First visit to Mtn FF only Lake on the Mtn this Yr

[Shawn Seeger]

It is not helpful that they allow keeping a rainbow and otherwise general rules.

I have see some folks w fly gear enthusiastically taking their limits or more.

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j

I would say that unless you are very lucky and using a measure net this year, like most (except when wdfw/hatchery is getting rid of brood stock) you will not catch a rainbow 18 or over at Leech lake. And generally they will die over the winter.

And generally the state isn't a big fan of Eastern Brook trout (and they are very prolific) so the catch rate of the lake ebbs and flows based on the year.

Most fly fishing guys don't keep these rainbow as they are "put and take/ hatchery" fish. That being said even if most days every fly guy kept one it would still fish great as this year you would be very hard pressed to catch an 18+ rainbow.

This is just my opinion and observances.

And yes I will keep and cook a couple of brookies once a year.

Cheers and tight lines

 

[Eastside]

I would say that unless you are very lucky and using a measure net this year, like most (except when wdfw/hatchery is getting rid of brood stock) you will not catch a rainbow 18 or over at Leech lake. And generally they will die over the winter.

And generally the state isn't a big fan of Eastern Brook trout (and they are very prolific) so the catch rate of the lake ebbs and flows based on the year.

Most fly fishing guys don't keep these rainbow as they are "put and take/ hatchery" fish. That being said even if most days every fly guy kept one it would still fish great as this year you would be very hard pressed to catch an 18+ rainbow.

This is just my opinion and observances.

And yes I will keep and cook a couple of brookies once a year.

Cheers and tight lines

The stocked rainbows might not be over 18 inches but they pull hard. I agree with your opinion of them dying over the winter because I like to fish the lake once it is ice-free before it is stocked and generally only catch a few holdovers. This year I caught none. Brookies taste much better than the stocked rainbows and I also keep a couple for the cast iron frying pan. When I was growing up my family had a cabin in NE Oregon and those were the only fish that my mom would cook for us to eat.

 

[Cowlitz Bottomfeeder]

I’ve been fishing that lake on and off since the 90’s. There used to be lots more aquatic vegetation and the Callabaetis hatches were heavier used to last 2 hours. When I row out there, I see the bottom barren and pockmarked with little depressions from our anchors. Are we adversely impacting this lake or just changing it?

So far as Brook trout, it’s pretty hard to overfish the Brook trout in a lake with inlet and outlet streams. There’s tons of little ones in there and just a few in the 14-15” range. My guess is it’s a healthy population.

 

[fkajwg]

i don’t mind someone keeping a brook trout or two.
folks holding up their stringers full of fish is, to me, not in the spirit of a FF quality fishery.

it’s not that hard to fish out a shallow lake like that one when some poaching is also going on,

I think the psychology of saying NO rainbow trout retention is very different from saying you can retain one if it’s big enough.

if there are none over 18 inches anyway, as you say, then no one loses the opportunity to keep a fish, while the regs are clear about the intent to have a quality fishery.

I remember years when RBs were abundant all summer, and you could sight fish, and some years with 18-20 inch slabs.
i have not seen that so much in recent years.

so I would advocate for 2 brook trout limit, period.

I don’t think winter kill is as frequent as some do.
I had a break off last week that suggested a surviving holdover, vs a recent planter.

j

hope to see some of you on the lake!

 

[fkajwg]

By late afternoon on Sunday there were an abundance of damsels among the reeds, and a few Callibaetis in the air above them.

I did not see much insect or fish activity out in the lake, nor many bent rods.

of course I did talk to someone who told me the fishing had been good on Friday!
also that the the lake was quite full of watercraft on Saturday.

j

 

[Aaron Meredith]

I fished the lake for the first time for a few hours Tuesday night and a few hours early Wednesday morning...I knew going in that it was a shallow lake, but had no idea how shallow (nothing more than 7' on the finder) Netted one 18" rainbow and a ton of brookies. Lake clarity wasn't great due to churn, but plenty of damsels and callibaetis about when it calmed down. I didn't see anyone keeping fish, but from what experienced several stringers of brookies coming out of that lake wouldn't hurt it a bit.

 

[Cowlitz Bottomfeeder]

There Thursday. Looks like the beginning of an algae bloom which will shut everything down until it clears Even the Brookies quit biting. Hope I’m wrong about this.

 

[fkajwg]

Driving up from the east on Th, the Naches river was muddy. This is not normal.

I’m guessing the thunderstorms earlier in the week are responsible, so perhaps storm water also carried nutrients into the lake, stimulating algal growth.

Jay

 

[Chris M]

Friday evening from 4 pm to 8 pm every 20 to 30 minutes. A very large osprey.

 

[FishyJere]

Mouths to feed.
Its fun in the late summer to watch the fledgelings learn to fish. They have a lot of motivation but little skill.

 

[Ronbow]

Update from the 5th.
Lots of algae, visibility about 3-4 feet. I.e. can't see bottom. Light winds, sun and clouds, enough mosquitoes to get you airborne, or dehydrated...... Very little good bug activity though damsels were out aplenty. A few rises, a few callibaetis, nothing to focus in on.
Yea, a few fish around, did best on a red butt mid under an indicator. Mostly 'bows

.
Ron