Long Lake

Ferry County about 12 miles south of Republic

About 13 Acres Elevation 3250 give or take a few feet, Water temp. 65 Cool mourning of 58 @9am and very little wind

 Mighty Mouse and I have wanted to go back for a while and had planned to a couple of weeks ago, every day that we planned to go the weather did not make it agreeable, thunder storms and fly rods spook me.

Long Lake is probably one of my favorite lake to fish, there not the biggest fish to catch but their pretty and lots of them.

We virtually had the lake and only one other guy on the water in a row boat trolling around.  From shore you could see little dinks going after PMDs. I brought my lite weight Sage flight rod along and another Sage 4 weight along for Mighty Mouse.

MM took the west shore line while I took the east side. To meet up at the other end.  Seamed like everytime I looked over MM was into a fish. I had just a few, most of the fish were in the 17-25 ft. of water and I didn’t have my type 7 line with me only my type 4 so he was getting down faster and into the fish sooner.

After meeting up at the south end and hearing that he had netted 20-25 fish and me only 10 or so but 2 were on dry flies, they were both real small of 7-8 inches. I took the west side back up and when I got back to the launch I headed for the truck to get my other rod with the type 7 line.

Now I’m catchin some fish and for a while every cast produced a Cuttie. The fishin was steady all day I did catch a few that were 16 but I’d say that most were in the 12-14 range one of the 16’s was on a day beetle. I don’t know how many fish I caught but I do know it was a bunch and MM I believe he caught more, way to go my friend. Glad that we can do this together.

Our friend Bill O goes to this lake every year on his Birthday, this year Bill turned 93. Way to go Buddy.

There is a USFS camp ground by the lake, thinkin after my wife has her surgery, I or we may take a couple of days and stay.

    

One of the fatties

the swirl of victory 

One of the adult Loons , They were feeding their young that are as big as them

One of MM's Cutties (Very nice)

Half-day with the Spey

My internet has been down since the first of many thunder storms that has passed thru.

So now I have to play catch up.

Sockeye on the Okanogan.

         After working half a day I was going to go up on Salmon Crick to fish, Then I remembered that the Okie was open to Chinook (2) per day and Sockeye (4) a day. So I headed home checked the river levels and grabbed the Spey.      2870 cfs and falling temp bathtub warm @70.

    Now to find a spot that I could wade into without being sweep away down to Brewster. Riverside was out of the question, so was the Arrowhead hole, but down river just above the PUD hole, the spot I found last Steelhead season just might be the spot.  Bingo I’m in water is a bit high but manageable with just shorts and a shirt on under a slight overcast day I was swinging a fly into the just off colored water. Pitching it out 12 to 15 feet from shore let it swing in to maybe 4 with a Scandi line and medium weighted fly on a 10ft leader a medium fast retrieve. I had to change out a couple of times after maybe ten swings until I found the color and speed they wanted.

    First Sock was maybe 5lbs. ugly SOB and I let it go the next one was better looking and a bit larger let it go too. Not something I really want to put on the BBQ.

Then a big cloud blew in and I lost the bite after swinging for another 45 minutes.  I headed home.

The coolest thing is that I could see the schools of fish swimming by. Every once in a while I could see and hear a Chinook break the surface. And above all I need to go play with the Spey more often I love that stick.

                              Now I’m thinkin about getting me a Trout Spey.  

Another Weekend of Fishin

With the threat of thunder storms all weekend and into Monday, Mighty Mouse and I hit Aeneas Lake early. We were met with three bucks at the launch, the sky was still mostly blue and the wind, what wind I've only seen the lake this flat a very few time in all the years, been coming here.

$ at the lunch

2 $ to leave

wait for me guys

As for the fishing it was so-so. I think I lost as many fish as I put in the net, don't know what was wrong, just happens that way I guess sometimes. MM did good with the first fish were Browns one being over 20" and est. weight over 4+lbs. He was into his backing and had a great battle. the sky got darker as the mourning passed a light wind from time to time just the fishing was slow.
I think I could count the rain drops that did fall on one hand and by noon the sky was pretty dark and it was just waiting for us to get loaded up and on the pavement to dump. By the time I got to Crumbocher the sky open up and let out a big cry with swimming pool size drops & puddles, that was followed by the big wind out of the north the temperature dropped by 7 degrees by the time
I got home,

M M's Aeneas Brown

 My wind gage in the house was saying 23MPH. it blew the reat of the day to the point that I couldn't keep the BBQ going.
I headed down to the store to grab something else for dinner and my friend with the lake came up behind me,
 "I see you've been out wetting a line, Hey do you have any of those hot flies with you I could buy?
"Which ones? I asked.
"You know the one that you got that big Brown on or the big Brook."
" No but this evening I can twist a few up for you."
"Great! my grandson will want to try his luck tomorrow if it's not raining."
"I bring them up in the AM with a 1/2 dozen for him."
"Why don't you come up fish maybe show him what you're doing, I would really like to see him catch one I see you catching through my telescope."
"I'll be up around 8 then."

