Best Colville Washington Tribal Fly Fishing Lakes

Who could tired of sight fishing to cruising cutthroats on Omak’s beautiful beaches? Not me. Playing here kitty, kitty with a 7 pound trout tends to get the blood pumping.

But occasionally, while stripping in that bugger, we wonder what lies beyond the foreboding cliffs ringing the lake? After all, variety is the spice of life -- particularly in fly fishing, right?

It is said, "Never leave fish to find fish," and who wouldn’t agree? But over the years, Colville tribal fish biologists have proven to be magicians, and magic can make a guy curious.

I Will Fight no More Forever.. Fighting Cutties on Omak Lake

Omak Lake features aggressive, toothy fish often taping well over 20 inches. The lake boasts the Washington State record for cutthroat (over 17 pounds), and is completely pristine.

Between Chief Joseph Dam and upstream megalith Grand Coulee, the Columbia River courses some 50 odd miles, bounding the southern edge of the Colville Confederated Tribes’ Reservation. This is home to a second Washington State record this one for rainbow trout: 29 pounds.

Rufus Woods is Chief Joseph’s resting place. If Chief Joseph were a fly fisherman (and I’m sure he was), he could not be more proud of the job that Native fish managers have performed here.

Rufus Woods and the Biologists that Rebuilt the Fisheries

Old-timers wax poetic during social hour at the Okanogan County Fly Fishing Club meetings. Between jiggers of this or that, they remember the days when Rufus put out trout in the high teens regularly. Since then, our county’s anglers have branched out and explored many Colville waters.

We can only admire those early fly fishing expeditions. Searching a wild reservation spanning 1.4 million acres for gamefish is not for the faint of heart. Thank heavens they left breadcrumbs!

With hundreds of lakes on the Colville Reservation, where should one look? Let’s begin with the breadcrumbs- what follows are a few of the best Colville lakes, with a couple more you shouldn’t skip if you’re holding that tribal permit.

A guide to Fly Fishing the Nespelem Lakes

Driving up into the hills from Nespelem, it’s not long until you reach lake country. A thousand feet above town, the views here become expansive, looking south to the deep gorge of the Columbia or west to the North Cascade Range.

Nearby, the Okanogan Range, including Mt. Omak, still holds snow and many lower peaks encircle a constellation of small lakes that beckon: Buffalo Lake (540 acres), McGinnis Lake (118 acres) and Rebecca Lake (10 acres).

Fly Fishing on Buffalo Lake

The first of these quality lakes you encounter is Buffalo Lake. Buffalo is the largest and most varied of the Nespelem area lakes. It’s best known for its large rainbows, which can top 8 pounds. However, many anglers fish the lake for its quality largemouth bass. Kokanee can be an attraction here later in the summer, especially if you’re camping and would like some table fare.

If you’re launching a larger craft, try Reynolds Resort or the tribal boat launch area, both of which are plenty accommodating with plenty of elbow room. In fact, get used to plenty of elbow room. The last time I fished Buffalo Lake, I saw no other anglers the entire time.

Smaller craft can still manage to find sheltered coves and bays if the wind comes up--Buffalo Lake is rather like an ink spot on the map with many arms and inlets to explore.

One Nespelem area lake technique you might try is anchoring and dunking a "Boobie" fly off a full-sinking line. A short level leader to float that Boobie (a floating fly) just up out of the bottom vegetation is all that’s needed to complete the set up. If you haven’t tried this British technique for trout, you’re missing out!

Bass in Buffalo Lake tend to like downed snags and other wooded structure. With an elevation of 2,415 feet, the lake can get off to an early start eating crawfish and leeches try a craw pattern with a blue hue in Buffalo they’re all over.

If you need full sink fly fishing lines, they are available here.

Rebecca Lake: A Tribal Gem for the Fishy Kind

Following the breadcrumbs south, you pass a short cutoff leading down a few switchbacks into Rebecca Lake. Rebecca Lake is a little gem and is best fished with a float tube, pontoon boat or small boat.

There is a boat launch best suited for small crafts. It’s just a beautiful place to catch lots of small largemouth along with the possibility of some sizeable largemouth in the shallow water on poppers, frog or mouse patterns on top. It’s a great place to just chill in a heavenly canyon.

McGinnis Lake- It’s a Numbers Game

The numbers guy in every group will love McGinnis Lake, the last lake in the line of the Nespelem area lakes. Be prepared to catch some quality Brook trout when you arrive at McGinnis. The boat launch at this lake is in the middle of a small group of lake homes, but as soon and you cast off from shore, you’re in a wild place.

Heading for the opposite end of the lake promises the most seclusion and a few shoals to prowl too. However, I’ve done fine right off the launch, so, it just depends how much rowing I’d like to do. If you are launching a motorized boat be sure to check the Colville regulations pamphlet for permissible motors on these lakes.

The boobie technique works well on McGinnis Lake, however, the last time I fished it, I trolled a UV Black Leech pattern on a Type 5 sinking line. Within an hour, I had 4 brookies to hand averaging 14 to 16 inches- and had missed quite a few more strikes.

Check out our leech patterns online here. 

Fish can hold over well in McGinnis and I’ve heard of many "biggest Brookie of my life" stories. It may pay to use just a little heavier fluorocarbon in case you do tie into a hook-jawed specimen at this lake.

Cameron Lake Area Lakes

Whereas the Nespelem area lakes are hidden among the hills, The Cameron Lake area of the Colville Reservation is wide open high, undulating plains.

Here the reservation is prime shrub steppe habitat with opportunities for waterfowling in hundreds of small lakes. Two of the most established bodies of water are Duley Lake and Little Goose Lake.

Wild Horses and Lahontan on the Tribal Land’s Duley Lake

Throughout the Colville reservation, it is said that bands of wild horses roam freely. I could confirm that legend on my last trip to Duley Lake. When we pulled onto what resembled a covered wagon path to the lakeside, we noticed the group of animals ahead. Luckily, they didn’t scatter before we had a chance to snap a few photos.

But horses weren’t the only animals making Duley Lake their home, as Tribal biologists tipped us earlier this spring. The lake is supposedly full of Lahontan cutthroat! This fact, I cannot confirm as I was skunked on my last trip however, Fly Club members have long fished Duley and continue going back to sample this quality fishery.

Fly Fishing Little Goose lake

On the return trip to Omak from Duley, Little Goose Lake provides an angler a challenging trout population and good carryover numbers. Another tube or pontoon boat lake, Little Goose sits just off the main road and can be a short afternoon outing from downtown Omak.

If you are looking for a quick experience outside of Omak Lake, Little Goose can be an excellent change of pace with hard fighting rainbows and brookies.

Go Find your Own Special Fishery in the Colville Tribal Lands

Surely, there are more lakes on the millions of Colville acres that I could name in this article Twin Lakes near Inchelium is certainly one. But, perhaps a few of the lakes should remain for discovery on your own.

One BIG hint can be found in the Colville Tribal Permit Fishing Regulations notice the rundown of all the lakes and streams available to non-tribal anglers.

So, the next time you purchase that tribal permit; don’t ignore the sections on other lakes. Then, consider sampling a bit more of the Colville Confederation and all that their talented fish biologists can offer us fly fishing vagabonds.

Until then, I’ll probably see you at Cowpie Beach! And if you have any questions, use the form below and ask us--we'll work to get back to you within 24-hours.