Had an opportunity to participate in a Northern Pike Minnow derby on the Columbia River once. With the potential of a prize at the end of the derby, the lowly pike minnow became Cinderella and every angler wanted a piece of her, figuratively. For a few hours the bite of a ten inch pike minnow seemed as exciting as the bite of a ten pound steelhead; as suspenseful as a chinook slapping at a mooched herring. The derby was lots of fun, and removed many pike minnows from the river. All the fish caught were counted/weighed, and then trucked to a processing plant where they became fish fertilizer. When the derby ended, pike minnows became Cinderella's ugly sisters again. A bunch of salmon/steelhead fry and smolts lived happily everafter...


until they hit the turbines in the lower river. THE END

I like the idea of a pike minnow bounty on Lake Washington. Derbies for these predators would probably draw considerable interest from anglers. They're good family fun and an opportunity to fish when other options are being curtailed. Are pike minnows as plentiful in Lake Sammamish, as they are in Lake Washington?