Fall Lakes and Leeches
September and October are the times to strip leeches for big trout.
By Keith Roe
September and the first half of October are my favorite times of the year to fish.
I’ve spent many fall mornings casting for steelhead, listening and seeing the world come to life. It feeds my soul. I’ve also found that soul-food fodder when I'm fishing one of my favorite lakes during fall—the sounds of waterfowl moving south, seeing a muskrat swim by, or hearing, high overhead, the sounds of sandhill cranes flying past. But what inspires me the most are those big, aggressive fish that are on the hunt this time of the year.
When fishing lakes during fall, I use leech patterns more often than any other time of the year. Balanced leeches are one of my go-to patterns—you can suspend them under an indicator and that slow, jigging action provides great results.
In general, leeches work well because the fish are building up their fat to help them through the coming winter, and leeches are a large, abundant and protein-laden food source. In addition, these fish are thinking about the coming spawn— this happens in fall for browns and in the spring for rainbows.
Even though most of our area lakes are stocked and have no natural reproduction, the trout’s DNA tells them they better eat while they have the chance. The browns will cruise the shorelines looking for the pebble size gravel they would need to spawn. They may even dig out redds, as if they could spawn. With these activities, they become very aggressive. That means you can run streamers past them and sometimes get an eat just because they are territorial.
Overall, for browns and rainbows, you’ll find them moving to shallows as the water temperatures cool, especially in the mornings and late afternoons, when the sun is mostly off the water. By shallow, I am referring to 12 feet deep or shallower. I would recommend having a type 3 full-sink line for getting down to/past the 12-foot mark. An intermediate line takes care of your efforts in shallower areas. A floating line is helpful for fishing super shallow water, or for fishing just below the surface. And floaters are the go-to line when rigging up with a strike indicator.
You can make your selection from our arsenal of fly lines here.
I focus on dropoffs, with a drop from a few feet to 10 feet deep and deeper. Often the fish will be on the shallow side of the dropoff. But, as the day warms they move back to a deeper water. You’ll need to keep an eye on water temperatures: Even though nighttime temps may be on the chilly side, mid-day temperatures can still climb into the 80’s-90’s. When water temperatures start to hold at 65 degrees or lower, the bite may last all day.
When fishing streamers, I like to use a loop knot because it imparts a little more movement in the fly. Movement is a key with your leech pattern—it captures a trout’s attention and, if you strip the fly quickly, it gives the impression that the fly is trying to get away. Few trout can refuse giving chase.
My favorite fall lake, excluding Omak Lake, which deserves its own blog, would be Blue Lake in the Sinlahekin Valley. That’s because of the nice size browns found there. If you’re looking for a lake that will keep you busy with fish-after-fish, and the possibility of some 18”-20” rainbows, try Chopaka Lake. Chopaka is our most popular lake in the spring time and early summer, but during fall the pressure is a lot lighter. Some other lakes that make the hitlist include Rat Lake for rainbows and browns, Davis Lake for rainbows, Big Twin Lakefor rainbows, Dry Falls Lake for rainbows and browns, and Aeneas Lake for rainbows and browns.
We've got an incredible array of fall streamer patterns if you need to fill your box.
No matter which lake you fish during fall you’ll find some of the healthiest fish of the year, and they’ll be aggressive. Those two factors make fall a great time to target a trophy trout.
Don’t be shy: Come in and grab a cup of Blue Star Coffee at our fly shop in Omak, and I might just show you a couple of my favorite fall leech patterns.