My first time fishing Bonaparte. What a beautiful lake! I didn't think to take any photos, so unfortunately I can't share any eye candy. I'm a huge loon fan, and there are two nesting pairs on the lake, so listening to their calls made the afternoon more magical. There was a photographer there photographing the loons to display in his gallery Leavenworth.

We were staying at Curlew Lake State Park, but I've been wanting to check out Bonaparte, and I got here about 3pm on Tuesday. A rather late start, especially given that I didn't know the lake. There were maybe a half-dozen boats on the water - one or two fishing shallow, the rest apparently fishing for the large trout in this lake. We caught a lot of trout at Curlew the evening prior and that morning, so I was only interested in kokanee. I didn't see anyone else using downriggers or obviously running deep lines, so I may have been the only angler targeting kokanee. I marked some small schools in the lower part of the lake but didn't get any bites in a couple passes, so I headed to the larger/deeper part of the lake. I marked several schools, including some large ones, and I soon lost my first fish right at the boat. But after that, the bites were pretty steady, and I quit after 6 fish to get the boat out and head back to Curlew. The fish were mainly caught between 20-25 feet deep, although I did catch one at about 40 feet. I was using dodgers with pink or purple hoochies and anise-scented shoepeg corn.

I enjoyed the beauty of the lake so much that I brought my wife to Bonaparte the next afternoon. I caught 4 fish in the deep part of the lake in about 90 minutes, then 2 more fish in the lower lake by the fishing dock and launch. So the same total of 6 fish as the day before, but in about half the time. Now that I know the lake better, it might be easier to dial it in faster. The fish were mostly around 12" and nice and fat, but I did catch a few around 10". The smoker is going to be busy.

If you will be near Tonasket or Republic, WA, you should check out Bonaparte lake. Beautiful lake. I can't wait to go back to try for trout and Mackinaw at some point, plus maybe ice fishing for kokanee.

The Quadfather

6/12/2020 12:34:32 PM

Thanks for the report, Elliot. Agreed, it's a nice place for sure. The people running the little restaurant, etc. are nice folks too. If you get back over there, check out 'Round lake' on Aenass valley road, on the way towards Boniparte, via Tonasket. Great little lake with some FAT bows.

ElliottM

6/12/2020 12:37:55 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, Quadfather. I definitely want to get back to Bonaparte soon, and I will check out Round Lake!

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