I will be moving to the Seattle area next month

I will be moving to the Seattle area sometime next month.

After spending a month researching it I have just about decided to make Lake Washington my new home lake. I will not know for sure until I am there and actually fishing it but it looks to be the best of the nearby freshwater lakes with the most marinas. I need a marina for my boat as it is just too hard for me to launch now.

While I will always chase crappie I am looking forward to catching native rainbow trout and walleye again. It's been 30 years since I fished for them when I lived in El Paso. I would go to New Mexico one weekend per month to fish for them.

I am looking for suggestions for marinas on Lake Washington as I need a slip for my 24' pontoon. It is just too hard for me to launch a boat now so I keep it in a slip.

I am also looking for some new fishing buddies that are familiar with Lake Washington and would enjoy going out with me to fish for crappie, rainbow trout, and walleye. I am also willing to fish for the other species on the lake occasionally but only occasionally. However, I do not fish for catfish and largemouth bass.

While I love to eat catfish they have this habit of "spineing" me when I take them off the hook so I try not to catch them. I don't like the taste of largemouth bass and the lack of manners of tournament bass fishermen turned me off from bass fishing years ago.

I'm looking forward to comments from those who fish Lake Washington (Washington, Not Mississippi. Youtube doesn't seem to understand the difference between the two) I am also looking forward to those who would be interested in going out with me on my pontoon from time to time once I arrive. It is rigged as a crappie fishing maching. :biggrin

Much success in your upcoming move!

Best of luck with the move. Some good folks and fishing in Texas. Hopefully you find a good group of guys there to fish with.

I agree that are plenty of good folks fishing for crappie here in Texas. I am going to miss my Texas fishing buddies for sure. The older I get the harder it gets for people to put up with me so the fact they are still my fishing buddies says a lot about them. :Rofl

I don't want to start any flame wars but after spending 30 years fishing in Texas and 20 years fishing in Louisiana, Louisiana fishing is better than Texas fishing. I'm hoping Washington fishing will be as good as Louisiana fishing. :Rofl

And if I am extremely lucky, I will find some fishing buddies in Washington who are as good a people as my Texas fishing buddies. But I admit that will be hard to do, given who my Texas fishing buddies are.

Doesn't anybody in Washington follow crappie.com? I thought I would have received some responses from people fishing for crappie in the area. I guess I will need to display crappie.com stickers on both sides of my pontoon when I move there to get them involved here.

If you live in Washington and fish for crappie please give me some hints for there. I wouldn't ask for GPS coordinates (unless you really want to give them) but info about lakes and general areas to search would be appreciated.

And I will give you GPS coordinates once I find them and will welcome you on my pontoon for occasional fishing trips with me. (HINT: These are bribes. :Rofl) But seriously, I have always been willing to give out this type of information to anybody who asks on any lake I fish. Give me a month on a lake and I will find the brush and structure on a lake if it exists.

But I don't give out information that is given to me, I only give out information that I find myself.

Always wanted to visit that area.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Originally Posted by Chuck Adams

Always wanted to visit that area.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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It is beautiful, whether you like mountains, forests or the ocean. My last visit there was in 2010. My wife and I flew up, rented a car and spend two weeks visiting the area.

We spent 4 days while there visiting Vancouver, BC, which is even more beautiful. The people of Vancouver are extremely nice, unlike the people of Quebec City.

We thoroughly enjoyed the area and would have probably moved there had any of our children lived there. But my wife wanted to be close to at least some of our grandchildren so we moved back to Dallas when i retired. While I will miss my friends here I am looking forward to living there. Just not looking forward to the process of moving, which is always a pain. :Rofl

looks like your on your own up there,:dono interesting though because I thought we had some crappie members in that area ?:dono
if they are just lurking and not responding , take it from me , you should hang around with Ez when he gets there ....
they ain't making folks as nice as him anymore for sure ....
KABOOM is the word

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

looks like your on your own up there,:dono interesting though because I thought we had some crappie members in that area ?:dono
if they are just lurking and not responding , take it from me , you should hang around with Ez when he gets there ....
they ain't making folks as nice as him anymore for sure ....
KABOOM is the word

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It appears I need to get a couple of crappie.com stickers to place on each side of my boat. Maybe that will get some of them here.

