Eastern Washington Fishing Report 09.13.18

EASTERN WASHINGTON FISHING REPORT

Chopaka Lake (WA)

You know dry fly action is good when a couple of guys drive all the way down from Chopaka Lake to pick up more flies that they have run out of. Parachute Adams was what they were after and they just about cleaned me out of the #14 and put a big dent in the #16s’. They told me they have never had such good topwater action on a lake like they have been having in the last couple of days.

Right after the dry fly guys left, I had a gentleman stop in on his way out heading home. He had stopped in a few days earlier on his way up to the lake for information and a few flies. He told me the fishing was great and he wished he didn’t have to go home. He told me about the other guys and the great dry fly action they were having, but he said he liked to strip leeches and did great with what he picked up here in the shop a few days earlier.

Based on the reports coming in, I would recommend using a #14-#16 Parachute Adam's for your surface dry fly action. For the sub-surface, I would go with a #10 Richard’s seal bugger 3 and 2. Oh, I guess a should mention that booby flies have been a top action getter too. And, the two that have been doing well are a #8 hot orange Chan’s Las Vegas and a #10 peaches and cream. Finally, you’ll want to use a type 3 up to a type 6 sinking line. And, slow stripping has been getting some crazy action.

Big Green Lake (WA)

It’s funny how some lakes seem to get very little action this time of year. Big Green is one of them. Most days that I have been there, I have seen little to no one else on the water. Too bad.

The fishing here has been outstanding. Like most of the lakes in the area, the fish are hungry and feeding hard. I fished mainly leeches and bobby flies and ended the trip with over 20 fish to hand. For the booby flies, I was using a type 5 full sinking line with a floating booby tip attached. I found using a slow retrieve brought a lot of strikes in about 10-feet of water.

For the leeches, I started off with an intermediate line in 2 to 5-feet of water. As the day progressed, I then switched to a type 3 full sinking line and water over 10-feet. I should mention, that when I was using the floating booby tip, I also put on a couple of different water boatman's and picked up about 10 fish that way.

The booby flies I used were; a #8 black peacock Chan’s Las Vegas, a #10 orange cactus, and a #10 pickled cabbage. The water boatman that had the most reactions was a #12 float boatman. And, the leech pattern that was a winner for me was Rob’s slight leech in #10 maroon/black -or the straight up maroon. The rainbows are hungry, and it will continue to get better at Green Lake.

Rat Lake (WA)

Rat Lake has to be one of my favorite lakes in the area. With a mix of rainbows up 20-plus-inches and browns up to 18-inches, you never know what is going to happen. The other day the lake did not disappoint me.

When I’m on this one lake, I can always count on having a good time on the water. I’m one of those type of fly fishermen that like to try different flies when I fish. If I catch a couple of fish on one pattern, I’ll change to see what else is working.

I started off with an epoxy minnow in shallow water using my intermediate line. After a few casts, I hooked a nice 14-inch rainbow. I then kept moving along out from the shoreline and hooked into a few more -the largest being 16-inches. Next, I switched out the minnow pattern for an olive leech and caught a couple more about the same size that I had already landed. I then decided to switch my line out to a type 3 full sinking line and move out a little deeper. I ran through a few more leech patterns and was not disappointed.

The catching was not fast and furious, but it was good enough for me and a nice 15-inch brown topped it all off. I decided to take a break from casting and tie on a booby fly to just slow drift along. I used a slow retrieve and that’s all it took for several fat rainbows to play catch and release. The last fly I tied on was a wet hackle. I ended the day with a few more rainbows and a nice 16-inch brown.

Here is a rundown of the flies I used. For the leech patterns I used, a #10 olive/black red bead powder leech, a #10 olive Foissets TWS, and a #8 olive/brown Rowley’s waste troll leech. The booby flies that I used were; a #10 crystal bristol viva and a #8 olive Chan’s Las Vegas booby leech. The wet hackle was a #12 rainbow emerger. Overall, the temperatures are cooler and the fishing is definitively hotter.

See past reports from the Omak region, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.