Okanogan County Lake Opener

This last Saturday was the general opener for our area lakes. The weather was okay, bright and clear, but the temps were down a bit. Most of the lakes were in good shape. Reports from Chopaka Lake were good. Most anglers reported double digits of rainbows for those that were chironomid fishing. A fair number of the fish reported were on the large size of what is normal in the lake. Those using leeches did okay, maybe a little less on the numbers but still good. The down side of the opener at the lake was the number of anglers plying the waters. I can't blame them, the scenery this time of year makes it worth it. Also from what I was told, the road in was not a problem, but again I would suggest a All wheel or 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Blue lake in the Sinlahekin Valley was producing for the visiting anglers. Again, double digits were reported of rainbow and browns at Blue, with a mix in sizes. Chironomids were again the bug of choice with the highest results. For those using leeches, maybe not as many were caught, but a few 20+" browns were thrown into the mix. The lake level is up quite a bit more then it has been in years. A blessing to the lake and the fish.

One lake that did really poor was Buzzard. The water had less then 6" visibility with no reported fish caught. The lake is full due to the runoff. A lot of sediment is flowing in and this is resulting in the lack of clarity in the lake. As far as I have been told, there was not a winter kill, so based on the size of fish that were active at the end of October, there should be some hefty hold overs.

Big Twin Lake out of Winthrop reported good catches of all sizes. A number of bugs were preforming well. Of course, the chironomid was the first choice of most but a #12 Gold bead Thin mint is always a good fly to have on hand.

All the area lakes are holding a lot more water then they have in the last few years and should be good to go for a while, even if the temps go up. As the season moves forward, the crowds should spread out more and you will find the lakes a little less occupied then they were on this past opening weekend.

Also, make sure to stock up on both damsel fly nymphs and dries, dry Callibaetis, Chironomids and a few other May fly patterns. Some of the reports showed dry fly activities on some of the lakes and, as the weather warms, we should be seeing a lot more.