Clueless Dad (Thats me) has eager son who really wants to fish... We have a 25 foot sailboat (draws 4 feet) moored in Lake Union.

I got him a standard $30 Spinning rod/reel combo at Fred Meyer... Now what ????? I went to G.I. Joes today, and the guy who "helped" me was more clueless than I was.....So, can you guys help me out ?????

#1) General Idea of where to go ( I know you want to protect your spots, but a little guidence would be helpful)...

#2) General set up - Lures, bait, etc (when I was a kid we dug worms, do they still work ?)

#3) How deep ????

#4) Any links to good "how to" sites, or any books out there for us novices?????

#5) Any reccomendations for a good tackle shop that would take pity on clueless dad . and help me get set up so I can join in the fun ???

Thanks !
John

Go to G.I joes in Issaquah, they know what they are doing. In terms of what kind of fishing you will want to do, I would stick to the basic perch/panfish deal and all you need to do really is go to any dock at any time of the day, well maybe not at the heat of the day when all the swimmers out, but around 9-12am and after 5pm ish and drop down a worm with a weight and keep it about 2 feet off the bottom or just over the weeds and you should do plenty well with perch which can provide plenty of fun for your son...You can pick up a dozen nightcrawlers at Fred Meyer for $2 bucks and that should last you a few outings....Depth wise I would say oh anywhere from 10-40 feet but usually straight down from a normal dock on the lake usually will hold plenty of perch and panfish and maybe an occasional bass or trout or something to really make the trip special. Anyways hope you get your son hooked to fishing and you get to spend some time with him catching fish. Hope this helps, I can give much more info if needed, but I fish on the other side of the lake as opposed to the seattle side where you are. But good luck!

what kind of fish are you interested in fishing for?
for perch you can go into almost every weed bed and find some but you will have to find the deep edges for the big ones. jigs and worms work good for them. for bass you can work the main points on the lakes and all the bridges and boat docks. most lures work for them spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, crankbaits, drop-shots, grubs, lizards, senkos.
for depth during the summer big perch will be in 20'-30' of water. during the winter the perch can be in as much as 100' of water. bass will be all over depending on time of day and weather conditions. but mainly between 10' and 30'. largemouths will be in shallower then that most of the time.
there is also many good shore spots around the lake that can be very good for perch and bass. the seward park area is good. a couple of good parks are burbank (on mercer island)and coulon. the perch are starting to show at both of these parks.
hope this helps. let me know if you need to know about other fish.....

Book suggestions:

THE WASHINGTON FISHING GUIDE by Terry Sheely or its previous edition by the late, Stan Jones.

BIGHORN OUTDOORS/WASHINGTON FISHING by Terry Rudnick

Both are available at most large sporting goods or bookstores. Also at: www.amazon.com

You might try this web site for info.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/youth/fishing_kids.htm

Next weekend (Jun 3,2006) Zebco is having a fishing party in Renton on part of Lake Washington. It costs 5 bucks but you get a tee shirt and fishing rod. I did notice that some of the Zebco rods got recalled so I would ask about that. People there should be able to help you out with the basics. Advance registration is required so I hope it is not full already so call soon. v/r Sightcrr

dear clueless, if you would like and don'r mind a long drive around the penninsula, I'll take you and your son on a guided fishing trip to one of my favorite lakes here in Kitsap county. I have 6 tackle boxes of tackle your son can rumage though and can whatever he likes as his to keep. So you get a free guided fishing trip, free tackle and a guide who writes a featured column on washingtonlakes.com. so what do say to that? Bruce Middleton

hi tilt and welcome! you actually live in a great centralized area to go different choices and here are just a few without dragging the sailboat around; greenlake on the east or north sides, lake washington from the shore between I-90 bridge to seward pk, ballinger lake, go to kent to the kid pond, pine on the east side, angle steel star all along hwy 99 south towards federalway. keep it basic bobber/worm, mallow/worm, worm/powerbait, and a couple of mepps spinners just to keep his intererst and learn to cast and develope his skilz. been there done that with all my kids and feel good that they can fish on their own now. might i also suggest to dive on the viaduct and get off the first ave. exit near the stadium and go see the guys at outdoor emporium.

Robert

Tilt.....
I've trolled off of a sailboat when under sail and it's big fun when you hook something. We troll a Coho fly at the outer edge of the wake. I've hooked Coho and Chinook this way. Eating a fresh bbq'd salmon after sailing all day is a mighty good way to live.