hike in fishing lakes

Yo Corrington –

Welcome to the best trout fishing in the state (other than steelheading)! There are literally hundreds of high lakes you can go to, many on trails of course, and many more off-trail. The challenge and rewards of this fishery are mainly in the off-trail destinations, but of course you must be experienced in off-trail travel to be safe. I began exploring off-trail in my mid-20’s in the early 1970s, and it didn’t take long to get enough experience to tackle the more challenging areas and routes. You will find the fishing rewards to be – well, about as good as you can imagine, in some lakes.

There are many sources of information on the lakes – published books such as Lakes of Washington by Ernest Wolcott (out of print, and much of the fish planting data is obsolete), USGS 7.5 quads, and mainly from others who share your interest. There are two principal high lake fishing clubs in this area, and you have found one of them (Trail Blazers, Inc.). You should check the web site for the Washington State Hi-Lakers as well. Note that spelling carefully.

I helped prepare a High Lakes Fishing “Primer” a decade or so ago, and you can find it on the Wash Dept Fish and Wildlife web site under Fishing Guides if you snoop around. It includes many tips on the sport.

I expect Brian Curtis will sooner or later add to this string.

This will sound facetious, but it is actually good advise…..

To experience the high lake fishery in the state of Washington is quite simple: pull out a topo map; look for the blue spots; figure out how to get any one of them; enjoy the adventure of discovery as you are alternatively thrilled to have found great fishing, or disappointed that it didn’t work out this time. You have your lifetime in front of you.

Bear and Pinnacle are very popular lakes and as such aren’t the place you are likely to find super hot fishing. Bear is almost right on the road so it gets fished extra hard. That being said, the hike up to Pinnacle is worth it, and you should be able to catch some fish. Contrasting Diamond and Pinnacle will give you a taste of how varied high lakes can be.

Here’s the link to the High Lakes Primer Bob referred to.

Im starting this high lake thing too. I have fished a lot of them in Cali, but not here. Im headed up to Goat Lake on Sat mornng. Its off the mountain loop highway south of Bedal Campground. This is gonna be my first time fly fishing also. Should be fun

hye, good choice going to this site. This is more high lake specialized than Washingtonflyfishing.com. Brian Curtis is the one that will be able to answer almost all your questions. He is where i got alot of my knowledge of high lake fishing.

Goat Lake is beautiful. The road is washed out about 3 miles back so it isn’t getting quite as much pressure this year as it normally does. It does have brush around the shore and is easiest fished from a boat. There used to be a large hotel at the outlet and mine buildings on the cliffs behind the lake. The mines on the cliff would have been amazing to see when they were still standing. They built them to be shaped like ski jumps so the snow would slide over the top. Amazing. There is also an old townsite on the other side of the river from the trail.

Lots of fish in the lake, none large though. You’ll have a great time.

I hear Goat is pretty hard to get to. You have any other reccommendations in that area? Boardnam? The ones around it?

I supposed that depends on what you mean by hard. There is road and good trail all the way so by that measure it is easy. But with the road out it is probably a 7 or 8 mile hike each way so it does have a lot of distance to cover.

Boardman and the ones around are good lakes to visit. Boardman itself is generally tough fishing, but you ought to be able to find some fish if you explore around. The close, easy lakes generally don’t have great fishing (exceptions can be found, of course) so it pays to work at it. But if you are just getting started then any of the lakes off the Mountain Loop Highway would be great places to start. The thing to remember is that you don’t have to key on large lakes and you don’t have to worry about lakes not having fish. They will.

Im all aboot fishing smaller lakes/ponds. I guess oddly enough, the biggest fish Ive caught are in ponds or small lakes. To my own knowledge, Im pretty stealthy when it comes to clear water. Im going by myself tommorrow, so I dont wanna venture too far. Of course, if I see something I like, Im gonna try it. Im thinkin of going up Camp Robber road.

Tough hiking isnt a problem, I just dont wanna be hiking fo miles on end. I think Goat is a little far right now. Hopefully I can use my mountain bike a bit