35 Things to do at the Park - #7 Fishing

Bring your boat or just your rod and reel to Lake Sammamish State Park and enjoy some amazing freshwater fishing. Lake Sammamish is known as Western Washington’s premier small-mouth bass lake. The many old pilings and submerged trees around the south end of the lake are especially productive places to search for smallies. But fish may also be found around any of the dozens of docks and floats or over many of the gravel-bottom beaches where home owners and Washington State Parks have dumped tons of sand and gravel to turn the once muddy lake bottom into an environment more pleasing to human water-lovers. While all this development has eliminated a lot of the largemouth habitat the lake once had,  it’s ideal for small mouth bass.

Yellow perch, cutthroat, chinook salmon, Coho salmon, kokanee, sockeye salmon, steelhead, and burbot all reside here in healthy numbers.

The Lake is open to fishing year round but kokanee and steelhead are off limits.

The boat ramp in the park is open to the public from 6:30am to sunset.

For regulations, fishing season information, or to purchase a recreational license, visit the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Lake Sammamish is 7 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, with a maximum depth of 105 feet and a surface area of 8 sq mi. It lies east of Lake Washington and west of the Sammamish Plateau, and stretches from Issaquah in the south to Redmond in the north. At Issaquah it is fed by Issaquah Creek, and at Redmond it drains to Lake Washington via the Sammamish River.

1. Swimming

2. Bird watching

3. Nature treasure hunt

4. Geocaching

5. Paddleboarding

6. Kayaking

7. Fishing

8. Launch your boat

9. Volleyball

10. Picnicking

11. Playground

12. Native plant trail

13. Soccer

14. Nature photography

15. Watch a sunset

16. Trail hikes

17. Bicycling (connect to E. Lake Sammamish Trail)

18. Birthday parties

19. Company picnics

20. Family reunion

21. Walk the dog (on a leash)

22. Build a sandcastle

23. Get sprayed by the big heron

24. Ride the zipline

25. Play chess or checkers

26. Attend a Jr. Ranger program

27. Attend a festival or event

28. Go for a run

29. Salmon watch

30. Practice "catch"

31. Volunteer for FLSSP in event planning

32. Plein air painting

33. Day camp with a youth group

34. Habitat restoration volunteer

35. Gardening/beautification