Isaak's Ranch in Eastern Washington

My fishing friend, the amazing Rex Takasugi, invited me to share in a trip to a "pay-to-play" lake in Eastern Washington. The new owners of this particular lake are adhering to a very strict regime of proper quality fish management and it really shows.  The old name for the place is Isaak's Ranch.  All of the fish caught fought really well.  The number of days fished and the number of anglers is strictly controlled and this makes for a richer fishing experience.  The fish are also rested over the summer and the winter.

Because this place is so far away, Rex and I left the evening before in his new Subaru and drove to Soap Lake. We stayed at the Masters Inn in Soap Lake, which was friendly, clean and moderately priced. Next morning we walked around town until we found a place to eat. Then we drove up north to Coulee City where we met our guide Darc (rhymes with parse) who confirmed our directions to the location. About 30 minutes later, we were parked next to the lake, unloading Rex's pontoon boats. That's right, he even had an extra pontoon boat for me, that's the kind of guy he is.

Within a few minutes of being on the water, Rex, hooked and released a 22" fish. I got a 19" fish, which turned out to be the smallest fish of the day. Soon we moved to the far side of the lake where we joined a few other anglers. Everyone was catching fish. Rex for the most part stayed with this deadly T-Nymph while I switched to fishing chironomids under and indicator.

Soon I was hooking and landing fish after fish. They were all 20-21" long. I lost count of how many. Probably a dozen or so. I could have easily fulfilled the life long fantasy of 20 fish that are 20" or more, but in the afternoon, Rex and I decided to try for bigger fish.

We switched to a different part of the compound where they keep the really big fish, which are fewer and  harder to catch. I hooked one of the big ones but it bent my hook. Actually, I had 3 bent hooks that day.

Rex hooked and caught four of the big ones. They were approximately 25-26" and 7-8lbs. EIGHT POUNDS. Look at them, they are so big he has to hold them like babies! SICK MAN, SICK!!!!!

If you want to fish Isaak's Ranch (when it re-opens in the fall), contact Darc at the Desert Fly Angler in Ephrata.  And if you go maybe you'll see me there, because I'm thinking about going back and landing one of those hogs myself.

Opening Day, Snoqualmie Tree Farm

Every year, opening day represents a quandary for the serious angler. On the one hand, hundreds of Washington lowland lakes suddenly open. They’ve all been stocked with hungry, not-so-bright fish. So what’s the problem? Like baseball’s Opening Day, the lake fishing equivalent is over-attended everywhere. The state estimates that 300,000 anglers will be out on the water that day.

And the serious angler has a problem with this; the serious angler gets annoyed by yelling, screaming, drinking, rabble-rousing, and especially bait fishing. So… where to go? For me, the semi-serious angler, I solve this problem by visiting one of the seasonal lakes in the Snoqualmie Tree Farm. This represents the best of both worlds: the chance to present to fish who haven’t seen a fly or lure in six months and the opportunity to do it in relative peace and solitude.

The Most Awful Spring in Recorded History - Brrr!

Predictably, the weather on opening day was cold and windy, but at least it wasn’t raining. As I was opening the Spur 10 gate, a familiar chevy Suburban pulled up behind me. It was Dave, one of the local tree farm Master Anglers; we were headed to same season lake. I won’t name it, but its known for its large, tight-lipped fish.

As I launched my 12’ aluminum jon boat, I realized that my flies would be the first that these fish would see in 2011. I’d been skunked there on many, many days, but this was one of the few lakes where I’d heard of 20” fish being somewhat routinely caught. Personally, I’d never caught a fish larger than about 15” in the tree farm, but hope springs eternal, especially on Opening Day.

To my surprise, I hooked a fish about 20 minutes after launching, and then another. The second one (pictured) was probably pushing 16” and would qualify as a genuine Nice Fish. Meanwhile, Dave had rowed to the north side of the lake out of the wind and was hooking a fish on every other cast. The first 7 came off, causing him to check his hook. He showed me his mean-looking fly; it was a cross between a zonker and a Carey special. I’m sure the larger meat eaters in the water were very interested in it.

15" native cutthroat

After an hour, I caught a few more trout (14”) but I was freezing by this point and thinking of heading in.Dave started landing fish after fish, including one that he said was 17”. So I stuck around a little bit. I had been fishing the same Carey Special all morning and once again there was a tug on my line and then a satisfying heft. I reeled in a very nice fish, the largest I’d ever caught in the tree farm. It was 18” with a big head. I wanted to get a picture, but the fish was being quite feisty and rather than injure such a fine fish, I quickly let him loose.

The lake was fishing hotter than I’d ever seen it. But I was so cold I turned and started motoring back to the launch anyway. On the way I caught a two more fish, 14 and 15”. I was home by noon. What a great way to start the year!

