Share your catch

Lake Washington Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Seattle’s urban lake: 22,000 acres holding smallmouth, cutthroat and one of the country’s odder sockeye runs.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
129 cfs
Air / High
66 / 70 F
Wind
NW 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 12119000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Washington offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The river is running 129 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 5 mph, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 70. Water sits around 73 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Rainbow troutGood

Prime dry-fly and hopper season. Match the hatch morning and evening; nymph the seams midday.

Largemouth bassFair

Prime chasing season. Work moving baits on points and pockets: spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and squarebills, with a stick worm behind for followers.

CrappieSlow

Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

Tomorrow: Similar at 71 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Cedar River at Renton (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 12119000.

123132141129 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp66 F
High / Low70 / 54 F
WindNW 5-6 mph
Pressure1012.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 13%
Sunrise / Sunset06:32 / 19:43
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~73 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 70/54 F, wind 9 mph, rain 13%

Fair or better. A 9 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Prime chasing season. Work moving baits on points and pockets: spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and squarebills, with a stick worm behind for followers.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Prime dry-fly and hopper season. Match the hatch morning and evening; nymph the seams midday.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

When to come: the Lake Washington 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
Rainbow trout
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 73 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~73 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 Washington today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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. Bass, trout and any sockeye season rules per current WDFW regulations: sockeye seasons open only when returns allow.

Access

Ramps at Magnuson Park, Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park and Newport Shores; extensive city park shoreline.

About this water

A 22,138-acre natural lake along Seattle’s eastern edge, King County, Washington: the state’s second largest.

Fishing Lake Washington: the full guide

A lake inside a city

Lake Washington stretches 22 miles along Seattle’s eastern edge, the second largest natural lake in the state and one of the more unusual urban fisheries in America. Smallmouth and largemouth bass thrive along its developed shoreline, coastal cutthroat trout cruise the drop-offs, yellow perch fill the weed beds, and sockeye salmon run through it to the Cedar River in years when returns allow a season.

Bass on structure

The shoreline is lined with docks, and bass use them year-round: skipping jigs and soft plastics under docks is the reliable pattern, with smallmouth also working the rocky points, bridge pilings and deeper drop-offs. Fish run good size in a lake most visitors never think of as bass water, and pressure is modest outside tournament weekends.

Cutthroat and perch

Coastal cutthroat trout patrol the drop-offs and shoreline, taking trolled flies, small spoons and spinners: an underfished and genuinely enjoyable light-tackle fishery. Yellow perch school in the weed beds in numbers that keep families busy, and the lake also holds northern pikeminnow and other native species that surprise visiting anglers.

Seattle logistics

Public ramps at Magnuson Park, Gene Coulon and Newport Shores serve the lake, with extensive shoreline access from city parks. Boat traffic is heavy in summer. The Ballard Locks and the Ship Canal connect the lake to Puget Sound, and the Cedar River enters at Renton, where the salmon run concentrates when seasons open.

Common questions

Is there really salmon fishing?

Sockeye run through to the Cedar River, but seasons open only when returns are strong enough: check WDFW announcements.

How good is the bass fishing?

Better than most expect: docks, pilings and rocky points hold smallmouth and largemouth of good size with modest pressure.

Can I fish from shore?

Yes: city parks provide extensive shoreline access for perch, cutthroat and bass around the docks.

Is fishing good at Lake Washington right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Sammamish8 miSkykomish River31 miSkagit River59 miElwha River69 miIcicle Creek71 miRiffe Lake76 mi
Share your catch