Anyone got any special lakes that they are hankering to go to this year?

Out of state lakes aren't eligible (unless they are big fish BC lakes and you will share the directions with me)

I had a real nice trip into Joe lake (Crest Trail) a couple of years ago and always wanted to go back again. It's loaded with Twin Lakes cutts. Alaska lake is on the way and also has the same cutts. I never fished that one.

One other I wanted to fish was the one up behind Spectacle lake. Supposedly it has goldens in it. Info is current and source was very reliable. Without referring to a map I don't recall the lake's name.

Both lakes are 10 mile hikes each way.

Zenbo, the only trips I'm interested in are the ones that are at the secret lake for now. Cant wait for Micro Brew to get back from vacation so I can get him pumped up about going over next month. Fly fishing is great! :p

Zen - any lake that I can get to and fish is a special lake! But yeah, there are a few that I would like to get to including Chopaka. I don't have anything scheduled except a Canada trip in July. April brings the new little fishergal to our family so I will be busy changind diapers.

If I was to hike to a lake it would have to be on the other side of the parking lot. I don't think that my knees could make to long of a hike. Heck, I even have trouble going up stairs but level ain't to bad. Jim S.

Jim S, lakes don't have to be hike-in lakes to be eligible for the "special lakes" list.

Shoot, I'd like to get back to upper Hampton and test out my theory on trout and bloodworms. I found a big mud bottomed flat that had lots of fish signs the last time I fished it. This was the same year I really got in to chronies...just a month or two earlier to using them a lot.

Someone mentioned another lake I'd like to get to this year in the Grayling thread. One I'd like to get to this year is Slide lake which holds Twin Lakes cutthroat. Some of them are so pretty that they remind me of golden trout. Also it's a relatively short hike of around half a mile. Just gotta find the right road to drive up. Nope.. not being coy. Just don't remember which is the right road. I need a map again also.

Upper eastern WA is iced up now, last I checked. Iced up down to about Yakima. Haven't checked the last week as I don't have any duck hunting trips planned for two weekends.

Bobbers D. Make sure those diapers have fly patterns in the print. You shouldn't use those plain white ones.

NEWS FLASH!! There is one member of this board now that knows I can't catch fish. Might be why I haven't taken MB or TM fishing with me.

Zen, I fished Alaska Lake back in the early 90's a couple times. Had a nasty hard to follow trail from in behind Hyak up Gold Creek Valley. Not sure you can even access it that way any more, but you can get there off the crest trail too by hiking down steep slopes w/o trail when you spot it.
It's full of nice Cutts including I suspect some big ones though all I cought were 11-14".I got rained on hard despite a good forecast the last time in there. Very unpredictable weather along the Cascade Crest Mts.
I'm anxious to hit Sprague right after ice out. The big carryovers in there (#3-#5)come into one particular shallow bay after the first hatching chronies in the spring. Almost no one fishes them with flies.
I'm gonna try it this year.

Ron,

Did you go into Alaska via the Gold Creek route in early 90's? I heard that trail along the creek was a rough route and the Crest Trail was better even if it was 5 miles longer.

Never heard of fly fishing Sprague Lake. That's an interesting thought. I have done good there fishing for walleyes with whatever one wanted to throw at them. I've wanted to get back to Sprague and throw some streamers for walleyes. There's one spot they sort of gang up at close to the resort in the middle of the lake.

Zen, You dont catch fish??????????? I dont believe this. I know Micro Brew does. F.F. might catch them but I dont know this for sure. So the east side is icing up? Is this true F.F. ?

Have any of you ever heard or (or better yet, actually been to) goat lake in the Olympics?

Let me start out by saying that this really is a Secret Lake, and by giving out the name and very general location is really not helping a whole lot. Even if I gave exact directions, you would still have trouble finding it, and the tough climb would ensure that you don't do it often. And only a fool would consider trying to pack out any of the fish - assuming they could actually catch any that is...
The lake is only shown on a few maps and usually not labeled.

One year I was camping and fishing a small OP river for bows and brookies when I guy came by and started chatting with me. He points up to some mountains and tells me there is a lake up there that has salmon in it (he holds up his hands indicating about a 2 to 3 foot length). He says he is not a fisherman, but he has seen the fish swimming in the lake and thought a fisherman could do well in there.

Well, for starters, the fish are obviously not 'salmon', but more likely big bows. So I decided to do some research and come back next year to check it out.

Well, I did find some info on the lake and also found out that it is occassionally stocked with bows (like every 4 years or so) and that the lake has an execellent supply of fresh water shrimp (forget the name right off...), so the trout eat well and get big.

So the next year I took my brother to find it. We ended up trying to follow some actual trails that seemed to be in the right direction. We ended up going about 18miles that day only to find a tiny lake full of 8 inch brookies.

So a few years later I'm back and I find out from some old timers who ride in on horses, set up a base camp (where I happened to be) and take a few hours to climb up a fisherman's trail along a creek to fish the lake. Apperently they have been fishing it for years but never have much luck (I think they mainly toss spinners). But they did confirm that it had many BIG fish in it.

