I don't usually go fishing in the seeps lake area of central WA in mid-December, but the unseasonably warm temperatures out there and the reasonably decent pass conditions motivated me to give it a try. I decided to try a general regulation seep lake that is relatively easy to access. It gets hit hard by the Power Baiters (one spring day I counted over 20 gear anglers there), but the positive side is that the gear anglers seriously thin out the population of fish, so that any fish remaining have lots of insect food. I usually fish this lake in the late autumn when it is a lot less crowded, and the few fish I find are usually quite chunky. It is a scenic lake and if you've been there you'll probably recognize it from this photo:
Here are a couple of fish photos to give you an idea of how chunky these rainbows are:
And, although not many fish were caught, here is my Fish Size Distribution Chart for those who demand it:
All the measurements I take are with the Measure Net to reduce handling. The length is measured from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail, whereas most fishermen measure from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail.
The air temperature ranged from 41 to 61 degrees, and the water temperature was in the 46 to 47 degree range, much warmer than expected. It felt like an early spring outing. There was even a light midge hatch, although I only saw one fish rise the entire time. The water was very clear with 12 to 15 feet of visibility. Unfortunately, my fishing time was cut in half by the heavy winds that blew me off the lake.
The only fly pattern I used was a silver beadhead Dark Olive Simi Seal Leech, casting and stripping, although I don't think the specific fly pattern made much difference. All the fish were released, so I don't know what they were eating, but they are obviously eating well.
Lots of waterfowl were seen and heard, including Snow Geese, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Canada Geese, Cackling Geese and many more.
Had a nice sunset on the drive back:
Who would expect to find some quality fish in a general regulation seep lake in mid-December? Just goes to show that you never know what you'll find in these little seep lakes unless you go and try them. And you'll likely have the lake all to yourself...
Rex
Here are a couple of fish photos to give you an idea of how chunky these rainbows are:
And, although not many fish were caught, here is my Fish Size Distribution Chart for those who demand it:
All the measurements I take are with the Measure Net to reduce handling. The length is measured from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail, whereas most fishermen measure from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail.
The air temperature ranged from 41 to 61 degrees, and the water temperature was in the 46 to 47 degree range, much warmer than expected. It felt like an early spring outing. There was even a light midge hatch, although I only saw one fish rise the entire time. The water was very clear with 12 to 15 feet of visibility. Unfortunately, my fishing time was cut in half by the heavy winds that blew me off the lake.
The only fly pattern I used was a silver beadhead Dark Olive Simi Seal Leech, casting and stripping, although I don't think the specific fly pattern made much difference. All the fish were released, so I don't know what they were eating, but they are obviously eating well.
Lots of waterfowl were seen and heard, including Snow Geese, Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, Canada Geese, Cackling Geese and many more.
Had a nice sunset on the drive back:
Who would expect to find some quality fish in a general regulation seep lake in mid-December? Just goes to show that you never know what you'll find in these little seep lakes unless you go and try them. And you'll likely have the lake all to yourself...
Rex
