We decided to do a very last minute camping trip and decided on cooper lake above cle elum lake. Cooper seemed like it would be an out of the way lake that wouldnt be crowded. We got to the lake around 11am to find that every camp site was booked, and more people arriving. The day use area was crowded, and the small lake had a ridiculous amount of kayaks, canoes, and pontoons. Not to mention lots of people fishing. I did not expect it to be as busy as lake cushman. So we had to think of another place to camp, and we had heard a little about Lost lake, above keechelus lake. We back tracked a little and made our way up to Lost lake. Lost lake wasnt too hard to find but the forest service roads are over grown and not labeled, but we had a gps that helped. The camping on the lake is primitive, no bathrooms and a pack it in pack it out rule. There was probably about 10 camping sites with rock fire pits. There is also a few camping sites that are only accessible by boat. The lake is deep and we ended up fishing with powerbait off the bottom. I caught one fat trout about 15" for dinner. We went out to the same spot in the morning and my husband and I each got a 16incher out of the same spot. Morning and evening the trout are feeding on the top of the water. The trout stomachs were packed with ants and beetles. We really regretted not bringing a fly rod. A few fly fishermen claimed they caught too many to count. The trout were all really good sized and would be a blast on the fly rod. I highly suggest you to make a trip up there with a fly rod, the water is crystal clear and the lake bottom drops off fast from the shore, and you can see trout cruising along. The trout were even coming up and biting at our line as it sank through the water. We did try spinners but never got a bite.

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