This one put up a good fight and ended up shaking the hook before I could get it into the boat. After that, things went quiet and I wasn’t able to get any more bites, so I decided to go back to my trusty v-shaped dock. I worked the dock for about 10 minutes, but as has been the case as of late, I came up empty handed. After this disappointment, I decided to head in, but just as I started the motor, I spotted a steep drop off a few docks down. I cast my drop shot over to it and twitched it a few times. Once I stopped twitching, I felt something hammer my worm, so I set the hook and landed a 1 pound smallmouth. I decided to end on a positive note and headed in after this.
Observations: The water temperature ranged from 76-79 degrees, which shows that the water has been getting progressively warmer. This has pushed the bass deeper and I was catching them in 30-40 feet of water, which is a lot deeper than I would expect them to be. The bass also seem to be more active during the evening hours than the morning hours. The pattern of working the steep drop offs seems to be working and I have been able to consistently catch bass on it, which is great. I am still waiting for a 2+ pounder, but I have no doubt that it is just a matter of time before I come onto one.