Eastern Washington Fishing Report 03.14.19
Omak Lake (WA)
Next week is when spring is supposed to officially start. According to the weather forecast, day time temperatures are projected to be in the mid-50s. All I can say about that is, let's hope so! Until then, I can report that right now fishing is okay.
In talking to the anglers that have been out there, they are catching a few fish here and there. Nicholson (Beer Can) Beach and Cowpie Beach are producing some nice fish averaging about 18 inches with a few over 22 to 24 inches. As night temperatures, as well as the day time temperatures, climb, the fishing should improve greatly. Right now, you will find most of the fish cruising right at the drop offs. The depth you will find them in is anywhere from 10 to 15 feet. That said, don’t be surprised if you get follows into the shallower waters. Most of the fish are not being super aggressive on their takes of a fly and you may have to switch your fly patterns until you find something that strikes their fancy.
When I go out, I usually take two rods. One set up with a dry line for indicator fishing and the other rigged up with some level of a sinking line. When using an indicator, I usually hang a balanced leech in a few different colors. You will have to play around and find the right color for that time of the day. The other fly I hang is a chironomid. Most of the time I use a size 12 in black/red, brown/red, or I use a Patriot design in blue/red. I guess I should also mention using some zebra style midge patterns in size 14 or 16 in a purple or black color work too.
You will need to play around till you find the right depth but, I would start out at 6 feet and work up or down from there until you find the sweet spot. With the sinking line, I start off with a small minnow pattern close to the bottom. Again, the type or style of retrieve is going to vary from day to day and hour to hour. You will have to keep changing till you find what Lahontans are keying in on at that moment.
I find that a #8 Sculpzilla is always a good streamer to start with. Then you can switch down in size to epoxy minnows or deadly shiners, or you can go up in size to complex twisted buggers and coffey sparkle minnows. Also, balanced leeches are not just for hanging under an indicator. Using something like the TFP balanced squirrel leech in black or purple will give you good up and down action when you retrieve it in. I can't tell you; you will catch a lot of fish right now but, you should get a few to hand at least.
Ice Out
With most of our area lakes that are open to fishing covered in about 10 inches of ice. Ice out is still a good two to three weeks away. As we all know, the weather is going to be a big factor. If we can get nighttime temperatures to stay above freezing with decent day time temperatures and then throw some wind into the mix, we could see some open waters hopefully before April 1st. All I can suggest is keep your fingers crossed and hope!
See past reports from the Omak region, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.