A phillipson and brookies at Enos Bradner's lake

Dave Westburg

Dave Westburg

Fish the classics
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Each June I walk into a brook trout lake which Enos Bradner wrote about 75 years ago in Northwest Angling. It was a forbidding day when we arrived with a few snowbanks along the lake and a cold rain and breeze.

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Fishing was a little slower than normal but picked up as the morning went on when I figured out that the fish were in the shallows off the brush and weeds. Colorful brookies, sometimes two at a time on a phillipson 8'6" bamboo rod and a 5 weight intermediate line. Enos Bradner's #12 Carrot Nymph was my best fly.

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We warmed up with sandwiches and coffee by a campfire and headed home. Thanks for the tip Enos.

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I've been corresponding with one of Enos Bradner's nieces who's promised to send me some of the flies he fished. There's also a nephew around here who has some of his gear and fly rods and can provide some stories. @Greg Armstrong, what say you to a visit?
 
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You've prob been here a time or two Cliff.

The earliest reference that I can find to this lake is the1940 Ben Paris Fishing Guide which says, "Very brushy and cannot be fished from shore. 2 or 3 rafts. Eastern brook fishing good after June 15 to July 31."

The snow usually comes off the second week of June. I've had some great days on this lake in June, July and September. I usually head to higher elevation lakes in August.

Very hard to fish this lake without a float tube on account of the soft weedy bottom. I think that's what makes the lake so productive for non-stunted brookies.
 
Dave Westburg said:
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Each June I walk into a brook trout lake which Enos Bradner wrote about 75 years ago in Northwest Angling. It was a forbidding day when we arrived with a few snowbanks along the lake and a cold rain and breeze.

View attachment 157763

Fishing was a little slower than normal but picked up as the morning went on when I figured out that the fish were in the shallows off the brush and weeds. Colorful brookies, sometimes two at a time on a phillipson 8'6" bamboo rod and a 5 weight intermediate line. Enos Bradner's #12 Carrot Nymph was my best fly.

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We warmed up with sandwiches and coffee by a campfire and headed home. Thanks for the tip Enos.

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I've been corresponding with one of Enos Bradner's nieces who's promised to send me some of the flies he fished. There's also a nephew around here who has some of his gear and fly rods and can provide some stories. @Greg Armstrong, what say you to a visit?
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Would love to do it Dave, but I can’t for the foreseeable future.

I’ve been to that lake several times over the years but always went beyond it on adventures other than fishing. It’s a special place for the reasons you’ve written. I bought the book after attending a presentation Enos gave in the very early’70’s at the long gone Renton Sporting Goods shop. He was an enthusiastic and charismatic gentleman, and that book is a good read that provided me and some of my old friends some memorable fishing adventures. I recommend it to those who haven’t read it, if a copy can be found.
Thanks for stirring some memories! Are you planning to visit that lake “above” later in the season?
 
M_D said:
The county library system did have a copy so I ended up finding one on line👍

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Hoping it’ll be a good read

Have any others to recommend?
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The other great book on northwest-angling-how-it-used-to-be is Bob Heirman's Snohomish, My Beloved Country: An Anglers Anthology. Lots of great stories about fishing the Mountain Loop Highway and Stevens Pass Highway and Fishing in the Monroe area. The steelheading is not so good and some of the creeks have been suburbanized but the alpine lakes fish as well now as they did then. I've visited many of the places Heirman talks about...

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IMO - that would be a book i wouldn’t like published. There are certain places that can’t handle the pressure that naming them would cause. I would prefer word of mouth with trusted friends.
Plus, all you have to do is explore.
I have lakes that I have been to that won’t be named.
 
Scott Salzer said:
IMO - that would be a book i wouldn’t like published. There are certain places that can’t handle the pressure that naming them would cause. I would prefer word of mouth with trusted friends.
Plus, all you have to do is explore.
I have lakes that I have been to that won’t be named.
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Is old age part of the reason you can’t remember their names?? If so….I resemble that remark too!
 
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