I finally had to give in once I reached my 40's and dedicate myself to developing an adult career.. Couldn't blow off work forever you know.. Well I'm happy to report Ive picked up my rod and am ready to hit the waters again Hard from here on out until I finally follow that golden trout's feeding pattern through the pearly gates and into those dream waters to come!
Anyway.. I finally packed up the truck, loaded the cooler and dog and made the trip across the state, drawn by my warm memories of the wonderful days of leaping giant cutthroat trout and my secret special chironomid fishing styles!
Anticipation mounted as I reached Soap Lake, and the weather was warm and perfect. And finally there she was: The majestic Lake Lenore in her glory, and the memories came back so thick I had to concentrate to drive at a sane man's speed! I was initially surprised to see nobody fishing the south end, but it never was really anyone's favorite with the trek involved and the big boulders in the water. I chuckled as I thought of some funny moments in the past such as my buddy going in the soup after tripping over a huge trout in the shallows or my other friend walking out of the water to find his entire waders covered in orange scuds! And who can forget the wild horses running down the hillside and into the lake for a cool down and a drink in the evenings! And of course the fish here are Huge and Numerous and they sure respond well to our flies if the conditions are right! What a true rare jewel of a lake this truly is!
So I finally arrived, alive, at the legendary north end! Shock! There was not one single car in the parking area and nobody was fishing! Holy Cow! Whats going on here I thought.. The conditions were great and there were clouds of chironomids in the bushes along the path! I bounded into the lake with anticipation, but was stopped in my tracks when I saw the entire lake was covered with a decomposing vegetation like black goop floating everywhere! And it kind of stunk too..
I wasn't discouraged as I cast my bug and bobber! As I fished I noticed there was not one fish to be seen anywhere. Usually there are fish swimming the shallows and bumping into your legs here. Where did the fish go? Needless to say we caught nothing and never saw a fish. Things sure seemed different here and we wondered why?
The next day we met a park ranger, and I asked him what happened to the great Lake Lenore! He donned a sad look, and sort of pawed the gravel with his foot as he told a sad sorry, but one I have heard several time before..
Apparently a well meaning Ephrata Church sponsored some immigrants from Russia. The immigrants they got turned out to be criminals. Upon their arrival they soon discovered our wonderful Lake Lenore fishery. Rather than adhere to the laws of our country they snuck out on several nights for an unknown "prolonged period of time" and Gill-Netted the spawning streams until the lake had been severely decimated and practically devoid of any more fish. The Dept of Fisheries finally did catch this criminal group of Russians, but the damage has been done and our classic treasured Lake Lenore fishery is again very sparse and poor...