Where to Go Fishing in Sammamish and Issaquah

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These four lakes and one creek offer nearby fishing if you live east of Lake Sammamish near the cities of Sammamish and Issaquah.

In this article, you will find links to comprehensive articles about two of the better fishing spots in this part of King County.

Also, at the bottom, look for additional links that will show you even more fishing spots just a short drive away, as well as access to basic how-to articles that will help you catch more fish.

Beaver Lake

Sometimes called Middle Beaver Lake, this fishing hole is the central and largest lake in a connected trio in southeastern Sammamish. It can offer excellent trout fishing when it’s planted in the spring.

The lake, at 63 acres, is typically planted with 6,000+ legal rainbow trout, which is an impressive number for a relatively small lake. We’ve often seen the planting on the schedule around the early April time frame.

Beaver Lake might be refreshed with more hatchery trout in May and then revived with additional plantings in the fall. In fact, those fall fish are often pushing a pound, which is a really nice trout.

Once it’s stocked, trout fishing can be fast and furious until anglers thin their population or the onset of more extreme weather slows things down.

Between the spring and fall peaks for trout fishing, you’ll do better focusing on warmwater species. In particular, largemouth bass fishing can be quite good here.

The main bank access is at Beaver Lake Park, although launching a small boat at the nearby WDFW gravel launch on the southeast side will allow you to fish the full lake, which has many homes along the banks where there aren’t parks.

Issaquah Creek

This creek feeds into the southern end of Lake Sammamish at Lake Sammamish State Park.

While perhaps best known as the destination of coho salmon returning to the Issaquah State Salmon Hatchery just a couple of miles upstream from the lake, the stream is strictly off-limits to salmon fishing.

What you can do here is fish for wild trout from late May to the end of August, when few, if any, protected salmon will be around. Statewide rules apply during this time.

The opportunity here is a bit like the more popular Cedar River, which flows into Lake Washington to the west.

Lake Sammamish

When it comes to fishing in this part of King County, it’s impossible to ignore Lake Sammamish. We certainly won’t.

Though not stocked with trout like several much smaller lakes we cover in this article, Lake Sammamish has a sustaining population of wild coastal cutthroat trout that are a local favorite.

Throw in some great fishing for smallmouth bass and yellow perch, the possibility of good hatchery coho salmon angling in October and November, and several less-publicized options, and this is a lake you’ll want to spend time getting to know.

Much of the action and the access here is centered around Lake Sammamish State Park bordering Issaquah.

From here, we recommend you check out our Complete Guide to Lake Sammamish Fishing.

Pine Lake

Like Beaver Lake mentioned above, this is another modestly sized but even more heavily stocked trout lake in Sammamish.

WDFW tends to stock about 11,000 trout here before the legal opener in late April. Show up near opening day, and you’re bound to catch some for yourself.

The approximately 85-acre lake is also home to self-sustaining populations of largemouth bass, yellow perch, and pumpkinseed sunfish. These “warm water” species tend to bite best once warmer days arrive and will stay active long after the trout action tapers way off.

Your best bet to access this fishing hole is via Pine Lake Park, located on the east side of the lake (off 228th Avenue SE). Here, you’ll find a spacious fishing dock that will put you in range of the fish.

Check out our full article on Pine Lake Fishing.

Tradition Lake

This 17-acre lake on the east side of Issaquah is just out of the way enough to offer a quiet outing catching warmwater species such as largemouth bass and yellow perch.

You might have to walk in on the Tiger Mountain trail system if the access gate is closed. The trails wind through a forested area just east of Issaquah and south of Interstate 90.

More Fishing in King County

Washington Resources

WDFW Fishing and Stocking Reports
WDFW Fishing Regulations
National Weather Service forecasts