It also appears that there are not that many Washington crappie fishermen making videos for YouTube. At least I can't find them when I search for them. If I wasn't so lazy I start making them myself. But that is work so it is unlikely I will make very many, if I make any at all. :Rofl

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Originally Posted by ezgoing

It appears I need to get a couple of crappie.com stickers to place on each side of my boat. Maybe that will get some of them here.

It also appears that there are not that many Washington crappie fishermen making videos for YouTube. At least I can't find them when I search for them. If I wasn't so lazy I start making them myself. But that is work so it is unlikely I will make very many, if I make any at all. :Rofl

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Hello, Have you moved here yet? I will say that lake Washington can be really tough to find crappie there seems to be only a few places that hold them with any consistency Yellow perch is another story as the are pretty prolific in the lake. Part of the problem is the management of the fisheries they net the lake to remove a lot of the spiny rays for protecting the migrating Salmon fry .A Lot of smaller lakes in western Washington has a good population of Crappie it just that there is only a few that are educated on how to target them. Our eastern Washington has several lakes that have good population of crappie. I was a former avid Bass fisherman but always would not pass up the opportunity to catch crappie , They are so fun to catch and love the challenge to finding them.
I'm retired and just now started to pursue more panfish fishing. and feeling refreshed form not having to do the competitive bass thing.
Once you get settled in give me a shout maybe we can hook up I also have a small 14 Ft boat that we could fish some of our smaller lakes.

I'm looking forward to meeting and fishing with you. It's a different world when you can fish seven days a week. For one thing you can avoid the weekend crowds of bass boats, jet skis, wake boats, water boarders, water skiers and pleasure boats. You can also pull up to a favorite brush pile without finding three other boats already fishing it. :Rofl

I quit bass bass fishing over 50 years ago, when Bass Masters started and the ill mannered louts flooded the lakes trying to get rich from fishing for bass. Sadly when Crappie Masters started we started to see the same ill mannered behavior from crappie fishermen. Yes, I'm a cranky old man. :Rofl

I chose Lake Washington due to it being the biggest lake in the area, with the most marinas for a fresh water lake. I have a 24' pontoon with aluminum logs and deck so I don't want to keep it in salt or brackish water due to corrosion if I can help it. I am no longer physically able to trailer a boat so I need to keep it on a slip on the lake.

Does Lake Washington contain rainbow trout and walleye? I've seen videos on YouTube of people catching crappie, rainbow trout and walleye there but they are not listed on the State's fish and wildlife department as being in the lake. I'm hoping they are present since I have not been able to fish for them since 1967, when I left the military and moved from El Paso.

My pontoon has Livescope so if there are any crappie in Lake Washington I will find them. But I admit it will be much easier if I have somebody local to tell me where to start looking for them. :Rofl Plus I find fishing more fun when I have somebody to enjoy it with me.

I don't know exactly when I will arrive there as I am having some medical procedures done that might keep me here in Texas until mid-September. I will know later today after I will see my doctor. But i definitely will notify you when I know so we can plan a fishing trip or two together.

[QUOTE=ezgoing;4281714]I'm looking forward to meeting and fishing with you. It's a different world when you can fish seven days a week. For one thing you can avoid the weekend crowds of bass boats, jet skis, wake boats, water boarders, water skiers and pleasure boats. You can also pull up to a favorite brush pile without finding three other boats already fishing it. :Rofl

I quit bass bass fishing over 50 years ago, when Bass Masters started and the ill mannered louts flooded the lakes trying to get rich from fishing for bass. Sadly when Crappie Masters started we started to see the same ill mannered behavior from crappie fishermen. Yes, I'm a cranky old man.

