I've never fished Samish Lake

[Jim in Anacortes]

I've seen this lake from HWY 5 many times, and it is within driving distance for me to fish (from either my float tube or kayak), but I've never fished it. Apparently there are two places with public access, and apparently there are Cutthroat trout and Bass (both Largemouth and Smallmouth). I like that. This is a much bigger lake than I am used to, and that might be why I have not fished it. However...I plan on ripping some lips there after this winter.....Any input would be most appreciated.

 

[Pink Nighty]

Me either Jim, but it's long been on my list so I'll follow this thread. You get to heading out there, drop me a PM and I'll bring the fatwood!

 

[Tim L]

I used to fish kokanee there in the 90's, we caught fish but nothing huge. If I were trying it out, the boat launch/little park area where the big section meets the small section is ideal. I'd take the small section and the immediate part of the big section and call that my search area. As an aside, the WWU boathouse for the crew team is at the far end of the little section (if nothing has changed). They do their training and, if I remember, some racing on Samish. Should also be bathemetric info online to give you an idea of the terrain. Hopefully that's a start, Jim.

Will also mention, there's a number of other lakes of all kinds in that vicinity. Some have standard boat launch access while others are hike-in at various sizes/distance/elevation. Plenty of worthwhile, lightly fished opportunities that will remain that way, knowing everyone's tendencies...FWIW

Have fun!

 

[Bambooflyguy]

I fished it years ago with Michael from Pacific Fly Fishers and it has a Hex hatch! Or at least it did…..big lake!

 

[Josh]

I have only fished it a couple times on the north end from my kayak. I know that there are many bass and some number of kokanee in there, but I have yet to find any (though to be fair, I haven't tried very hard). I would assume there are cutties as well, either resident or maybe even sea run. Friday creek is the outflow of Samish and flows into the Samish river. It's been a while since I poked around on Friday, but I don't remember any barriers to fish passage. Still, wouldn't surprise me if there were.

Bass dudes find fish there, that I'm sure of. The local bass club has at least one tournament there every year. Here's a YouTube video of some guys hitting pads/docks in nicer weather for smallies.

Shore access is very limited. Most of the lake is private homes. There is a nice little park at the north end where you can launch a kayak, though it's a bit steep getting to the water, and there's a dock you could cast off of I suspect. The county has a boat launch which is pretty basic (no dock) located more in the middle of the lake (west shore). Be aware that if you launch there, you have to have an AIS inspection sticker for anything larger than an inflatable.

 

[Josh]

As an aside, the WWU boathouse for the crew team is at the far end of the little section (if nothing has changed).

WWU used to have a boathouse on Samish on the Camp Lutherwood property back in the day. But I'm fairly sure that the current boathouse is at Lakewood on Lk Whatcom. I believe there are still rowing events on Samish though. That said, I also have no knowledge of WWU rowing other than seeing them around training. So I could be wrong. Maybe they have multiple boathouses.

 

[M_D]

I fished this some for trout 'back in the day' but never did great and lost interest in it after a while. That said, I have thought about trying it again but haven't gotten around to it because, like Josh noted, the lake is almost completely surrounded by private homes and I'm reluctant to fish in people's back yards. But that's just me.

Back in the day, I'd fish the feeder creeks along the northeast side outa my tube and do 'okay'. Over all, I preferred the smaller area west of the bridge. Back then, this had waaay fewer homes on it and it was more the experience I was after. You can access this via the small parking area Josh mentioned OR , as I did at times, toss my tube in my Lund, motor over there from the launch, beach the boat somewhere, jump in my tube and kick around.

It's pretty deep in that area....like 170' or sumpin like that....but I recall having fun fishing the north shoreline under the trees.

I've also putted around using some Lake Troller/down riggers I have....should you do this beware there was or still is a cable or a Loch Ness like monster that will grab your down rigger balls. It lives about 100 yards or so east of the bridge along the north shore.


