Anyone ever fished a private "pay to play" lake? If so, I'd like some info/thoughts/experiences. I'm not looking for a trout farm, but would like to find some nice, somewhat discriminating fish to get the fishing muscles in shape. . .

I myself have never payed to fish,But i have been to a lake which is now a pay to play lake. It is up out of Tonasket on a ranch. Call Avid angler for the details. The trout there are HUGE and well worth the trip if you can afford that type of fishing. I have found and know of other lakes that have just as good fish and they are free.
Another pay to play lake is Basline over in George.

In the winter Edition of Northwest Fly Fishing there is quite a write up about the pay-for-play fishing. Their are not cheap. Average from 12.50 hr to 200.00 a day. So save your pennys if you want to fish them.

Sorta of on this subject is Denny Rickards. I went to his presentation on stillwater fly-fishing at the Portland Sportsman Show. While his info was very interesting and helpful, It seemed like most of the big fish pictures he had in his slide show were caught out of pay to play lakes. I have nothing against these places, but it put an asterick in my mind about Denny Rickards.

Although many pay to play lakes are quite expensive, there is one in the Mazama area that isn't that bad of a deal. It's the Freestone Inn. I stayed there last October, and they charge around $100 for a day, but if you stay at the Inn, for as low as $100 a day, the fly fishing lake becomes an amenity. I figured that, if you are going to drive that far, you might as well stay overnight. Nice place, too! Plus, there are several lakes nearby, like Pearrygin, Patterson, and Twin Lakes surrounding Winthrop. However, I must say, sight casting from shore to 18+ inch rainbows at Freestone's lake was more satisfying than getting skunked at Twin Lakes.

Ceviche01: Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Is this lake a float-tubing lake, or do you fish it from shore?

Ceviche - thanks for the tip. That would be a great weekend for me and my girlfriend. She sits and reads/sleeps while I fish. Sounds good to me! Fish all day with excellent evening entertainment.

Pay to play lakes are great for kids, and beginners. Done it before. Might do it again. I like the challenge of fishing difficult fisheries once in a while. Fish-on! is cool, too.

I have been thinking about staying in this one place "in" Vegas where they have bass and trout stocked in their man made lake. I figure it would be a lot cheaper than gambling. Wife came up with this idea as a way to get me back down there. I'm more than halfway sold.

A friend of mine worked on the aquacultutre program at Disneyworld. He said that if I ever got a chance to fish ANY WATER at Disneyworld. JUST DO IT!

$75/day Some damn nice fish in the private lake I fish at...thats my biggest to date!

Nice fish Ryan!

I went up and fished a private lake outside of Snohomish a couple of weeks ago. Not a real pretty lake, but wasn't there for the scenery. Had a great time and the fish are huge. Caught about 12 fish in 4 hours, the smallest about 4 lbs and the biggest was 34" and an estimated 15 lbs. It was the biggest dang rainbow I've ever seen. I measured it's length from the butt of my fly rod to five inches above the first line guide. I'll go back to this lake when I want a quick getaway and good fishing. But will still fish all the public lakes as they will still provide the challenge of fishing.

I don't recall if Freestone allowed float tubes; however, I fly fished their lake from shore. There was plenty of room for my back cast, though I did have to always keep my eye out for the trees and shrubs behind me on the north side. Lost one or two flies learning the hard way. If you go, use nothing less than a 3x leader and a 4x tippet. The fish will have you down with them in the weed beds if you're worried about your gear. If you have any questions, Freestone does have a website: www.freestoneinn.com. Plenty of contact info there.

Moccasin Lake near Winthrop/Sun Mountain is excellent. A big lake, with a huge varity of fishing. Shoals, weedbeds, deep water, and even some sight casting from shore avaialble as well. It's pricey, about 175 a person/rod, but it's a good one. Book thru Sun Mountain Lodge. I used to fish it when it was open to the public, and it was great then, but it's a lot better now. Kamloops and Browns. Average fish 14 to 18, but quite a few bigger ones, and some whoppers that go 10 pounds plus. Lots of bug life, and lots of match the hatch fishing when the timing is right.