Northwest Sportsman – August 2019

114 Northwest Sportsman AUGUST 2019 | nwsportsmanmag.com

FISHINGFISHING

Hillary scaling Mount Everest. Just a

word to the wise for those semicouch

potato types among us (of which

I include myself): Don’t bite off

more than you can chew. For those

who enjoy long hikes, the scenery

can oftentimes be as rewarding as

the fishing. Just be sure to bring a

sleeping bag and a supply of Bengay.

HIGH LAKES TROUT don’t usually

require you to make long casts, since

the fish tend to be close to shore.

However, packing in a float tube may

be beneficial since some of the banks

may be brushy or lined with trees.

Since these trout are not picky

eaters, nearly any fly resembling food

will quickly be consumed. For the fly

fisherman, small nymphs, such as a

beadhead Princes, Pheasant Tails, San

Juan Worms, Hare’s Ears, soft hackle

Peacocks, Zug Bugs and chironomids

will all work well.

There are occasions when the

fish will be feeding on the surface,

and for those times dry flies such

as Griffith’s Gnats, various Adams

patterns, ’hoppers, Elk Hair Caddis

and Renegades should prove very

reliable.

For the lure fisherman, gold or

silver Mepps and Panther Martins

are hard to beat. For those using

bait, worms, PowerBait, corn or

marshmallows are always a safe bet.

On many of these high lakes the water

is extremely clear, and while the fish

are very seldom leader shy, just to be

safe, fluorocarbon leader and tippet in

4X might be advisable.

THE SELKIRK MOUNTAINS between Priest

Lake and Bonners Ferry are a prime

example of an area that is well suited

for late summer fishing excursions.

For us slightly lazy, nonadventurous

types, East Roman Nose Lake fits

our desires and needs quite well. It

is reached by way of Riverside Road

just south of the Kootenai River

Bridge in Bonners Ferry. Continue

through the Kootenai National

Wildlife Refuge, then take the West

Side Road, then Forest Service Road

402, Snow Creek Road, then onto

Road 2667 until it intersects with

Road 294 and eventually to a parking

lot for the Roman Nose Lakes. It’s

only 150 yards to East Roman, or

Lake No. 3, as IDFG calls it. There is

a well-maintained boardwalk to the

lake, with even a fishing platform

suitable for handicapped fishermen

to cast from.

The bottom lake has an interesting

stocking history, as do the other two

lakes in the chain, dating back to

1968. Rainbows were the first strain
      introduced into the lake, followed by
      cutthroat in 1996, followed shortly
      after that by brook trout. Stocking was
      done on an annual basis from 1985
      through 2000, and then changed to
      a two-year cycle. In Lakes No. 1 and
      No. 2 bull trout were stocked, but the
      program did not last long, though
      it created a good deal of interest
      while it lasted. Three thousand to
      3,500 cutthroat fingerlings were also
      planted in the upper lakes in 1996
      followed by brook trout stockings.
      Since then there has been no stocking
      in the upper lakes.
      Rainbows were reintroduced to
      Lake 3 and are currently thriving,
      with 10- to 12-inch fish being quite
      common. Westslope cutthroat are
      also present in the lake.
      The trails into the other two lakes
      are not overly strenuous, so no
      doctor’s note should be required for
      the day after you come out of the hills.

FOR MORE ADVENTUROUS and physically

fit types, T.J. Ross, fisheries biologist

for IDFG’s Panhandle Region,

suggests a series of lakes that are

relatively close by. A trailhead to this

series of lakes can be found off Forest

Service Road 634, known locally as

the Trout Creek Road. The trailhead

provides access to Pyramid, Upper

Ball, Lower Ball, Trout, Big Fisher,

Long Mountain and Parker Lakes.

All sit from 6,000 feet to slightly over

6,700 feet. Parker has a great deal

more brush and aquatic vegetation

HIGH LAKES INFO

While Mike Wright’s article focuses

on the offerings of a half dozen or so

alpine waters in far northern Idaho,

the Northwest absolutely glistens with

summer mountain troutin’ ops.

That’s thanks in equal parts to

glaciers that sculpted high basins over

the eons, and the more recent sweaty

efforts of backcountry anglers and

horsemen who toted fingerlings up to

stock the waters.

These days, the Oregon Department

of Fish and Wildlife uses helicopters

outfitted with special trays to efficiently

release 3-inch ’bows, cutts and brookies

at hundreds of lakes throughout the

state every other year to provide a

beloved “wilderness fishing experience.”

If ODFW touts that it has the most

“robust” high lakes program, which

releases fish everywhere from boggy

2,874-foot-low Andrea Lake near

Oakridge to lunar Legore Lake at 8,957

feet up in the Wallowas, all three states

in the region have pretty hearty web

pages detailing the opportunities.

They provide everything from GPS

coordinates to the latest releases to

how-tos and histories. For more, see:

Idaho: idfg.idaho.gov/fish/stocking

Oregon: myodfw.com/articles/

stocking-oregons-hike-lakes

Washington: wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/

locations/high-lakes –NWS

Oregon high lakes

managers use a

helicopter to stock many

of their waters. (ODFW)