in case anyone is interested in fly fishing lake lenore: in the past couple of days while driving past lake lenore i noted several fly fishermen working the VERY NORTH END. today there were ten fishermen there, three of them using "banana boats" or float tubes. all of them were almost elbow-to-elbow in the shallow water. could it be that they anticipated that the shallow water would be warmer than the rest of the lake?? the typical southerly spring wind must have made fly casting into that wind a challenge. dunno if anybody was catching, since i was just drivng by.

i'm posting this info in case any of you have a hankering to give lenore a try soon.

This time of year the Lahonta cutthroat trout migrate to that north end of the lake. The chroinamide fly fishing can be absolutely incredible with 40-50 fish days being the norm. It can be one of the best spring fisheries in the state.

The cutthroat are trying to spawn in the shallow north end of the lake. On the couple of occasions when I have stopped to watch the circus that takes place there, most of the fish that I saw landed had been snagged.

Preston describes the North end quite accurately. It is definetly a zoo. Between the guys fishing from the bank and the guys in tubes, they have the fish encircled. It can be fun if your goal is to smoke a cigar and visit with your buddies but do not attempt the north end if you are out for peace and quiet.

Lenore offers a lot of other great spots if you put the time in to find them. One of the areas that can be a real kick but that gets little pressure is the second to the last boat launch before the north end. The fish come in here later then the shallow north end but the fish tend to swim by in schools and you can sight cast to them. Makes for some fishing.

The sound end is my favorite area to go in March and part of April. The weed beds down there offer some great fishing and it isn't nearly as crowded.

If you decide to fish the north end, paddle over the rocks on the right hand side. This is a great area and not as many people fish there.

Fished Lenore for 4 years, 10 days or more a year, and never saw a snagged fish. Dang, I'm missing out!

I agree, the couple of times I went most guys used chronomides with a slowwwww twitch retrieve. I never saw a snagged fish. It is combat fly fishing for sure.

Regarding the unintentional snagging of fish on the North end of Lenore......it happens! No one tries to do it, but if your reflexes are quick and you are attuned to the dip of the indicator you will occasionally fin or body hook a fish.
I have fished there as much as anyone this spring and know it's certainly a near rarity, but occasionally happens.
Anyone who had fished there for long using chironie and indicator knows what I'm talking about. Ya gotta be quick to do it though cause it's fish taking a quick look and rejecting your fly that sometimes results in a foul hook. I've had it happen elsewhere too, but it's more common on Lenore as the fish are bunched tightly.

Sounds similar to fishing for chums on Hood Canal.