Eastern Washington Fishing Report 10.19.2017
—North 40 Omak
McGinnis Lake
Fishing at McGinnis has been hot through mid-October. With water temps still hovering around 57 F, the action is expected to continue over the next few weeks. Water boatmen and minnow patterns are taking hungry fish at this year-round brook trout lake on the Colville Indian Reservation. Leech patterns are working, too. My go-to leech at McGinnis has been the UV2 Mohair Leech in olive, blood or black, and in sizes 6-10. Great water boatmen patterns to sling and twitch back are Tim’s Water boatman in black/pearl, size 14, and the Morris Water boatman #14. Bring your camera as the brook trout are adorned in flashy spawning colors this time of year—just gorgeous fish. Most will be in the 16”-18” range. However, McGinnis is reputed to hold some outright lunkers, too.
Omak Lake
Omak Lake is seeing a few fly anglers as its Lahontan cutthroat are sneaking into their fall beach prowl routines. Fry are prevalent along the shore now, so matching “the hatch” can offer days of double-digit hookups. If the minnow bite turns off, never fear--those gator-mouthed cutts have been known to chase a variety of food items. Experience tells us to be creative and don’t rule out anything. One lucky angler reported a dozen hooked on a #8 TFP Balanced Squirrel Leech… in purple.
Omak Lake Fly Choices
The ultimate LHC fly on Omak is Keith Roe’s “Minn-Roe”. But, if you don’t catch him in the shop at the vise, the following patterns in our fly bins also do the trick.
Minnow Imitations: a Tak’s Mini Minnow #8 or a white Ian’s Epoxy Minnow (also #8) is a great combo to hit the beach with.
Buggers: Okanogan County Fly Fishing Club members will swear they were catching these fish before you were born on black Wooly Buggers. Try ‘em for sure. Then, follow up with an olive size #10 - #12 GB Crystal Bugger or Tungsten Thin Mint size 8-12.
Others: My largest Omak Cutt towed my indicator down while chomping a #14 Chan’s BH Chironomid Bomber in Red/Black. Granted, that was in February but, you never know….
Fall Flylines
Fish are chasing bugs near the surface at McGinnis and along the beaches at Omak--within range of a short cast. Intermediate lines, like the Loop Evotec or the Rio Camolux, are getting anglers in the zone. These fish can be strong with sharp teeth so anglers are beefing up their tippets and most are running fluorocarbon leader materials subsurface.
Now and over the next few weeks is the best time for fly fishers to entice a true Omak leviathan. Spring can be visual, with sight-casting to pods of cruising fish. But in spring, it can be difficult to get a big hen to turn before one of her escorts grabs the fly. In fall, fish are gorging themselves and hit the beaches again in numbers. No longer in spawning mode, and determined to feast, Omak cutts are a great gamefish this time of year. And who knows you might even connect with Big Mama.