Early Lake Season

Early Lake Season

Its been a few years since the March 1st opener lakes have been iced off and fishable right out of the gate. Especially with the Spokane being high and tough to fish, having a few local options to get out on the water is a welcome opportunity. With the cold nights we’ve been having the last few days, some of the lakes are getting some skim ice which could make launching boats difficult. We heard a report of the boat launch at Coffeepot being iced in, and I saw a photo of some ice on Amber, but this shouldn’t be an issue for long with some warmer temps in the forecast.

Jesse and I have fished Medical lake a few times and the fishing has been pretty solid so far. We’ve been finding fish in deep water, sometimes as far down as 20 ft underneath a slip-style strike indicator. The balanced leech has been the top performer, either in purple or black with a hot bead. Trailing a blob fly off the leech picked up some fish as well. A lot of the takes were very subtle, and it seemed like you had to let the fish chew on the fly a bit before setting the hook.

No reports yet from the Central Washington lakes, but Lenice, Lenore, Dry Falls etc. should all be good options if you want to make a longer drive. Give us a call or swing by for the hot flies and more info, it should be a great stillwater season around here!