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Lake Sammamish Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Sammamish: a 4,853-acre King County lake for cutthroat, smallmouth bass and yellow perch, where kokanee are catch-and-release.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Lake level
25.94 ft
Air / High
49 / 58 F
Wind
WSW 3 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 12122000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Lake Sammamish rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The gauge reads 25.94 ft, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind WSW around 3 mph, falling pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 58. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:47 AM-11:47 AM and 10:18 PM-12:18 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Yellow perchExcellent

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 63 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Washington requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $39.95 for residents. What a Washington licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with WDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Washington, read off the agency, are on the Washington seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Sammamish Lake near Redmond.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 12122000.

25.6925.8426.0025.94 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp49 F
High / Low58 / 42 F
WindWSW 3-9 mph
Pressure1026.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain90% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:39 / 18:05
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~62 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Sammamish this week

Today is the pick of the week on Lake Sammamish, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:47 AM-11:47 AM and 10:18 PM-12:18 AM
Minor period
4:13 AM-5:13 AM
Sun
07:39 to 18:05
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 4 mph
Rain chance
1%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Sammamish: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the Lake Sammamish calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Smallmouth bass
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Sammamish today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 60 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 66 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 65 F, wind to 5 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Washington requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Washington license. Lake Sammamish rules (eRegulations WA, updated Oct 5, 2026): smallmouth 15 a day, only 1 over 14 in.; largemouth 10 a day, none over 12 in. except 1 over 17 in.; walleye 16 a day, 1 over 22 in.; channel catfish 10; kokanee catch-and-release; two-pole fishing not allowed.

Access

Lake Sammamish State Park on the south shore: multi-lane launch, shoreline and tie-up floats; no fishing piers.

About this water

A 4,853-acre lake at 30 feet elevation in King County, Washington.

Fishing Lake Sammamish: the full guide

What WDFW lists

WDFW gives Lake Sammamish 4,853 acres at an elevation of 30 feet in King County. Wild coastal cutthroat trout, smallmouth bass and yellow perch are the main attractions; quality-size largemouth are present but less abundant than smallmouth, and brown bullhead also live here.

Cutthroat through the year

WDFW says cutthroat fishing is best in spring and fall, with a lull in July and August when fish move offshore to deeper water, and the lowest catches in late winter while adults spawn in tributary streams.

Kokanee, salmon and Issaquah Creek

Kokanee are catch-and-release all year. From August 16 to November 30 fishing is closed within 100 yards of the mouth of Issaquah Creek. Salmon may be kept from October 1 to November 30 (12-inch minimum, 4 a day, coho only), and from December 1 to May 31 only hatchery coho may be kept.

Lake Sammamish State Park

Public access is mainly through Lake Sammamish State Park, which surrounds the south shore and has a multi-lane boat launch. There are no fishing piers, but WDFW says anglers can fish all year from shore or from the park's tie-up floats.

Common questions

Can I keep kokanee from Lake Sammamish?

No. Kokanee are catch-and-release all year under the current WDFW rules.

Where can I fish from shore?

Lake Sammamish State Park, on the south shore, is the main public shoreline; WDFW notes there are no fishing piers.

What are the smallmouth limits?

Fifteen a day with no minimum size, but only one may be over 14 inches.

Is fishing good at Lake Sammamish right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Lake Washington8 miSkykomish River26 miSkagit River61 miIcicle Creek63 miRiffe Lake75 miElwha River77 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 12122000 β€” Sammamish Lake near Redmond
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 16:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 47.5800, -122.0800 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.