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The Chronicle OnLine > Features >
Fishrapper 2004-05
| Quality angling awaits in selective fisheries |
By Al Camp
Chronicle staff
Anglers can expect quality fishing in Okanogan County selective fisheries despite a half decade of drought conditions on many lakes.
All selective fisheries have received reduced plants because of the drought, in an effort to keep the quality of the fish high, said regional fish biologist Bob Jateff.
Jateff said the effort means anglers can expect fish in the two-pound range and larger at selective fisheries.
Aeneas, Chopaka and Ell lakes receive triploid rainbows that eventually grow to two to three pounds.
Triploids, which are sterile, live longer and grow bigger than traditional rainbows. The fish can reach several pounds within a year or two.
Though water levels continue to be several feet below normal, Ell Lake continues to be the best opening day selective fishery in the county.
An aerator, maintained by the Okanogan County Fly Fishing Club, keeps fish fresh and alive in winter.
Big Twin in the Methow Valley could be excellent for opening day, said Jateff. Legal-size rainbows have been planted in the lake along with 611 triploid rainbows that average 1.5 pounds each.
Though water remains low, access to the lake also has been improved enough that car toppers and small trailers can reach the lake.
“You just can’t back one of your big boats in there,” said Jateff, who said he checked the lake prior to the opener and found it had not suffered from winter kill.
At Blue Lake in the Sinlahekin, fishing should be good to terrific following a plant of triploids last fall. A barrier installed in 2002 keeps redside shiners in a nearby creek out of the quality lake.
Jateff said the triploids survived the winter in good shape.
Bass continue to appear in checks at Chopaka, but the cold-water, high-altitude lake continues to produce good-sized rainbows.
Both species have co-existed in the lake for many years.
Chopaka, Aeneas and Ell will be receiving plants of triploid rainbow fingerlings.
Anglers should check state regulations for differences between fly fishing and selective fishery rules. Okanogan County’s selective or fly fishing-only lakes include:
Aeneas Lake: This 61-acre lake south of Tonasket holds rainbow, brown trout and triploid rainbows that grow to 12 to 18 inches.
There is a one-fish limit.
Jateff sampled the lake last fall and found brown trout in the 18- to 20-inch range.
“That is pretty impressive,” he said.
He also found about a dozen dead rainbows along the shoreline. Jateff said he suspected the fish may have died of summer kill, as he tested the temperature of the lake along the shore at nearly 70 degrees.
Cotids, which the lunkers like to eat, enter the lake, which is actually a reservoir for surrounding orchards fed by water pumped from the Okanogan River.
Brown trout continue to be planted to cut down on infestations.
Expect rainbows averaging 12 inches and carryovers in the 16-inch range. The plant was reduced a bit to increase size of fish.
The lake is open April 30 to Oct. 31.
Anglers should expect windy conditions in the early season when the lake is best fished.
Anglers must use barbless hooks and may not use boats with motors.
The lake’s water level has remained relatively stable the last few years. There should be little trouble launching boats at the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s access area, which includes toilets.
A plateau overlooking the lake is available for camping, and offers panoramic views of the lake and surrounding hills.
From Tonasket, travel south a half-mile on County Road No. 7 on the west side of the Okanogan River. Then travel west 3.5 miles.
Big Twin: This 79-acre lake near Winthrop appears to have made it through the winter without a kill.
The lake received a planting of 611 triploid rainbows that averaged 1.5 pounds each prior to the opener.
The lake also should get catchable rainbows in the 8- to 9-inch range.
Water levels remain below normal, but a boat access area has been improved enough for launching smaller boats.
Anglers can check with a resort on the lake about fishing conditions.
A one-fish limit makes fall fishing a good bet. Gas-operated motors are prohibited, but electric motors are allowed.
Big Twin is west of Highway 20 and two miles from Winthrop, with marked turnoffs at Winthrop and Twin Lakes Road near Liberty Bell High School.
Besides the boat launch, there are public toilets and resort facilities.
Big Twin’s season runs from April 30 to Oct. 31.
Black Lake: Open April 30 to Oct. 31, this remote, 66-acre lake around the 4,000-foot elevation can be reached over a 5.5-mile trail in the Pasayten Wilderness.
