Northwest Reel Life April 2023 Volume 2 Issue 8 - Flipbook - Page 10
LAKE SAMISH
At 809.9 acres, Lake Samish
is open to fishing yearround. It is managed as a
multi-species lake, offering
coastal cutthroat, large and
smallmouth bass, crappie,
brown bullhead/catfish,
yellow perch, and excellent
kokanee populations. I can
personally attest that there
are also largemouth bass
and brown bullheads in the
lake. The lake consists of a
smaller lake connected to a
larger main lake by a narrow
channel. The larger main
lake has significant weedy
shallows at the south end and
a max depth of 60 feet or so.
The smaller lake located at
the west end of the two-lake
chain is up to 150 feet deep
and maintains a large pocket
of cool water throughout the
late summer and fall. The cool
water effectively extends the
Lake Samish kokanee fishery
when other west side lakes
are too warm to support a fall
kokanee fishery.
In late April-June, Lake
Samish can be red hot
kokanee fishing, easily
giving up limits of fat 12”-16”
kokanee. One of our biggest
local kokanee came out of
the smaller lake during a
mid-October trip a few years
back. It hit our old school gear
running 2 colors on the lead
line, 40’ of 8-pound leader, a
rainbow color kokanee gang
troll, and an orange wedding
ring spinner tipped with a
maggot. The fish was nearly
3 pounds and was in full
spawning colors.
10 | NWFISHING.net
While the kokanee fishery
is a trolling show, there is a
fishing pier at Lake Samish
Park. The fishing pier catch
is primarily coastal cutthroat
and peamouth chub. Lake
Samish Park offers a couple
of well-groomed picnic areas,
a swim beach, hiking trails,
and seasonal boat rentals. The
park is the perfect place for a
family outing and picnic with
a little fishing thrown in.
An AIS Permit is required for
every boat operating on Lake
Samish. Here’s a few words
about the AIS program at
Lake Samish. Aquatic invasive
species are non-native plants,
animals, and pathogens that
live primarily in water. They
thrive in a new environment
and cause economic loss,
environmental damage,
and harm to human health
and property. An Annual AIS
Permit and a per use boat
inspection is required to
operate your boat on Lake
Samish. Whatcom County
maintains an AIS inspection
station at Lake Samish.
Boat inspections are
important because they can
help to prevent the transport
of aquatic invasive species
to Whatcom County lakes.
AIS are transported on boats
traveling from infested waters
and can result in significant
impacts to lake ecosystems,
water quality, and water
supply infrastructure. AIS can
also make shoreline areas
hazardous and uninviting
for recreational users and
property owners. To prevent
the introduction, AIS
inspectors are on the lookout
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