And make sure to get the boat inspection, if it applies to you....I've heard the ticket for not having one is pricey


Have fun

 

[Stonedfish]

I fished this some for trout 'back in the day' but never did great and lost interest in it after a while. That said, I have thought about trying it again but haven't gotten around to it because, like Josh noted, the lake is almost completely surrounded by private homes and I'm reluctant to fish in people's back yards. But that's just me.

Back in the day, I'd fish the feeder creeks along the northeast side outa my tube and do 'okay'. Over all, I preferred the smaller area west of the bridge. Back then, this had waaay fewer homes on it and it was more the experience I was after. You can access this via the small parking area Josh mentioned OR , as I did at times, toss my tube in my Lund, motor over there from the launch, beach the boat somewhere, jump in my tube and kick around.

It's pretty deep in that area....like 170' or sumpin like that....but I recall having fun fishing the north shoreline under the trees.

I've also putted around using some Lake Troller/down riggers I have....should you do this beware there was or still is a cable or a Loch Ness like monster that will grab your down rigger balls. It lives about 100 yards or so east of the bridge along the north shore.


And make sure to get the boat inspection, if it applies to you....I've heard the ticket for not having one is pricey


Have fun

It always interesting to fish lakes with lots of homes on them.
I’ve had a couple of occasions where homeowners have come out of their homes and told me I couldn’t fish around their docks while I was fishing out of my float tube.
SF

 

[Josh]

It always interesting to fish lakes with lots of homes on them.
I’ve had a couple of occasions where homeowners have come out of their homes and told me I couldn’t fish around their docks while I was fishing out of my float tube.
SF

I generally think these people are assholes. But I also have seen far too many crappy casts hit people's docked boats and loud ass jerks racing around making wakes where they should be quiet and slow. So I'd probably be pretty pissed too after a few years of that.

 

[Stonedfish]

I generally think these people are assholes. But I also have seen far too many crappy casts hit people's docked boats and loud ass jerks racing around making wakes where they should be quiet and slow. So I'd probably be pretty pissed too after a few years of that.

I understand that part and the homeowners concern, but the few times it’s happened to me the “you can’t fish here” message delivery was less then courteous.
One gal in particular was just downright nasty and had a total meltdown. This was before being a “Karen” became a thing.
SF

 

[Divad]

Funny bit about that, bass fisherman have caused around $7k in damage at my grandpas cabin. First time was hooking the foot valve on one of the intakes with a soft plastic jig head, blocking intake and causing the pump to need repair.

Second time was pulling the entire waterline up when anchored requiring a new line installed and bracings replaced.

Another bass guy broke the plastics on the neighbors seadoo handles with a poor cast to his dock. Bass fisherman suck, doing it with a fly likely wouldn’t cause any of these issues aside from the anchor bit.

 

[Wanative]

I have experience on Samish going back to the 70's. My grandmother lived on the lake and fished it regularly. She did well on cutthroat and kokanee.
I fished for cutthroat back then and did well using Gang trolls and wedding rings with a nightcrawler.

In the earlier 2000's say 2006 or so
I started fishing Kokanee there and did very well using 6" dodgers wedding rings with 10" leaders tipped with shoepeg corn. The kokanee were beautiful averaging 14" with many 15-16 inchers and 17-18 inchers were occasionally brought to the net.




The catch below was in 2018. The kokanee are noticeably smaller these days than they use to be. I've not pursued kokanee for probably 3 years and then if you got a 12 incher that was a big one. Something changed in the lake hampering the growth rate.

Bass fishing is good on Samish.
The fish congregate around the docks particularly those with a rock/gravel substrate for smallmouth and in scattered boulders away from docks in shallow water during prespawn and spawning. I've not flyfished at Samish for bass but have caught them on typical smallmouth gear.
Recently I know of Largemouth caught on buzzbaits there. Friends fish in the middle of winter 50' deep for smallmouths using football head jigs with yamamoto double tail creature baits.
A nice double on smallies.

 

[Wanative]

Funny bit about that, bass fisherman have caused around $7k in damage at my grandpas cabin. First time was hooking the foot valve on one of the intakes with a soft plastic jig head, blocking intake and causing the pump to need repair.