This is not a fly fishing-only lake or a trophy-fishing lake, but rather a lake falling under the selective fishery rules where bait is illegal because of threatened bull trout.
Bull trout (Dolly Varden) must be released if caught.
Black usually is the first lake in the wilderness to become ice free, thus it receives more pressure than many other lakes in the Pasayten.
The lake has not been planted with rainbow for many years.
Two nearby lakes — Halfmoon (16 acres) and Kidney (13 acres) — contain cutthroat.
Trailhead for the hike to Black Lake is on Lake Creek, off the Chewuch River Road about 20 miles north of Winthrop.
Blue Lake (in the Sinlahekin): This 160-acre lake gets better and better since a rehab in the fall of 2002. Expect catchable rainbows and triploids at a pound or better for the opener.
A sampling last fall found brown trout in the 12- to 14-inch range. Larger triploids reached up to 22 inches.
“There seemed to be a fair number of fish in that lake,” said Jateff, who said few anglers fish the lake, but those who do often do well.
Anglers fishing deep with flies should do well.
The lake’s water level continues to be several feet below normal.
There is a one-fish limit at the selective fishery. Electric boat motors are allowed.
Open April 30 to Oct. 31, Blue is four miles north of Fish Lake in the Sinlahekin Wildlife Recreation Area.
There is a graveled launch and toilets available at the handicapped-accessible lake, which lies at an elevation of 1,686 feet.
Take Pine Creek Road from Highway 97 about 5.5 miles north of Riverside, drive west nine miles past Fish Lake and another four miles north on Sinlahekin Road.
Blue Lake (near Wannacut Lake): Fishing for Lahontan cutthroats is slow going at this lake located a mile north of Wannacut.
The 10-acre lake is fairly sterile due to an alkaline condition. Cutthroat reach three pounds, 16-18 inches.
There is a one-fish limit. Blue’s season is April 30 to Oct. 31. Selective fishery regulations apply. Electric motors are allowed.
Chopaka Lake: Anglers can take up to five bass along with a one-fish limit for rainbows — which can reach up to five pounds — at this lake known for its mayfly hatches. The use of all motors is prohibited.
Bass don’t appear to be adversely affecting trout size at Chopaka, which receives a fingerling planting in late April or early May of sterile (triploid) rainbows. Sterile rainbows live longer and grow larger.
The popular 149-acre lake, which provides some of the best camp scenery in the county, is located at the 2,900-foot mark on Chopaka Mountain. The lake has a season of April 30 to Oct. 31.
The lake is best fished the first couple months and the last couple months of the season.
The first part of the road to the lake is very steep and can be extremely rough in April. The road is impassable to large trailers and recreational vehicles.
A state Department of Natural Resources campground at the lake offers 15 sites, and includes picnic tables, fire pits, a fishing pier and toilets.
Ell Lake: Water level appears to have stabilized at the lake, though it remains lower than normal.
Plants have been reduced at the lake, which normally is 20 acres, in an effort to increase fish size.
The lake suffered from summer kill in the past. That can affect carryover numbers.
An aerator maintained by the Okanogan County Fly Fishing Club continues to prevent winter kill.
Season is April 30 to Oct. 31. A one-fish limit makes fall fishing a good bet. Selective fishery regulations apply. Both electric and gas-operated motors are prohibited.
A boat launch and toilets are available.
Take Highway 20 east from Tonasket for about 12 miles, then go south on Aeneas Valley Road for about five miles.
Grimes Lake: This private lake that’s open to the public in northern Douglas County remains a popular selective fishery managed by the fish and wildlife department for Lahontan cutthroat.
Lures work well the first couple weeks of the season at the lake, followed by fly fishing later.
The lake is located north of Jameson Lake and about six miles southeast of Mansfield.
Grimes, which is leased by the state, has an unique season — June 1 through Aug. 31.
An 11-plus-pound Lahontan was checked in 1999 at the extremely alkaline lake, which receives 8,000 Lahontan fry each year.
Electric motors are allowed at the lake.
There is a one-fish limit.
A road south from Mansfield passes the lake.
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