Free fishing days are a perfect opportunity for beginners to try out fishing for the first time. If you already have a fishing license, consider taking a friend or family member who has never been fishing, out on the water for the day. Free Fishing Weekend in Washington is always the first weekend after the first Monday in June. No Discover Pass is needed to visit the park on free fishing days.

Lake Sammamish is Western Washington’s premier small-mouth bass lake. The many old pilings and submerged trees around the south end of the lake are especially good places to find smallies but fish may also be found around any of the dozens of docks and floats around the lake. 

While development has eliminated a lot of the largemouth habitat the lake once had, it’s almost perfect for smallmouths.  Try small lead-heads with green, gray, or clear plastic skirts to imitate the salmon fry on which the Sammamish smallmouths are feeding upon. The clean bottom is also conductive to casting crankbaits, and be sure to take along at least a couple of crawfish finishes. Many of the big lily pad beds and other vegetation that use to make Lake Sammamish a top-notch largemouth lake are gone, but it’s still possible to catch one if you are lucky.