So I tried to find the trail by myself and had some trouble. Finally, after some crazy climbing for an hour, I found the actual trail. Well, I got to within 1/4 mile of the lake, but by this time I'm walking accross shale (sp?) type loose rock on an open slope, and the wind is picking up and a rain storm seems to be moving in. Looking all the way down the slope started creeping me out, since I was alone, I decided to call it quits.

Well, it is a few years later and I still have not been back. But at least I now know exactly where the 'secret' trail starts and know what to bring and how much time to allow.

Anyway, this lake has been on my list of places to checkout for about 10 years now. Maybe I'll never make it back - but it is fun to occassionally day dream about how incredible it must be...

Zen: my trips into Alaska Lake were in the very late 80's or early 90's. Had a USFS and state forestry map that showed the trailhead. I understand there is new logging and a Real Estate development in Gold Creek Valley now so not sure you can go that way anymore. I got lost where the trail leaves Gold Creek and heads uphill. Poorly marked and easy to miss. After Gold Creek you kind of pick your way straight uphill through tall bracken fern and hope you,re on a trail. Somehow I got there.
TM: The lakes in the Spokane and Cheeny area are frozen up and fishable through the ice. The lakes in the basin are not even frozen. Two different worlds though only 40 miles apart. The lake below my deck has no ice whatsoever on it (unheard of for January), but I understand the higher elevation lakes in Okanogan Co. have various amounts of ice.
All the lakes in the Sun Lakes Basin are ice free as is Banks,even in the shallow bays.
48 degrees here today on my deck.....unheard of for first week in Jan.

Phishprheak, Goat Lake WAS planted with Atlantic Salmon which dined on the scuds and bacame big up to around #5-6. It was well known among the Olympics fishing/hiking fraternity back in the late 70's and 80's. I doubt the plants were continued,last I heard there were no more Atlantics. But like you say it does get planted once in a while w/bows.
Don't worry about me or any other guys getting in there and depleting it. By the time anyone finds the maps that show it,hike up the mountains a long hike,etc. they'll be ready to head for home with just the experience to show for it.

Another HOT Olympics rainbow lake is Scout lake up the Hamma Hamma. You go to Upper Lena lake. Most people camp there the first night. Then you go Northish up the high ridge above Lena. From the top in many places you can see down into the next basin and pick your way down into Scout lake.
I think the bows may be spawning in the outlet of this lake. Anyhow years ago it was dynomite for big rainbow and was on many Tacoma area Scoutmasters list for a rough/hike and campout to take the kids on. Haven't heard anything much since I moved. If ya go, ya owe me a report!

F.F. are you planning on hitting the secret lake in Feb? I do as I think Micro Brewski will also go. My friend jose who went twice with me in nov will also go. I dont know if mr Zen is going or not. I want to work on my chrono fishing there.
I hope this warm (soggy) winter doesnt effect the fishing later this spring and summer.

TM,

Be careful what you ask for. FF is a real fishing machine and doesn't stop for food nor drink. He also fishes from early in the morning until dusk.

So, if you get him to go fishing with you, be prepared to fish long and hard.

The warm weather is melting the ice on central WA lakes. Supposedly there's another batch of cold weather coming in later in the week.

Only way I outfished FF back when we fished together is he left his rod unattended for a few minutes. I notched his leader tippet in a couple of well placed spots. He thought those fish were big enough to break him off...

I also only tied two special flies for him. He lost them both in about 30 minutes. He was too wary for me and never paid the $25 per fly I waved in front of you

I think the Atlantic Salmon record came from Goat years ago. It was somewhere on the O.P. for sure.

T.M likes to fish allday, Doesnt the Zen? What $25 flies were these? My car is down right now Zen so I dont know if I can tie this week! My loss. Zen are you gonna go in feb to the secret lake?

TM
I'm down for the Secret Lake in Feb. IF the conditions are anywhere near right. No use treading water for nothing if it's too cold. If it's on, I'll probably day trip it from home. Little chilly nights in Feb. for me and Arthur Ritus to be campingout together.

That Zen flatters me greatly. I just happened to hit the right chronies the couple days we fished together and hammered them good. Love it when that bobber goes out of sight every few minutes.I do like to fish most of the day though unless it gets nasty.
I read somewhere that Micro likes the Brown Trout and I got a couple dandy spots I'll share with him if he shows on the early trip.
Keep me posted when you plan to do the trip.

F.F I look forward to it. If it is to cold then we can always fish it when it warms abit. I cant wait to fish it . Browns yes we like them browns.
I did see the M.B. catch and release a 24" bow when we fish the lake in November. E-mail me on what chronos you were using.

The record for Atlantic Salmon caught in fresh water came from Goat Lake, 8lbs 10oz. I caught a 8lb 8 oz. fish in Green Lake in Seattle. It came comlpete with UW spaghetti tag. I had it weighed at a nearby QFC.

What no garlic bread?

TM,

Nice comeback. The funny part was HOW I caught it. I had been trolling a wedding ring spinner with worm and had about a 1/2 inch or worm left on the hook. I had just landed at the amphitheater dock when I see this pig of a fish cruising right at the dock. I put the wedding ring w/ worm about a foot in front of it, and it bit. No cast. Now that is sight fishing.