Eastern Washington Fishing Report 10.11.18
Omak Lake (WA)
With snow visible in the higher mountains you would think fall is trying to leave us. For the last few days, the fall rains have been falling on and off at the lower elevations. The good thing about this is the fishing hasn’t slacked off much at all. It may be a little wetter and colder but that hasn’t deterred hungry Lahontan cutthroats from looking for a meal. Like any type of fishing you have great days then the next day it's just okay. A customer sent me a photo of a Lahontan he caught and sticking out of its mouth was an 8-inch peamouth chub it had eaten not too long ago. It’s a streamer game right now with leeches coming in second. Fishing from shore is yielding great results most of the time. The nice thing about Omak Lake this time of the year is that there are very few people out there. A 6-weight rod and a couple different sink rated lines along with a few flies will put you in the game. Based on what I have been using, and those that the customers kept getting, I would recommend using the following flies; a #1/0 white or gray/white Bowen’s mandolin minnow, a #8-#6 tan or olive near nuff sculpin, or a #2 tan or olive El Sculpito. Plus, black or purple squirrel leeches are one of the styles that are working in the leech department.
Aeneas Lake (WA)
Aeneas Lake is kicking out some nice rainbows up to 18 inches, along with a few browns over the 20-inch mark. You’ll want to dress warm and have a rain jacket handy because you never know what the weather will throw at you this time of the year. For most of the time, work the waters in close to shore from 3 to 10 feet. As far as what flies are working, it is fall and that means three things; leeches, buggers, and, or, booby flies. I could make a long list of each of these, but it would be a long list. I would strongly suggest using micro leeches in black or reds. For booby flies, two stand out the most -a #10 crystal bistol viva or a #8 hot orange Chan’s Las Vegas booby leech. Remember, dress warmly as the wind has a bit of a cold bite to it.
McGinnis Lake (WA)
I had a friend text me yesterday and tell me she fished McGinnis on Sunday and had an unbelievable day. She landed over 20 brook trout in under three hours. Most of them were right around 17 inches and there were a few over that. She was fishing water right around 8 feet or shallower. With only a couple of other people on the water, she had no competition where she was fishing either. She was using a small minnow pattern that was completely chewed up before she was done, and she had to switch out to a new one. One of the other people on the lake was also using a minnow pattern with just as much success. Brightly colored brook trout are on the move and very aggressive right now. They are in a pre-spawn time frame which explains the aggressive nature. For the most part, there is no natural reproduction for this lake. Epoxy minnows seem to be the fly of choice.
See past reports from the Omak region, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.