[hikestofish]

Lamont lake - A Song of Smoke and Failure (9/4/17-9/6/17)

Lamont lake

This was a trip a very long time in the making... As a young kid I remember looking over a trout species identification chart and seeing a golden trout... that’s the one! The one that I'm going to catch! I ran to my garage, grabbed my tackle box and fishing pole then hopped on my bike and headed to the mighty "Lake Ballinger" I walked to the end of the dock. Scooped a golf ball sized piece of power bait and smooshed it 3 inches above what was probably 3 ounces of split shots onto the biggest hook I could find. And with all my might I tossed that thing as far into the pristine waters of lake Ballinger I could! And I waited... and waited... Fast forward some 20 years later. Sitting in my float-tube, the lower half of my body numb from the icy waters of Lamont lake, my eyes and throat burning from the thick cloud of smoke that engulfs the basin. I cast into a deep hole letting my spinner sink... I slowly retrieve my lure. Suddenly BAM! I feel my line tighten! My rod tip is jumping around like a kangaroo on a trampoline! drag is buzzing like a million bees! I got one! I keep reeling. The buzzing stops, and the rod tip is no longer moving. But tension is still there i Keep reeling... I finally get it into my sight and see brown.... a brown stick. On September 4th my long time climbing buddy and I left Leavenworth at around 8 am and found ourselves at a very Smokey north lake trail-head at around 11 am. After about 2 hours of hiking we sat at Abernathy ridge and had some lunch. I was looking forward to the views from here but the smoke made it very hard to make out the surrounding peaks and ridge-lines. We made our way down the ridge. I heard of a possible boot path from the ridge trail leading to the lake. After descending to about 5700ft and never finding it. we decided we would just start bushwhacking rather than loose anymore elevation. At about ¾ a mile we popped into a boulder field and the going was much faster. After about 2hrs of off trail travailing we made it to the lake. GPS time 4hrs 21 mins car to lake (gps missed the first half mile or so) 6.19 miles, 3080ft gain, 794 lost. There was a huge camp site on the west side of the lake where we decided to set up. Judging by the cigarette butts and foot/dog prints It looked like someone had recently been there. After camp was set up it was time to get to business... it was golden trout catching time! For about 3hrs I fished and my buddy fished and nothing, not a single sign of any fish. Was it the smoke? The hot weather? Maybe a freeze killed them? Or we just suck at fishing... I went with the ladder. We met back at camp and made some dinner and talked about the plan for the next day. From the lake we couldn’t see an easy way up and over the ridge to Abernathy Lake. We decided to wait till morning to make a decision hoping that the smoke might lighten up a bit. After a weird UFO encounter we finally fell asleep. And awoke to an ash dusted tent. It was at this point that I knew I was not catching a golden. I had been to plenty of lakes in the past that have been planted with goldens and always been skunked. And it was okay because I knew that there is an unnamed lake in Okanogan county brimming with goldens. We fished for a few more hours in the morning and still no luck. After discussing options, we decided to hike out and spend the night at North lake. At this point I was grumpy... the trip was a failure... The seasons are so short in the Cascades and I wasted a trip trying to catch a dumb fish the doesn’t exist. We left Lamont lake and started the bushwhack back to Abernathy ridge. After the boulder field we tried to stay around 6000 rather than drop back the 5700 this was a bad idea very steep and tough terrain. Made it back to the ridge in a little under 2hrs and continued to north lake less than an hour later we made it. Grumpy me was very unhappy of the horse sh## ridden lake that is North lake. In my mind we should be at Abernathy lake or still at Lamont lake catching dozens of beautiful golden trout. Still we found a nice sh## free spot to set up camp. After some relaxation we went to the lake to do some fishing. I sluggishly approached the muddy shore, picked out a lure and cast into the mighty North lake. As soon as my lure hit the water BAM! Fish on! I wrestled that 6-inch beautiful west slope to the shore. And for the next hour I fished and it was awesome! I don’t think I caught anything bigger than 8 inches (1/8th a Russ) but for the first time this trip I was having fun. We went back to camp and made some dinner, we talked about the trip, and many other trips we have been on together over the years. Some successes but mostly failures. And finally coming to realize that it's never been about catching the golden trout but the journey you take getting there. Rewind to 10-year-old me finding a trout id chart. this would lead to me finding stocking reports and hiking to lakes. Witch lead to me climbing peaks. I would meet my climbing partner and best friend who taught me many things. I would propose to my wife in the enchantment's. And we would travel and have amazing adventures. We would have two beautiful girls. All because of a picture of a golden trout. But It's never been about the summit or the golden it has always been the journey and what you learn along the way. with that being said Will I ever catch a golden trout? ….absolutely!

turn around

mineral deposit

hike in

[HermitThrush]

Kinda sounds like my dreams of catching a walleye in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. 5 trips and nothing. I had one on the line once, but it got off. Grandpa pulled in a 20.5 incher while I was steering. That was almost as rewarding as it would have been if it was on my line. But you're right, it's not about the fish, it's about the journey. I think it was Isaak Walton who said- "Some men fish all their lives without realizing it's not fish they are after."

[Leafguy]

Sounds like you took the best route (I've heard of anyway) in. sorry to hear there weren't any goldys left.

[Joe Biden]

Was there 3 years ago.... awesome lake and congrats on making it!

[hikestofish]

The hike in wasn't too bad at all. We were curious if there was a way up and over the ridge to get to Abernathy lake. Couldn't see anything that looked worth trying from our vantage point at Lamont.

[MLHSN]

I came over the ridge and down from Abernathy to Lamont. You would have to climb some steep shale and sand to go back up. We also climbed Abernathy Peak from Scatter Lake and descended to Abernathy Lake. Another route I would really advise against. You went the best way into Lamont. Don't feel to bad about getting skunked there. I did also. Golden's in shallow lakes that get hit hard can be extremely finicky. It's a very shallow lake and the fish are spooky.

[JVesquire]

Don't worry about those BWCAW walleyes, they're not as great as everyone claims. The smallmouth fight harder; pulling a walleye up is like pulling an old shoe out of the lake by comparison. Nice TR!

[FishnWishn]

Well hikestofish, I truly understand your frustration. After years of fishing unsuccessfully for my first golden in lakes that reportedly contained both eastern brooks and goldens, I realized the brookies had outcompeted the goldens. I then found out about a lake in the Wallowas that was reported to have been planted only with goldens. The maps showed no established trail nor fisherman's trail. And I could see from the slope that it was highly unlikely that the brookies could contaminate the lake by migrating up the outlet stream. So I talked my father into bushwacking with me into the lake (Razz Lake) and picked what looked like a good route. It was difficult but satisfying knowing that my first golden was almost caught. Upon approaching the lake, I was shocked to see a fairly well-established fisherman's trail. That was a little disappointing, but I figured they hadn't all been caught. I rigged up and quickly had one on - a small brookie. And then another and another. There was no indication of goldens. We ate dinner, went to bed and awoke to three inches of snow. My dad and I looked at each other, packed up, and I led us out on the much easier fisherman's trail.