Snoqualmie Treefarm in April

There are only a few lakes in the tree farm that are open year-round. But on one of the only two sunny weekend days in April, we couldn't resist visiting one of them. We expected there to be hordes and hordes of fisherman. In previous years, Hancock sold only 200 or so permits. This year they printed 800 and sold out, so we assumed we'd have plenty of company. But that was not the case: there were only two other anglers there when we arrived at the recently stocked, 25 acre lake. He had a stringer of four 12" rainbows.




The water was a little low, making launching a challenge, but between Amy, Casey and I, we made it happen. Each of us hooked a fish over the next few hours. Amy caught a fat rainbow on a BWO.

A nice evening was had by all!

Amber Lake, near Spokane

Amber Lake, from above

About 45 minutes south-west of Spokane is a pot-hole lake named Amber. The whole area is full of lakes, but this one is popular with the catch-and-release fly-fishing crowd. The lake is known for its large, wily rainbows and the fishing can be quite technical.

The Amazing Davenport Hotel in Spokane

I was already in Spokane on Business. In fact, I stayed in the famously remodeled old-school luxury hotel, the Davenport, right in the middle of Downtown Spokane. And I had one of the best rib-eye steaks I'd ever eaten at Churchill's Steakhouse next door. So no matter what, the fishing trip was already a success!

The first trip of the year is when you find out if you have any flies left or if your boat has a leak, or if your net has a hole. None of those things happened: all the gear looks good.

But, if you recall, this is the lake that, last year, caused me to finally admit that Amy is the better fisherman.

Amy with an Amber Rainbow last year

Part of me wanted to return to prove to myself that I still "had it" and that I could catch a mess of fish if she wasn't around to get them all first. Ultimately, I did no better than last year. In fact, I only caught one, and it was smaller fish, too (a recently planted 10" fish).

But it was a good trip anyway. If I could do it again, the only thing I'd change is the venue: maybe next time, Medical Lake.

A collection of Books

About ten years ago, when I first got into hiking I started collecting books authored by two of the northwest's most cherished eco-activists, Harvey Manning and Ira Spring. You can credit both of them with the awesomeness that is today's Mountains to Sound Greenway.



I recently hired a long-time local Snoqualmie Valley carpenter and he made an excellent cabinet/bookcase in the recessed area outside my home office. The top shelf is now populated with ONLY those books I collected. The funny thing is how many duplicates I purchased along the way.



I'm particularly proud of having all four of the original Footsore series from the 80's.

On another note. I was in the North Bend Ace Hardware about a week ago, and they had just sold out of the Hancock Forest Passes. So if you weren't one of the 800 people who got their passes well, you'll have to wait til next year!

My New Year's Resolution

Like many other high-mountain anglers, I maintain a list of lakes to visit. In fact, there's a long list and a short list. Well this year, my short list is very short and in fact, it has only one real entry on it.

I was going to name it but given the number of visitors to this site I figured that might not be a good idea, at least until AFTER I go there. My friend Vlad Karpinskiy visited there a few years ago and he said that its known as a fine fishing lake and that he had an encounter with a 15" trout there.

Its far enough from the road that it'll probably require an overnight stay. Fortunately, there are other good fishing lakes near there so I can make a real trip out of it.

I'm going to start staring at the photo of it right now. Mmmmm. I can already see myself taking this same picture!

Wish me luck in getting there in 2011.

Where are YOU going?

New Gear All Around

I swear this is coincidence, but all three of us have new gear to work with next time we go fishing.

Ross Evolution LT 1.5

Once, when I was visiting my parents in Montrose, Colorado, I met a friend of theirs who worked at Ross Reels (which is headquartered there). He had with him the 25th anniversary edition of the Ross Evolution reel, and I fell in love with it. I vowed to get one someday, and that day finally came. I'm the proud owner of a slate-blue Ross Evolution reel. Now I just need a slate blue spare spool and a couple of new lines and I'm good to go. I think I'll use it for all my alpine lake fishing next year.

Ross Journey Youth Rod

Casey did such a great job of casting on our last trip (see here) that I figured he deserves his OWN TRUE rod. Ross makes one designed for young people, called the Ross Journey Youth rod. Its a 7'6" blue (or pink) 4-piece, 4 weight rod at a reasonable price. My friend Marc Duhamel graciously donated a lightweight reel (and spare spool) to go with it. So now Casey is all set up and ready to go next spring.

Lastly, remember Amy's famous bright Pink Elkhorn rod? The one that catches all the big fish? It broke recently -- one of the feet came unglued at the base of a section. I sent the rod back to Elkhorn for repair. When the received it they called me and explained that they were going to have trouble matching the section since she had one of the early versions of that rod. So we worked out a deal to get a brand new Pink Lady for a substantial discount. It came in the mail a few days later. The new rod has a better reel seat and a hook holder. Hopefully this rod will be just as lucky as the previous one (rest its soul).

It might be a while before we go fishing again - we are not big steel-headers and that's the only game in town right now. But when we do go again, we can all get that new gear jinx out of the way at the same time!