Eastern Washington Fishing Report 04.26.18
Little Green Lake
Fishing has been fast and furious at Little Green Lake and its big sister Green Lake. These two lowland lakes (and other early opening lakes in Okanogan country, like Rat, Davis and Spectacle) have been a wise choice for anglers getting out before the general opener this weekend. Now that settled weather has finally arrived and ice-off is a fading memory, rainbows are smacking trolled and stripped leeches like the Pineapple, the Red Head or the Bruised Leech in sizes #8 - #12 on intermediate lines.
Anglers are also anchoring in five to 10 feet of water and fanning out casts with full-sinking lines, sporting Boobie flies on mid-length leaders. Last outing, a #10 Pickled Cabbage Boobie accounted for four fish before it was time to troll back to the boat launch. For those not familiar with Boobies, the technique involves allowing your line to settle on the bottom while the floating Boobie suspends a few feet above the weeds. Be advised (especially in catch-and-release lakes) there are reports of fish hooking themselves deeply on this method. So be sure that you have your barb pinched and a handy set of hemostats or a ‘Ketchum Release’ to let ‘em off easy. It should be noted that road closures have impacted the area due to heavy precipitation and snowpack. At this writing, the Green Lakes are not accessible from the eastern approach. Rather, folks should head up the Salmon Creek drainage and take Green Lake Road from the west.
Omak Lake
Lucky visiting anglers with impeccable timing are throwing out insane hookup numbers while gloating around the shop. Prior to last week, reports had been mixed but, now that the sun seems here to stay, so are the cutthroat. Sight fishing is in full force now and anglers are turning fish with minnow patterns, such as Tak’s Mini Minnow, and bugger/leech patterns, like Rowley’s Balanced Leech in #s 6-10 or Krystal Buggers #s 6-10. These can be stripped on intermediate or sink-tip lines as fish approach, or twitched under an indicator/fly on floating lines when pods are nearing. As fish get spookier, small damsel wets, like the Ditch Damsel in #12 can often save the day.
A few hard lessons were learned this week as these toothy critters reportedly were breaking 4X tippets with ease. No need to bring waders at this point as wading into their cruising lane is ill-advised. But, I would recommend some flats boots or similar footwear so that you can wade in to release fish over water. Otherwise, I’d stay dry and out of sight. By the way, Mission Bay boat launch road has been occasionally closed, so call and check with the shop before heading to the lake. Omak will likely be consistent now for the next few weeks and probably continue its productive ways through May. It may be the place to be while the general opener lakes get the crowds this weekend. Remember to pick up a Colville tribal permit at North40. Please peruse the Colville fishing pamphlet, too, as certain beaches and bays are closed to fishing. Stop into the shop for the latest on road closures, washouts and hot flies.
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