[rentonhighlands]

I thought i would do some fishing in alpine lakes region and want to know if anyone can help me out with some input: what lakes are better than others (location i-90 hwy 2): what bait or flys work good: thanks for all information I believe this is going to be a great hiking season:

[Brian Curtis]

The best way to find the good fishing lakes is to get out and explore. High lake fishing can be very variable due to weather, species of fish, and stocking cycle of the lake so the hot lake one year might not be the hot lake the next year. The other problem is the fragile nature of both the fishery and lake shores. Publicizing the best fishing spots on the net can potentially lead to problems at the lake. Besides, it is fun to explore and be surprised at what you find. There will be fish in the lakes you go to, you don't have to worry about that. As a general rule, the farther from the trailhead you get and the farther off trail you get the less people will be at the lake and the better the potential for fishing. I never use bait so I can't offer much help there. Any good lure should work. I generally prefer brass lures with red but I keep a selection of different colors and sizes. 3/16 to 1/4 oz are generally the must useful sizes. For dry flies I like the Elk Hair Caddis the best for a dry fly. I also keep various terrestrial patterns on hand. When the fish are deeper I like Wolly Buggers, various nymph patters, Carey Specials, etc. Fish normally aren't all that choosy in high lakes (but they can be!).

[Backpacker Joe]

Come on BC, give the guy some detail would you. TB

[salish]

I fish flies mostly, but do use lures sometimes. Agree with BC on all his choices of lure and fly. Most any of the common spoons you find at a tackle shop work fine, like Kastmasters, Humdingers, Crocodiles, etc. I don't use anything larger than a 1/4oz lure. I release most of my fish and so I usually remove the barbed treble hooks from these lures and replace them with single, siwash hooks, and pinch down the barbs with pliars. If I want to keep a couple for the pan, they still work fine. If you're a spin fisherman one thing not to forget is a casting bubble. You can fish flies with these and they can be deadly with nymphs and chironimids. I don't fish bait but my hiking buddy does and he's had good luck with powerbait (of course) and Pautke's Balls of Fire salmon eggs. Run a search on fishing and you'll find lot's of relevant info on this site. I also agree with BC about not naming lakes that might be decent for fishing. They really are fragile and can be overrun easily. Besides, it's a lot of fun to whip out a map and look at these lakes and start doing your own research on them. If you are interested in fishing high lakes you can attend a meeting of the Washington State Hi Lakers - a group of hiking fisherpeople who attend meetings every third Wednesday of the month, here in the Seattle area. You can contact me via a private message if you would like more info on this club. Good luck! Cliff

[Lead Dog]

The best rule of thumb with fishing the Alpine lakes is the farther in the hike is to get to the lake or the farther it is off the trail the better the fishing. I have had great fishing in many of the Alpine Lakes. In one the first 5 casts caught 5 fish. I could tell you were it is but then I'd have to kill you!!! P/M me and I'll tell you about a few>

[Mikey]

Most of the alpline lakes in the I-90 Snoqualmie area have trout (rainbow, cutthroat, eastern brook) and one can see them at times (ie surfacing for insects). Take a look at a map and you can see many lakes in this region. For example on the north side of I-90 there is Talapus, Ollalie, Pratt, Island, Kulla Kulla, Mason, Snow, etc To my knowledge, they are rarely stocked by the Wash State Dept of Wildlife folks so the trout are from natural reproduction. On some lakes shore access is limited and packing in a lightweight inflatable raft is helpful. Even if one does not fish, the views available by paddling around in a lake makes such a venture an enjoyable experience.

[Brian Curtis]

Most of the lakes in that area do not have natural reproduction, though most of the lakes you name do. Talapus, Olallie, Pratt, Island, and Kulla Kulla all have natural reproduction, though Talapus and Kulla Kulla both receive periodic plants to supplement the reproducing fish. Snow probably has a few CT reproducing, but the fishery is primarily maintained by stocking. Mason has no natural reproduction and is regularly stocked.

[MtnGoat]

just say noooooo bait!

[pianodirt]

[kleet]

WDFW has a webpage with some good general info. The .PDF file at the page bottom has some info on specific lakes.