Lake Union Fishing Report
That's the standard late-fall adjustment when fish have pulled tight to structure in cold water.
THE CALL: Rainbow trout — the only listed species whose reference range (45–65°F) matches this lake's temperature — fished slow and deep off the north end near Gas Works Park and along the Ship Canal side, with a small silver spinner or spoon, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM today.
WHY IT WINS
- The lake-page reading is 51°F dated Oct 30 — 323 hours stale — but with 59°F air, cloudy skies, and mid-November Seattle nights, the surface is likely still low 50s. That's dead center for trout and below range for every bass and panfish option on the list.
- The trend confirms the direction: cooling 2.3°F over the last 30 days (53.96°F Oct 18 → 51.7°F Oct 25). Fish are sliding deeper and slowing down; this is late-fall trout water, not bass water.
- Today's forecast is dead calm all afternoon — 2.4 mph at 4 PM, under 3 mph through 7 PM, 0% precip early — the easiest boat-handling window of the day. The major solunar period runs 2:16–4:46 PM, so you're on the water for its back half; the minor period 6:05–7:35 PM extends the evening if you want it.
- Cloud cover all day keeps light low and the bite window wide.
START HERE: Work the drop along the north and east shore near Gas Works Park and toward the Ship Canal Bridge — my read is trout are holding in that 10–20 ft band off the dropoffs and around the canal entrance where current and bait funnel. Lake Union is an urban basin with no mapped spot data supplied, so this start is condition-based: verify with your graph before committing. Likely slightly stained urban water; run silver or fire-tiger, not anything too subtle.
THROW THIS: 1/8–1/4 oz silver or chrome-blue casting jig spoon, fished with long casts and a slow, fluttering fall — count it down to 10–15 ft. Backup on the same line: a small inline spinner (silver blade, slow, steady retrieve just fast enough to spin). If you'd rather troll, a small spoon 100–150 ft back at 1.5–2 mph covers the same band.
BEST WINDOW: Be fishing by 4:00 PM. Forecast: 56°F, 2.4 mph wind, cloudy, dry. The calm holds through 7 PM; drizzle and building S wind (gusts to 17) arrive tomorrow morning, so today's evening is the window — don't wait for the weekend.
NEXT MOVE: If 45 minutes of spoon work off the north drop produces no marks or taps, shift to the South Lake Union side docks and pilings and go vertical — drop the same spoon or a worm-tipped 1/16 oz jig straight down to fish you mark, working it with 6-inch hops. That's the standard late-fall adjustment when fish have pulled tight to structure in cold water.