Several years ago I set out to catch as many species of fish and shellfish in WA and OR in a year as possible. It was an amazing year that opened my eyes to great diversity of fisheries the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Prior to that year I was mostly a "specialist" of salmon/steelhead and the odd trip for razor clams and crab. After that I specialized in not specializing and still pursue a variety of fisheries to this day.

However, one fish in that year eluded me on several occasions. This fish is the Beardslee's Rainbow Trout. Endemic to Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula these fish persist at low densities in this cold, deep, and unproductive lake. Catching them is made difficult by restrictive regulations that forbid the use of more than one rod, only a single point barbless hook, no bait, no weights greater than 2 oz, and no downriggers. The vast majority of the fish live deep in the lake and the restrictive regulations are meant to protect the broodstock which spawn only at the mouth of the Lyre River. Talking about putting all your eggs in one basket.

I blanked on several trips to the lake that year in the spring, summer, and fall. This past week I spent some time on the OP to escape the moonscape landscape that now surrounds my home. The green mountains, blue water, and salty moist ocean air was a welcome change from the past few months of heat and smoke. I decided to give the Beardlee's another try and was finally rewarded with two of these unique and absolutely beautiful trout.

It's been a challenging year for me as I suspect it has been for many but sharing a few moments with this uniquely Northwestern product of geology and evolution is definitely a highlight for me.

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