by Jason Brooks, May 24, 2015

When I was six years old my father decided to take us up to Eagle Lake that sits high above the Methow Valley. He strapped some sleeping bags onto the handlebars of his Honda motorcycle, I straddled the gas tank and my brother rode on the back with the pack of camping gear tied down to the bike, pinning him against my dad’s back. We putted up the trail towards the lake and met some hikers on their way down. As my father reminds me every time he tells the story, one of the hikers said to us “I know there is a motorbike somewhere under there because I can hear it, but I can’t see it!” We spent one night at the lake and between the three of us we caught two fish. My only real memory other than the wildflowers, bike ride and the fish were the mosquitos. Ever since then high lakes, as WDFW refers to them, have held a special place in my soul.

In Washington there are over 4,700 high lakes, defined by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a lake over 2,500 feet in Western Washington and 3,500 feet in Eastern Washington. Thanks to volunteer organizations such as the Trailblazers, Washington State Hi-Lakers, and the Backcountry Horseman 1,777 of those lakes have fish in them. A thousand have naturally producing fish populations but around 800 of them are periodically stocked by the volunteer organizations.

What is really great, besides the scenery is that this is one of the few programs WDFW implements that gets the most bang for their buck as noted in their 2005 High Lakes Management Plan: “This activity has an estimated annual worth of nearly $34 million while WDFW’s cost associated with managing the program is estimated to be around $40,000. Because many of the high lakes support self-sustaining fish populations, and because many of the lakes are stocked by organized volunteers groups, the program is one of the most cost-effective program administered by WDFW.”

The main goal for these fisheries is to protect and enhance fish habitats and still produce a recreational opportunity to catch fish. Of course these are not your typical stocker rainbows. The fish are put in small and due to a short summer season they grow only an inch or two a year. However, some lakes that are deep enough to hold just enough fish without a fear of overpopulating the lake from natural reproduction a fish just two to three years old can grow to 10”.

It’s those lakes that have natural reproduction where the fish hurt themselves. With a brief summer to gorge on bugs the fish can quickly overpopulate a lake and stunting of the fish occurs. This is especially true in lakes with Eastern Brook since they are actually a char and can spawn in the lake itself. Though most hikers who target high mountain lakes are catch and release subscribers, when you fish a lake where the fish are stunted, indicated by having a large head and small body, you might want to go ahead and fry a few up for dinner. Of course being this far back in the backcountry it’s not really an option to take any home but you shouldn’t feel too guilty having a fresh trout dinner if regulations allow. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has created an information page that list all of the lakes that currently have overpopulated fish and encourage “catch and eat” fishing. Just go to WDFW Fishing page then click on the Fish Washington icon or drop box and select the Fish Washington High Lakes icon. This will take you to the page that lists all of the lakes including those with overabundant populations as well as the stocking schedule and information on each lake that is part of the stocking program.

To catch the fish my favorite set up is to use a lightweight spinning outfit with 6 pound Izorline platinum mainline. The rod I use is a small 4 ½ foot two piece fiberglass spinning rod I found a few years ago. The thing is light, and pretty tiny when broke down. Plus if I happen to catch it on an overhanging tree limb during the hike up the mountain I know the rod tip won’t break off. To the mainline I tie on a black swivel and attach a clear bubble style bobber. I run a 3 foot leader of four pound test Izorline XXX to a dry fly.

This is my style of Alpine Fly Fishing. Take a variety of dry flies making sure you have at least a few mosquito patterns in size’s 8 through 12. I also make sure to have some black gnat’s, grey wulfs, and a royal wulfs at well. It’s pretty awesome watching these fish in the crystal clear water come to the surface and attack your fly. This is best fished early morning and late evening, or anytime you see fish rising and feeding. For mid-day fishing I use spinners. Just unsnap the bubble bobber and attach a 1/8 oz. to ¼ oz. Mack’s Lure Promise Keeper or a Yakima Bait Rooster Tail. The go to colors up high are black, brown, and green. I also like to switch out the treble hooks with a siwash hook. For a brighter and flashier offering that I use on overcast and dark days you can’t go wrong with a small dick-nite in half silver half gold color. I make sure to pack a few split shot as well to add a bit of weight to help extend my cast with the light lures. I never take bait into the high lakes for various reasons including the fact that it’s hard to soak bait in such a clear lake where fish are usually cruising closer to the surface looking for bugs as well as the fact that the mortality rate is really high when bait fishing.

If you are looking for a place to go check out the Alpine Lakes Index on this site under the Lakes tab, as well as a few Northwest Fishing Reports video by Mike Carey. You don’t have to hike a dozen miles to experience a high lake. In fact there are several just a mile or two down a trail. One of my favorite high lakes is found in the Okanogan above Chewuch River and that is Tiffany Lake. Take Forest Service road 37 up the Chewuch valley to FS-39 that winds its way up to the trailhead to Tiffany Lake. It’s an easy hike down to the lake but the hike back up to the truck for some reason isn’t as easy.

There are several lakes that take an entire day or even two to get to and are in the backcountry. These trips are a multi-day adventure in the most beautiful places Washington can offer. Normally you can’t even think about heading to most of the Alpine Lakes until mid to late July but this year due to the lack of snow you can get up there and hike the high basins right now. Make sure to check with your local Forest Service Ranger District for road and trail conditions. By July and into August some of the areas will have fire restrictions as well as a high fire danger with the lack of snow from this past winter. Bugs, like mosquitos and biting flies can be a real problem with standing water, mostly small mud puddles from melting snow but this summer might offer some relief in late summer as most of those puddles will be dried up. Just camp a little further up the ridge from the lake where an afternoon breeze will keep the bugs away. Just remember we are talking about the backcountry at high elevations and even in June a snow storm can hit. Make sure you are prepared for bad weather and take the appropriate clothing and gear to stay a day or two especially if you cross a creek to get to the lake. A summer’s rain can cause these creeks to rise to a point that it’s smarter to wait to cross than risking it so far back. But with fair weather, ice off the lakes, and hungry fish in pristine waters summertime is the time to get out and fish some high lakes.