secret spots

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    • #81679
      uncoolperson
      Participant

        Not looking for them (well, not trying to pry your’s away), don’t really have any of my own (yet), lots of blue spots on maps and a summer that should cooperate with exploring.

        But how’d you come by your’s?
        the stories always seem pretty neat, and I could use a pointer or two on the finding.

      • #86829
        Sandy McKean
        Participant

          …..lots of blue spots on maps and a summer that should cooperate with exploring.

          You just answered your own question!

        • #86830
          Zack Leake
          Participant

            I got a copy of Dave Shorett’s book, Washington’s Central Cascades Fishing Guide. It’s got a list of lakes, streams and access points with some decent descriptions and maps. I think he’s written a book for pretty much every region of the state. Just grab your area specific copy and start checking off the lakes & streams!

            Here’s an Amazon link to his book:

            http://www.amazon.com/Washingtons-Central-Cascades-Fishing-Guide/dp/0965211622

            Good Luck! :caught:

            ~Zack

          • #86831
            Sandy McKean
            Participant

              Just don’t expect that Shorett’s book has correct information about what’s in the lake.

            • #86832
              Brian Curtis
              Keymaster

                There are some general guidelines to help you sort through those blue dots.

                Get off trail. The more popular a lake is the more likely the fish get cropped off when they are small. There are lots of exceptions; lakes that are short walks on trail that have good fishing. But in general you want to find places that don’t get a lot of traffic.

                Look at small lakes. Big lakes stick out on the map as obvious destinations. They are worthwhile, but don’t forget about the small lakes nearby. No lake is too small to check out. Most of the small pots you check out won’t have fish, but every once in a while you’ll stumble on that special place.

                Keep exploring. If you keep going back to the same place you’ll never discover the next secret spot.

              • #86833
                Zack Leake
                Participant

                  @Sandy McKean wrote:

                  Just don’t expect that Shorett’s book has correct information about what’s in the lake.

                  I’ve found that to be true. I only have ever really used the book for a comprehensive list to kind of methodically go through.

                • #86834
                  Brian Curtis
                  Keymaster

                    I wouldn’t count on it to be comprehensive, either.

                  • #86835
                    Zack Leake
                    Participant

                      Well, I found it helpful as a newbie.

                      ~Zack

                    • #86836
                      Larry Anderson
                      Participant

                        Sometimes you will hit a lake that looks good but has very poor fishing, or contains no fish at all. Don’t write them off for good, the next time you go to the same lake it could be great fishing. A lot of lakes get ignored for years before the finally get another plant. My favorite high lake had very poor fishing for 15 years before I finally convinced someone to start planting it again. So you never know until you go check it out for yourself.

                      • #86837
                        Sandy McKean
                        Participant

                          One quick note for clarification……

                          No one can legally decide to stock a high lake (assuming it is not on private land — which no lake we might care about is) except the Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologist in charge of that area. So if “someone” decided to stock a high lake again, such a request would have to be presented to the appropriate WDFW biologist at some point for final determination. Stocking lakes without WDFW authorization is illegal.

                        • #86838
                          caveman
                          Participant

                            If I ever get a chance to stock a lake, I would especially when the Goverment isn’t going to stock anymore.

                            Adam

                          • #86839
                            Andy Schmidt
                            Participant

                              @caveman wrote:

                              especially when the Goverment isn’t going to stock anymore.

                              I think the only lakes on the stocking chopping block are in the N Cascades N.P.

                              edit… and that’s not a done deal.

                            • #86840
                              sooperfly
                              Participant

                                @Sandy McKean wrote:

                                Stocking lakes without WDFW authorization is illegal.

                                And yet it’s done time and time again. I have never even heard of somebody getting in trouble for stocking a high lake.
                                Of course, I don’t condone breaking the law.

                                I’m glad whoever stocked this lake originally did! It’s never been “officially” stocked. I know it had fish back near the turn of the last century, and they are still there. Low population density, naturally reproducing. 6500+ feet. Every once in while things work out just right.

                                [youtube:3g86qesy][/youtube:3g86qesy]

                              • #86841
                                uncoolperson
                                Participant

                                  I was looking more for the cool stories, not really for “your spot”.

                                  for example:
                                  my dad dropped me and my brother (I was ~14 [thinking now, what was he thinking, out in the middle of nowhere alaska]) at some lake so we could camp for a few days… pretty cool, lots of exploring.
                                  Well being teenagers without supervision, we decided to do more exploring than we should have, got a little lost and found a pool that fed into this lake a few hundred yards away… bunch of 20″ rainbows so confined we caught more by hand than we did with any lure.

                                  finding the pool/creek led us back to the lake we were camping at, so it worked out pretty good for us.

                                  Went back to the lake a few years later and the creek had risen enough that we figure most of the fish had moved to the lake (or been eaten by the bears or other wild stuff out there).

                                  pretty cool spot, and thinking back on it, it shouldn’t have held fish like that.

                                • #86842
                                  Keith Peter
                                  Participant

                                    Sandy McKean wrote:
                                    Stocking lakes without WDFW authorization is illegal.

                                    How are people able to do this without access to fish? Not like they can go catch some slmon fry and plant them.

                                  • #86843
                                    Bob Burnell
                                    Participant

                                      @uncoolperson wrote:

                                      I was looking more for the cool stories, not really for “your spot”.

                                      These are not exactly what you are looking for but there are member stories on the HL website that talk about how folks were introduced to high mountain lakes and hiking / fishing in general. Login to the “Members Only” section and then under the “Club information” section click on roster. In the roster scroll the list and click on the face icons (which indicates a personal history story).

                                      http://www.hilakers.org/

                                      Enjoy and encourage other members to add their story.

                                      Bob

                                    • #86844
                                      Sandy McKean
                                      Participant

                                        How are people able to do this without access to fish?

                                        Actually, it is quite easy to get fish fry. Not only are there private hatcheries, people’s private trout ponds and private lakes, but all you really need is a bucket.

                                        There are hundreds of lakes in this state that have been ruined for fishing by illegal stocking. These idiots have no idea what they are doing, nor do they understand the potential consequences (e.g., over reproduction, or worse) of what they apparently think is a non-risky simple act of being a mini-Johnny-Appleseed. There are dozens of highly trained biologists at the state who study this stuff and attempt to make the right decisions about what and when to stock, and all that work can go down the drain because some Yo-Yo thinks he knows best. These are VERY selfish people.

                                      • #86845
                                        caveman
                                        Participant

                                          Ya leave it to the Goverment who screws everything up. They think they know what they are doing, but really……..

                                        • #86846
                                          Sandy McKean
                                          Participant

                                            caveman,

                                            I’ve read 2 of your posts today. I concluded that your moniker here in the forum fits you like a glove.

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