I chose Lake Washington due to it being the biggest lake in the area, with the most marinas for a fresh water lake. I have a 24' pontoon with aluminum logs and deck so I don't want to keep it in salt or brackish water due to corrosion if I can help it. I am no longer physically able to trailer a boat so I need to keep it on a slip on the lake.

Does Lake Washington contain rainbow trout and walleye? I've seen videos on YouTube of people catching crappie, rainbow trout and walleye there but they are not listed on the State's fish and wildlife department as being in the lake. I'm hoping they are present since I have not been able to fish for them since 1967, when I left the military and moved from El Paso.

My pontoon has Livescope so if there are any crappie in Lake Washington I will find them. But I admit it will be much easier if I have somebody local to tell me where to start looking for them. :Rofl Plus I find fishing more fun when I have somebody to enjoy it with me.

I don't know exactly when I will arrive there as I am having some medical procedures done that might keep me here in Texas until mid-September. I will know later today after I will see my doctor. But i definitely will notify you when I know so we can plan a fishing trip or two together.[/QUOTE


Lake Washington does have Rainbow Trout , As far as Walleye I'm not sure as I never have caught any and the reports I've seen are from people that confuse the walleye with squaw fish or sometimes large perch. Also heard reports that some have caught Sauger and confused them as Walleye. Either way if there is any walleye or Sauger they had to have been plated illegally as they are not native to the lake. The lake does have a Salmon {COHO} migration, in the early too late Fall and can be pretty good fishing jigging and trolling for them. These fish come thru from the ocean to Puget sound thru our Ballard locks and into Lake Union .
Please look me up when you do get here as there other options and hopefully help each other to improve on our quest to catch Crappie. One thing that I must point out is there is a high level of PCB in the lake that suggest limiting the amount of fish you eat.

Lake Washington does have Rainbow Trout , As far as Walleye I'm not sure as I never have caught any and the reports I've seen are from people that confuse the walleye with squaw fish or sometimes large perch. Also heard reports that some have caught Sauger and confused them as Walleye. Either way if there is any walleye or Sauger they had to have been plated illegally as they are not native to the lake. The lake does have a Salmon {COHO} migration, in the early too late Fall and can be pretty good fishing jigging and trolling for them. These fish come thru from the ocean to Puget sound thru our Ballard locks and into Lake Union .
Please look me up when you do get here as there other options and hopefully help each other to improve on our quest to catch Crappie. One thing that I must point out is there is a high level of PCB in the lake that suggest limiting the amount of fish you eat.

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Originally Posted by Bassin Buddha

Lake Washington does have Rainbow Trout , As far as Walleye I'm not sure as I never have caught any and the reports I've seen are from people that confuse the walleye with squaw fish or sometimes large perch. Also heard reports that some have caught Sauger and confused them as Walleye. Either way if there is any walleye or Sauger they had to have been plated illegally as they are not native to the lake. The lake does have a Salmon {COHO} migration, in the early too late Fall and can be pretty good fishing jigging and trolling for them. These fish come thru from the ocean to Puget sound thru our Ballard locks and into Lake Union .
Please look me up when you do get here as there other options and hopefully help each other to improve on our quest to catch Crappie. One thing that I must point out is there is a high level of PCB in the lake that suggest limiting the amount of fish you eat.

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I definitely plan on fishing with you when I get there. At this point I still do not know the exact date I will be there. It could be as early as the end of this month, it could be as late a mid-October. I will know more next week.

Nor do I know the area we will live. My daughter is there now, looking for her new dream home. Houses are a lot smaller there than here and they are almost twice as high. My son-in-law is facing sticker shock over the prices of the houses they are looking at. :Rofl

I know the lake has crappie and rainbow trout. I have watched YouTube videos of people fishing for both. I have watched a few where they were fishing for walleye but walleye may not be plentiful on the lake. I don't find it unusual to think people have introduced walleye to the lake, as it often happens. And in this instance I hope it has happened.