Second time was pulling the entire waterline up when anchored requiring a new line installed and bracings replaced.

Another bass guy broke the plastics on the neighbors seadoo handles with a poor cast to his dock. Bass fisherman suck, doing it with a fly likely wouldn’t cause any of these issues aside from the anchor bit.

Some bass fishermen suck just as some flyfishermen and gear fishermen suck.
Mostly a small percentage of everyone sucks.

 

[Bambooflyguy]

When I don’t catch any fish….the fish suck!!

 

[Divad]

Some bass fishermen suck just as some flyfishermen and gear fishermen suck.
Mostly a small percentage of everyone sucks.

For sure, it was mostly a bit of venting from spending a couple weekends diving to replace the braces and line.

Also a reminder to think from the homeowners perspective as this probably happens way more than people think. Glitter fisherman will watch a tv show and go out thinking they’re the next bass-master when instead they’re just an ass-caster.

 

[Bambooflyguy]

80 lb braid will pull your dock out to sea whereas my 2-4 lb tippets will say bye bye fly…..

 

[Smalma]

Whatcom County requires that any boats and those boating on the Samish pass their aquatic weed course and inspections. Check for Whatcom County for details. Can be a pain.

The others pretty much cover the fishing.

Curt

 

[Wanative]

Whatcom County requires that any boats and those boating on the Samish pass their aquatic weed course and inspections. Check for Whatcom County for details. Can be a pain.

The others pretty much cover the fishing.

Curt

A.I.S aquatic invasive species stickers are only required on Lake Samish and Lake Whatcom in Whatcom county.
To acquire one passing a simple online test and a boat inspection is required.
Cost is around $60.00.
$50.00 withh successful A.I.S. test
completion.
Cost is exorbitant IMO.

Whatcom Boat Inspections - The Whatcom Boat Inspection Program aims to protect Whatcom County's natural resources, infrastructure, recreation, wildlife, and economy from the impacts of aquatic invasive species by preventing the introduction and sprea

Do Your Part We need your help to protect Whatcom County waters. Together, we can stop the spread of aquatic invasive species and protect our environment, our drinking water supply, and our way of life. Prepare your watercraft for inspection Learn about aquatic invasive species Prepare your...

whatcomboatinspections.com

 

[skyriver]

A.I.S aquatic invasive species stickers are only required on Lake Samish and Lake Whatcom in Whatcom county.
To acquire one passing a simple online test and a boat inspection is required.
Cost is around $60.00.
$50.00 withh successful A.I.S. test
completion.
Cost is exorbitant IMO.

Whatcom Boat Inspections - The Whatcom Boat Inspection Program aims to protect Whatcom County's natural resources, infrastructure, recreation, wildlife, and economy from the impacts of aquatic invasive species by preventing the introduction and sprea

Do Your Part We need your help to protect Whatcom County waters. Together, we can stop the spread of aquatic invasive species and protect our environment, our drinking water supply, and our way of life. Prepare your watercraft for inspection Learn about aquatic invasive species Prepare your...

whatcomboatinspections.com

Yeah, that's crazy. Seems like it's more aimed at keeping people off the water. The good news is this-
Permit fees are not required for surfboards, paddle boards, and kite boards (of any size); float tubes and water sport toys; or non-motorized inflatables that are 10 feet or less in length.

 

[Josh]

$50.00 withh successful A.I.S. test
completion.

It's worth noting that boats under 16ft & 10hp are only $20 w/test and kayaks and non motorized "boats" are free w/test.

Yeah, that's crazy.

Nobody likes paying fees, but keep in mind that Lake Whatcom is the area's drinking water supply (and it's a very nice and clean one generally). Getting it clogged up with zebra mussels or other invasive species would cause huge problems that would take millions and millions to mitigate, if that were even possible. So we have to deal with the inspections in the hope that it can be avoided.

Seems like it's more aimed at keeping people off the water.

Yeah, it's aimed at keeping people like this off the water:



As with most things, lazy assholes are to blame here. If people took care of their shit, there wouldn't be a problem. But because we are a deeply stupid society, we have to have AIS checkpoints and fees.