Eastern Washington Fishing Report 10.12.17

—North 40 Omak

Chopaka Lake

The fall season is in full swing at this gem of a lake. It seems it doesn’t matter what you are using, the fish are going after a variety of bugs. Nighttime temps are dipping down into the high 20s with daytime temps ranging to a pleasant upper 60s to low 70s. So make sure to bring some warm clothes for the morning bite. Water temperature is holding close to the mid-50s. Time of day will determine where you fish. The chironomid users are fishing anywhere from 5' to 15’ down. The most popular chironimid seems to be Chan's Beadhead Chironomid Bomber in black and silver, or Chan's beadhead Chironomid Bomber in brown and red. Fish both of these in size 12. Don't forget your Balanced Leech's in colors black, olive or even red. Two bugger patterns that have been doing good are the Bread N' Butter Bugger (Blonde) #8, and the gold bead Crystal Bugger in yellow #8. A type-3 full-sinking line or a type-3 sink-tip should cover your bases. Nothing beats the scenery around Chopaka in the fall.

Rat Lake

I fished Rat a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised to find I had the lake to myself. Lake temperature was 58 degrees. As soon as I moved out from the boat launch the screen my Humminbird Helix5 lit up, marking fish from 15’ down all the way up to just under the surface. My 6-weight rod was rigged up with a sink-tip type-3 line and on my first cast with a Simi Seal Leech, black and blue #10, I hooked and netted my first fat 16" rainbow. Moving around the lake a little brought six more rainbows in the 14" to 16" range. I changed over to a Pumpkin Head Leech, olive #10, and the bite continued for another eight fish. I switched from my sink-tip line to a full-sinking type-3 line and tied on a #10 Pickled Cabbage Booby Fly. I picked up another dozen or so fish before calling it a day. It was a great day of fall fishing at one of my favorite lakes in the area and the fishing should hold strong for a while.