I know about the mercury and PCB contamination. I have read up on both. For some reason crappie and rainbow trout are not included in the warnings but many other species are. Including cutthroat trout. I don't understand cutthroat would be include and rainbow trout not included. I also understand that yellow perch under 10" is OK, but over 10" is on a restricted diet.

I do eat crappie on a regular basis but I only keep around five fish when I do keep them. You must remember that the limit on crappie here is over 10 inch and 25 crappie per day. I personally do not keep anything under 11". So while 5 crappie is a very small portion of your limit here it is 1/2 your limit there.

I need to buy a fishing map of Lake Washington and learn it. :)

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Originally Posted by ezgoing

It appears I need to get a couple of crappie.com stickers to place on each side of my boat. Maybe that will get some of them here.

It also appears that there are not that many Washington crappie fishermen making videos for YouTube. At least I can't find them when I search for them. If I wasn't so lazy I start making them myself. But that is work so it is unlikely I will make very many, if I make any at all. :Rofl

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Send me a pm for those decals. I'll set you up.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

I now have my pontoon in a slip in Lake Washington. I'm going to Chicago for a couple of weeks but will be fishing the lake as soon as I get back. Anybody on the forum that lives in the area or is visiting the area and would like to go on a fishing trip with me, just let me know.

Good luck there, really nice area I hear. Feel free to promote Crappie.com there. PM me and I can send you a bunch of decals you can hand out if you want. The Washington forum is kinda slow so it can use all the help it can get. And for sure take pics of what you catch, be sure to show the beautiful backgrounds available.

Funny, I just seen your PM, cool. I'll get you some stuff out shortly.

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Originally Posted by Slab

Good luck there, really nice area I hear. Feel free to promote Crappie.com there. PM me and I can send you a bunch of decals you can hand out if you want. The Washington forum is kinda slow so it can use all the help it can get. And for sure take pics of what you catch, be sure to show the beautiful backgrounds available.

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I plan on taking pictures. In fact, I plan on taking underwater videos as well as the regular videos and pictures. Lake Washington is too developed to have much beautiful backgrounds, with all the houses around the lake. But western side of Washington is beautiful.

I provided a link to an underwater video that was provided last month by a you-tuber who fishes Lake Washington. I need to find that spot. :)

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Originally Posted by Slab

Funny, I just seen your PM, cool. I'll get you some stuff out shortly.

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Thank you. I will definitely put them on my boat and pass them out. I'm not seeing many people jig fish here for crappie or anything else. Most of them are long-lining for trout and salmon. I doubt I will do much of that as I find dragging a line behind my boat to be boring. But each to his own thing.

The crappie up there might mix in with the crowd of yella perch in the winter , not sure , but they often feed on tiny baitfish and they quite probably roam flats in the winter too .:dono

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Originally Posted by Slab

Send me a pm for those decals. I'll set you up.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Thank you. I received the decals and other items. I appreciate the two large decals for the boat and the package of smaller decals. I will definitely be giving the decals to those who fish with me and to those who I meet who fish for crappie. Hopefully I can get more Washing Crappie anglers posting here, giving me all their good fishing spots. :Rofl

I will take pictures of the ones I place on the boat as soon as I go to the marina again. I just returned from a long vacation in Chicago to rainy cold weather here. They are predicting rain and snow for the next week so it might be a little while before I get to the marina.

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Originally Posted by Bassin Buddha

Hello, Have you moved here yet? I will say that lake Washington can be really tough to find crappie there seems to be only a few places that hold them with any consistency Yellow perch is another story as the are pretty prolific in the lake. Part of the problem is the management of the fisheries they net the lake to remove a lot of the spiny rays for protecting the migrating Salmon fry .A Lot of smaller lakes in western Washington has a good population of Crappie it just that there is only a few that are educated on how to target them. Our eastern Washington has several lakes that have good population of crappie. I was a former avid Bass fisherman but always would not pass up the opportunity to catch crappie , They are so fun to catch and love the challenge to finding them.
I'm retired and just now started to pursue more panfish fishing. and feeling refreshed form not having to do the competitive bass thing.
Once you get settled in give me a shout maybe we can hook up I also have a small 14 Ft boat that we could fish some of our smaller lakes.

