aaronj
Steelhead
Gorgeous
Pass lake algae
- Thread starter Wanative
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Jim in Anacortes
Life of the Party
Before moving here (about seven years ago) I had never heard the term "Stillwater fly fishing". I downloaded Tim's book months before moving., and logged into the old forum. A float tube, sinking line, cheap as hell tying vice... and the rest is history. A small lake west of Spokane (where I have family) gave me the opportunity to actually put these tactics to a test (outside of Pass Lake). I absolutely dominated the guys that had been fishing the lake for years. I am now interested in fishing the very surface ( gurglers) and the very bottom (crawfish imitations) although a bead head, black semi seal leech is still my "confidence fly". With a white bunny leech as a close contender.
I fish powerbait for stockers with the wife and grandkids. I pretty sure that's not at the top of my naughty list.
I might be damned if I was to use one of those pink coon shrimp however. Piss poor place to draw the line I know.
BigSplashTom
Steelhead
Jim in Anacortes
Thanks for taking my comment tongue/cheek. I have feed egg stains on my record going back to mineral lake in the early 1970s.Oh, and winter fishing for Kokanee on American lake with maggots. No, I did not keep them warm in my mouth. Ok, I'm clean now, wait... starting to remember something about worms...
Mineral used to be the place. Spent a lot of time out that way, mainly Tanwax, as we had a cabin there. Minn Kota 10 and popgear with a worm.
Mineral was our go to opening day lake back in the 60’s and 70’s. What a zoo but a fun time as well. We got snowed on pretty good on a couple of openers.
SF
BigSplashTom
Steelhead
Great memories fishing openers at Mineral, Clear, and Tanwax as a kid. Yup it was a zoo.
Thankfully don't remember any snow. Yikes.
Mineral still fishes well and gives up a few browns occasionally which is always fun.
Not like the browns at Pass though.
Thankfully don't remember any snow. Yikes.
Mineral still fishes well and gives up a few browns occasionally which is always fun.
Not like the browns at Pass though.
Jim in Anacortes
Life of the Party
Back in Maryland in the 1970's we had a "seventeen year locust" hatch. They were about an inch long, made a ton of noise and were truly in numbers of biblical proportions. Millions of them everywhere for a few weeks. We would tie one onto our mono line Zebco rod and reel ( just a hook and no weight) and let them fly out over the lake. Eventually they would hit the water (often times far beyond casting distance). Best fishing with live bait that I have ever encountered. I just googled seventeen year locust..what a trippy fishing summer that was.
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Jim in Anacortes
Life of the Party
I think so JudyM...They called them "seventeen year locust". Every seventeen years they come out. Literally Trillions of them. Thanks for the photo. A light hook tied to them with light mono and they could fly a very long way out across the lake. The fish, like many other animals were just gorging themselves. When they hit the water they would flap their wings, like ringing a dinner bell for the fish. I will never forget the constant irritating loud noise that they made constantly for weeks.
Yup, cicadas/ They were predicted to have an epic hatch this past summer (2024) in the midwest where the 13 year and 17 year broods merged, but alas, there was not a great deal of overlap - a bit of a bust.
General Periodical Cicada Information | Periodical Cicada Information Pages | Biodiversity Research Collections | University of Connecticut
No major periodical cicada emergences are expected in 2026, though off-cycle emergences will occur. See the straggler page and the "Brood XV" pag ...
cicadas.uconn.edu
cheers
I was ok with that. Along with everything else, they get prolific. And in their case, loud. Monarchs seemed a bit off too for some reason. Being near the lake (Cleveland) we already get swamped with midges and mayflies, enough that it's gross and, at times, inconvenient.Yup, cicadas/ They were predicted to have an epic hatch this past summer (2024) in the midwest where the 13 year and 17 year broods merged, but alas, there was not a great deal of overlap - a bit of a bust.
General Periodical Cicada Information | Periodical Cicada Information Pages | Biodiversity Research Collections | University of Connecticut
No major periodical cicada emergences are expected in 2026, though off-cycle emergences will occur. See the straggler page and the "Brood XV" pag ...
cheers
aaronj
Steelhead
It's been a long time since I fished Pass so late, but yesterday's break in the bad weather found me chillin' my toes. Rainbows were still active and feisty, mostly cookie-cutter 16-inchers. Had to keep one eye to the sky as usual, but even so I was robbed in the afternoon. All shots are stills from cellphone videos.
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Jim in Anacortes
Life of the Party
Intriguing images to be sure. I've had my run ins with eagles on this lake. Some times they will work as a two eagle team..one distracts you while the other swoops in from behind you. One day, I hooked a nice Brown. The eagle wanted that fish badly. I horsed it into my net. We looked at each other (me and the trout)... AND, for once,... it seemed we were on the same team..us against the bird. I held that fish in my net for several minutes (as the eagle circled my float tube) for fear that the eagle would get him as soon as I released him. When the bird left the scene, I released the trout from my net......I truly believe that we had a "moment" where we both realized that, for once, we were on the same team.
aaronj
Steelhead
Working in tandem...I totally agree. After the one headed off to the other side of the lake, its mate joined it at the water's edge to join in on the feast. I could see their white patches bobbing up and down for some minutes, likely having a chuckle at fleecing me of a full-fledged landing.
They must be offspring that have lived in the nest just across the highway.
Had this happen on many occasions. I have found that burying the rod ( sometimes even the reel) in the water has helped me avoid the eagles from grabbing it.
Great pictures though..!
Did Pass make it through the summer without getting closed due to toxic algae?
I don’t recall hearing anything this summer.
Just thinking of fishing options for later this fall.
Thanks for any input.
SF
I don’t recall hearing anything this summer.
Just thinking of fishing options for later this fall.
Thanks for any input.
SF
@FerrousTortoise did mention the algae problem there when he drove passed it recently.
Algae - Detail search
www.nwtoxicalgae.org
Pass failed....