Eastern Washington Fishing Report 05.16.19
Chopaka Lake (WA)
Right now, Chopaka Lake is the number one lake I get questions asked about daily. I just got off the phone with a gentleman from Alaska that was going to be in the area for a few days and had not fished it in over twenty years. A little has changed since then, mainly the average size of the fish. Don’t get me wrong, you will catch some rainbows over 20 inches but not a lot of them. The average size is going to be around 16 inches but, they are nice scrappy fighters.
Like fishing anywhere there are good days and some not so good. The way I look at it is if you are out on the water fishing, it’s already a good day. What you catch and how many is just the bonus. I have yet to be told that no one was not able to find a place to camp, so that’s a plus.
The diehard chironomid anglers are doing really well with a few different colors and sizes. The black with red rib seems to be the most used right now but gray and olive are coming in as a strong second. Sizes #16 to #12 in those colors are seeing the most action but a couple of guys are using #18 and doing well with them too. The other size that has started showing up in the south end of the lake are #10 black bombers. Also, let us not forget the chromies in the aforementioned sizes.
By midday there has been some mayfly hatches coming off, so don’t forget your callibaetis nymphs, emerges, and adult patterns. Also, leech patterns have been working quite well for the first couple of hours in the morning. Sizes #14 to #10 in the olives or blacks and tied in the slim to sparse style are a good choice. I would work these just offshore out to about 12-feet of water. If you work up to the north end of the lake, you can extend your time with leeches for a couple of more hours. Remember, Chopaka Lake is a fly fishing only lake. So, double check the rules and regulations for the lake.
Omak Lake (WA)
Omak Lake is still getting plenty of action. You might not catch high numbers of the Lahontan cutthroats that call this lake home but, you will get into some nice fish. The average size that I am seeing is in the 22-inches range. Depending on the day, both ends of the lake are showing good results. Nice bright sunny days may slow it down a bit, so I would recommend hitting the water just after sun up and fish until it slows way down. Then, if you can come back, go out once the sun gets close to going behind the ridge. For the last week, the fly of choice is the Kraft’s kreelex fly. As for what color is working, I don’t think it matters. Besides the kreelex, it seems any of the other streamers that have a lot of flash in them are having good results. The fish are cruising the shore areas regularly now, so you should be able to have a chance to sight cast to a few good pods of fish. Overall we should be good on the fishing from shore into the first week of next month but, like all fishing things, it can change from one day to the next.
Green Lake(s) (WA)
Green Lake has been a blast to fish for some feisty rainbows. The chubby rainbows are averaging about 13 inches in size. If you can get past them, there are some nice holdovers up 18 inches. If you have a new fly fisher and want to get them into some fish, I would recommend going to Green Lake. Then again, even if you don’t and just want to have fun yourself, Green Lake is a good idea. Leeches and booby flies seem to be what's working best. You’ll want to bring a good selection of size and colors for the leech patterns. Some days, they want one color and that can change day to day and even hour to hour. I would do the same with your booby fly patterns by having some variety in your box. Finally, you might have to play with what depth they are holding at but, once you find them, you should be set for a fun time.
See past reports from the Omak region, or click here to view all northwest regional reports.