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Sent you a PM about going fishing with you.

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Originally Posted by ezgoing

Thank you. I received the decals and other items. I appreciate the two large decals for the boat and the package of smaller decals. I will definitely be giving the decals to those who fish with me and to those who I meet who fish for crappie. Hopefully I can get more Washing Crappie anglers posting here, giving me all their good fishing spots. :Rofl

I will take pictures of the ones I place on the boat as soon as I go to the marina again. I just returned from a long vacation in Chicago to rainy cold weather here. They are predicting rain and snow for the next week so it might be a little while before I get to the marina.

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What! :banghead Who on Earth goes to Chicago on Vacation, especially this time of year. j/k....I can say that, I was born and raised there. Nice place, just have to be careful :hatchet:. I always said, I was raised in the city, but I was a country boy at heart. Got out of there as soon as I was of age! Nice suburbs though, raised my family at the Wisconsin/Illinois border north of Chicago.

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Originally Posted by Slab

What! :banghead Who on Earth goes to Chicago on Vacation, especially this time of year. j/k....I can say that, I was born and raised there. Nice place, just have to be careful :hatchet:. I always said, I was raised in the city, but I was a country boy at heart. Got out of there as soon as I was of age! Nice suburbs though, raised my family at the Wisconsin/Illinois border north of Chicago.

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Somebody who has 5 grandsons, 1 granddaughter and two great-granddaughters that he has not seen in six months. And since the 2nd great granddaughter is only three months old, it was her first visit for me.

They tried to get me to move there when I moved this past September but I told them it was way too cold in the winter; and besides, I couldn't fish for crappie the year around if I moved there. At least here in Tacoma I have the mountains and I can fish the year around. I am a mountain boy at heart, even through my family left the mountains when I was 10 and moved to Arizona.

How was fishing this year? I have wanted to make a trip and fish Lake Washington for a few years now. I'm out on the coast in Aberdeen.
Don't forget to throw some crawdad traps out. Lots of nice Signal craws in there and a ton of non native craws that you can keep as many as you want and any size.
Just make sure to kill them in ice water before leaving the lake.

As for fishing there, I have read a lot about small minnow patterns, mor eon the gray and dark side for colors as well as the bright colors that everything seems to hit. Chartreuse and pink seem to always be go to colors.
If I ever make it out there, I will be using crawdad tails for sure and Gulp alive minnows for bait to find em then switch to the hardware.

If I get to plan a trip there next year, I will make sure to send ya message and maybe we can hit the water together.

I really want to hit American Lake for panfish and bass, kokanee, trout and catfish next year. Is only lake I have found that you can use chum in the area.

Til then it is salmon season and the rains just brought in the main run. Time for running and gunnin some big Coho and soon some steelhead.

I think Ez has kind of quit on ketchn fish , nobody to ketch with .....makes me super sad to even think about it ....

Hate to hear that. Hopefully he can hook up with someone though and go every now and then.

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Hate to hear that. Hopefully he can hook up with someone though and go every now and then.

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last chat made me sad a few weeks ago , said he was gunna sell the boat .....:(

Oh no!! He loves fishing. I hate to hear that.

There are lots of good places to fish in Washington state being a native of the northwest I have fished in Silverlake, which is in Washington state. Also, you could travel on over to the snake river Hills Canyon area. There are some excellent crappy fishing there plus you have the whole Columbia river to fish in for walleyes Smallmouth bass good luck on your move. I hope that you will enjoy the northwest.

Late to this, but I'm from Washington! I've fished Silver Lake too, lots of Crappie, bluegill and perch there. I'm a bank fisherman, but there are big bass in that lake too. I fish primarily for trout but enjoy warmer water fishing too.