Well I got bac home made our dinner and totally forgot about tying.
5:30 AM, I opened the curtains the sky was gray but there was no wind detected, Poured myself some coffee and headed to the tying bench. The Punkinheads are real easy with the stuff out on the bench so I was able to twist up 1/2dz fast them on to the DDP 1/2 dz while I here thinkin I should do some Crawdads to boot.
7:15 a dozen flies tyed and empty coffee pot still on wind, the sky was almost a light blue to the east but looking up north it still looked dark,
A quick batch of bisects  and gravy and I was gone.

The sky was full of wet looking clouds and I had the lake like most always to myself, I got everything ready to go out and then came the rain. I put on the rain coat moved my truck up out of the way in case someone else needed to get down there and was in the water not more then 15 feet from launch a truck pulls up.
"Hey are you Greg?" Someone yells from inside the truck.
"That's me."
"Heard you might have some flies for me."
"I've got them."
"Just hold on to them I'll come get 'm when it quits raining so hard". and waved me off.
The rain was on and off hardy any wind fishin was slow to begin,but picked up and while I was in the middle of a good fight I saw the first flash of lightning right above me and the crackle made all the hair on my body stand on end and the boom was as close as the flash it shook me and the boat. I dropped my rod tip and started kicking to shore as fast as I could. could of set a new pontoon boat speed record. when I got to the launch in record time I had forgotten all about me fighting a fish and it was still on the end of my line whooped I reeled it in and had a hard time getting it to swim away. I hurried up to my truck and got my stuff packed up and was gone. it was only 11:45 and here in Omak the sky was still pretty blue, it looked liked it had rained just a little.
I made me some lunch and went out back and all looked clear.
1 O'clock I was heading to fish Lil Green with the 3 weight the wind was lite again and the lake all to myself lots of cookie cutter fish just like Big Green all in the 12-14in range. and all in 18 - 20 ft of water.

Sunny, Cloudy, Windy and Fishy

I can't hardly believe that it's the 10 of July and were not burning up, with the hi today of only 75 when it should be in the upper 80s. I'm not bitchin, Lovein it, the lake have cooled way down the fish are up and were getting a fresh hatch of Calibaetis. My Sage One was calling me early this mourning and I was hearing it loud and clear.

I was on my Buddy's private lake at 5:30 and in the water before 5:45 and was into my first of many browns before 6AM.
I started out with a large black leach tied on my intermittent line and pounding the shore line, slow jerky strips from side to side.

the take was like a freight train  and I was snapped off many times even with 3X tippit. By 7 o'clock I had lost count of all the fish I had on. the wind was blown out of the north and it was hard to cast much so I stuck with the intermittent line rowing myself back up the lake and wind drifting back down. after doing this a few times and getting my last big leach snapped off. I put on one of my                                  Crawdads and gave it a fling while i was down by the rock pile. 

This one is small and the one I was using was dark real dark almost black. 

By 8 the wind picked up and was getting hard to hold in one spot so I headed to the shelter  of the trees at the north end dropped my 12lbs. of anchor chain pulled out the dry line tyed on a Caddis fly and gave it a long fling and it hit the water a wake moved it away from me and I fed out some line and just lifted the rod to scoot it across the water, Bam a big Bow took it with a splash and it was game on with it coming out of the water three times be fore it was in the net. It was hard to cast except with the wind and yes I did get a few wind knots. 

My coffee was gone by 9 and boy did I have to pee. so I worked my way bac to shore and grabbed some more leaders and a Gatorade and crunch bar. 

Then let the wind carry me down lake a ways and I rowed into the cove to fish. the wind is powerful thru here and unless I anchored up in less then 6 ft of water with 15-20 foot of line out I couldn't hold. I was rocked around like a kite casting my deep seven line into 26 feet of water and picking up a couple of very nice Tigers on the Crawdad. Then I tried the D D P Booby fly and had a ball with it. 

Across the cove on the far shore line I kept seeing fish surface and let the wind carry me that way. I could see Damsel Nymph swimming by me so I tied onto the One and a red eyed damsel nyp. and gave it a 30 ft cast and had a hay day until I could keep myself off the shore line about every third or fourth cast I had to get back on the ores and pull myself bac out and re-drop anchor. 

By noon the sky was getting pretty black and looking like the Ace of Clubs and I called it quiets and headed bac to the launch pulling on the ores hard to get there.

I caught every kind of trout that is in the lake, some small but mostly bruits, One of the Bows was pushing 8-8 1/2 lbs, one of the first Brown was well over the 9lb, long fat and very healthy. a Tiger that I just love to tangle with and O-yea some strong great fighting Brookies. 

Just as I was tying down my Pontoon with the last strip the clouds opened up and it poured.  I got drenched but I needed a shower after the hot time i had on the water. The cool temps of July the wind we see not often, summer down pours and having a good friend that lets me fish in a unbelievable lake.