The Lake Lenore Adventure

I have driven pass Lake Lenore many times on my way up to Dry Falls and some of the "Chain of Lakes" and wondered how well it might fish.  Many times the wind was howling with whitecaps and mist flying off there surface of the lake as I drove by.  I had also heard that the lake just was not producing many opportunities to fish it because the fish population was way down due to poaching and lack of continued population growth.  Lake Lenore is one of the few lakes that is known for it's population of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout.  Lake Lenore is between Soap Lake and Coulee City and is a long lake with rock walls down one side of the coulee and the highway down the other side.  There are a couple of launch area's and also a parking lot on the north end that allows walk in unless you can lift your boat over the barb wire fence there.  The highway side has shores that are clearly more shallow than the rock side.  Jim Passage and I brought up his 14 foot Lund boat and we found out quickly that the wind blowing from the north was not going to allow us to use the boat.  We drove to the north parking lot and walked in.  We met a fly fisher who was waist to chest high in the water casting with the wind.  We talked a bit and he said that they have been doing OK fishing off the rocks and since we didn't have our waders it was the only option.  We walked the shoreline and then got to the rocks and careful to keep good footing we walked out several several hundred feet and set our rods up.  I threw a red and white snow cone fly called a Jim Beam and below that a foot or so I had a "Buzzer" chironomid that my brother Dale had tied up.  With the indicator around four foot up the leader I gave the fly a roll cast 15-20 feet out.  As it floated it's way back into the rock shore and just off the rocks I gave a couple of six inch pulls and let it set and down the indicator went.  OK then, I know what I am using is going to work so back out the flies go.  Same pattern as before and down the indicator went again and this time I set and it was a big fish that snapped me off at the tippet knot.  I decided what I had heard about 30 inch fish that I needed to set up a new leader.  I got things in order and gave it a toss out and let it again drift back in towards shore.  Down the indicator went and this time I had a good fish on.  It ran a couple of times and I got it close to shore and realized that it was tail hooked  Slow and easy I worked the fish until it tired and finally I got it to the net.  A nice 20+ Lahontan, my first ever!!!

My first Lahontan Cutthroat Trout

A Slime Rocket For Sure!!!  

Sun out, clouds, and calm waters.,....  Jim down the rocks from me

Jim came over and checked it out and we talked about set ups so that he could try what I was using.  I gave the line a toss out again in the opposite direction and again close to the rocks my indicator went down and this time a smaller very colorful trout came to the surface and I netted it.  

Nice 14+ bright colored Lahontan

Fishing off the rocks was working well and I was into my third fish...

Fish 3 again a nice sized cutthroat

With the calm waters we made the decision to launch the boat and come back to the North end to try fishing from the boat.  With the boat in the water and the electric motor pushing us down the lake we saw some amazing rock patterns on the walls.  Vertical, horizontal, and sweeping rocks all colliding in some amazing configurations.

Some Amazing Rock Formations

In the Boat Headed to the North End....  

We got down the north end just in time for the wind to start making it's way from south.  Just a breeze at the start and within a short time a wind, with the waves going from small to white caps in what seemed to be just minutes.   We hooked up the second electric motor and made our way against the wind back to where the car was parked.  We got about half way and the second motor died.  We were doing OK with the last motor when the wind got just a bit stronger.  We got the oars out and I rowed with the motor for quite a while and we got somewhat closer to the launch pad and back on to the trailer.

For me this was a great experience on a new lake catching a new breed of trout, the Lahontan Cutthroat.  I will be back because there is another bigger fish out there some where on Lake Lenore....