West Slope Cutthroat

[dpitt]

Visited my son (Jake) in Wenatchee WA, a small city in the Cascades.  He took me on a 6 mile round trip hike to Eight mile lake that holds Western Slope Cutthroats and Lake trout (Mackinaw).  Did not catch any Mackinaws, but the  cutties where easy to fish. Getting old, hike up was taxing, but once I made it to the lake with the beautiful setting and the  fish where bitting I was reinvigorated.   We fished mayfly and midge patterns under and indicator.  They where looking up, so a dry probably would have worked,  Jake had one eat his indicator and hooked up with the dropper, as it slide out of itd mouth.  Here's a pic and of course I had to make a video

 

 

 

 

 

[Johnsfolly]

@dpitt congrats. Sounds like a great time. I have a trip to Portland in Nov, so did a quick look at whether a day trip could be made from Portland. Looks too far😒.

[dpitt]

10 minutes ago, Johnsfolly said:

@dpitt congrats. Sounds like a great time. I have a trip to Portland in Nov, so did a quick look at whether a day trip could be made from Portland. Looks too far😒.

Thanks, I drove through Oregon on a previous trip, country was beautiful, bet you'll find a fishing hole.

[Johnsfolly]

4 minutes ago, dpitt said:

Thanks, I drove through Oregon on a previous trip, country was beautiful, bet you'll find a fishing hole.

I was hoping to go out for rockfish on an inshore charter, but that is likely to be sketchy and weather dependent. I may just fish the jetty rocks around Garibaldi. I need to catch a fish in OR but don't really want it to be a common fish out our way.

[Quillback]

Wenatchee is a great place.  Used to chukar hunt near there, a big wildlife area called the Quilomene down river from Wenatchee.  It would take an hour on a 4 wheel drive road to get in, but it was good hunting once you got in.

Used to hike up to the lakes in the Alpine Wilderness which was off I-90, 50 miles or so east of Seattle.  It was always uphill on the way in.  Quite a few trails to quite a few lakes.  I was younger and in a lot better shape.  3-4 hours mostly uphill on the way in, get to the lake, fish for a few hours, then hike back out.  The scenery was stunning, the mountain back country in Washington is awesome as far as scenery, and the fishing was usually good, though sometimes you might hit a lake that was fished out, but you never knew until you went.  At the worse you got a good workout.

The salmon and steelhead fishing isn't what it used to be in Washington, but the trout fishing is still excellent.  

[BilletHead]

 Nice @dpitt!

      We love cutthroat and the West slope is a favorite. Caught them in glacier Park, near the Canadian border in grave cree in Montana also. Then in the North fork of the Clearwater in Idaho.  We find them feisty taking drys. Hoppers and trudes especially.  Thanks for sharing your fishy outings. We are in a holding pattern after Alaska but are planning a trip west in August.. 

[kjackson]

You didn't say if you're still there, but if so, it would be worth checking out Lake Lenore.  It's not too far from Wenatchee but does (or did haven't been there is a long time)vhave Lahontan cutthroat and some were pretty good size.  There is a lot of bank access, and the lake is perfect for a small boat.  Your son might find it worth checking out.  

 

[dpitt]

5 hours ago, kjackson said:

You didn't say if you're still there, but if so, it would be worth checking out Lake Lenore.  It's not too far from Wenatchee but does (or did haven't been there is a long time)vhave Lahontan cutthroat and some were pretty good size.  There is a lot of bank access, and the lake is perfect for a small boat.  Your son might find it worth checking out.  

 

That's awesome, will let him know and I'll be back. Will have him do some recon there. thanks for the info!

[Quillback]

If you are out there in the fall, take a look at the Yakima below Ellensburg.  The river gets irrigation runoff during the summer and is too high to fish, but in the fall it drops to fishable levels.  Plenty of bank access in the canyon below Ellensburg, there is also a walking bridge to cross to the other side.  It is all catch and release single barbless hooks regulated so there are plenty of wild rainbows.  A few cutts too.  

It's a popular fishery, but with catch and release regs there is a robust population of wild trout.

I think it's about a 1.5 hour drive from Wenatchee.  Here's a writeup:

The Avid Angler | Fly Fishing Shop Seattle, WA | Fishing Conditions | Water Profiles | Rivers | Yakima River

[Quillback]

Article about salmon restoration on the Yakima, but it has a good pic of the river right before it enters the canyon.  

Yakima River