by John Kruse, July 04, 2007

The great thing about living in Washington is how much fishing is available to us. Popular publications cover the favorite lakes of many anglers, but there are lots of well kept angling secrets to be found in this state too. Here’s a few of them, located in Northeastern Washington:

PEND OREILLE LAKES

East of Colville off of Highway 20 are several trout lakes you’ve got to visit. Leo and Frater Lakes lie between Colville and Ione in the Colville National Forest. Frater offers cutthroat and Leo offers rainbow trout fishing with plenty of shore access. Leo has a Forest Service Campground and both have cross country skiing trails for winter fun.
Not far away from these two lakes are the connected chain of Sherry, Gillette and Thomas Lakes. Both cutthroat and tiger trout are found in these connected lakes which are a pleasure to explore by small boat or canoe. The largest of the lakes is Thomas at some 160 acres while little Sherry Lake on the opposite end of the chain is less than 30 acres in size. Flies, spinners, and shallow water trolling all do the trick during a fishing season that lasts from the end of April through October. There is a good resort with rustic cabins, RV sites, a store, café and boat rentals at Lake Gillette. There are also Forest Service campgrounds at both Lake Thomas and Lake Gillette.

JUMP OFF JOE LAKE

Located north of Spokane off of Highway 395, Jump Off Joe Lake gives anglers a shot at both Bass and Trout from the last weekend of April until the end of October. There is both a WDFW access launch and a fishing oriented resort with cabins, tents and RV sites a store and boat rentals at the 105-acre lake.

According to the resort owner, the fishing can be good at this mostly undeveloped lake throughout the summer due to the presence of cold water springs. 20-inch brown trout are not uncommon, and some will run as large as three or four pounds. The rainbow trout tend to be smaller but can also reach a respectable size. Largemouth bass anglers also do well here. The fish average 1 to 1 ½ pounds but get as big as 8 pounds in size. Plastic worms and jigs, especially in black or brown color schemes, seem to do the trick. Other fish found here include bluegill, perch and the occasional brook trout.

TWIN LAKES

Last but not least on this short list are the Twin Lakes. Found on the Colville Indian Reservation near Inchelium, these two lakes have both excellent rainbow trout fishing (for trout ranging from 12 to 17 inches in size) and largemouth bass fishing (for bass that average 2 to 3 pounds in size and reach over 7 pounds ).

Local bass sharpies Dick Myers and Richard Leesburg recommend using a Techno tube jig or a weedless topwater frog called “The Ribbit” to entice bass strikes from spring through early September. Trout respond well to both Powerbait and trolled wedding ring spinners. Wildlife watching is also popular on these remote, tree lined lakes that will make you feel like you are in Canada instead of Washington. In fact, loons even nest here and their mournful song can often be heard in the evening. There are two good resorts here that offer places to stay, rent boats from, and fish from. You will need a Colville Tribal Fishing Permit to cast a line here.

Twin Lakes Rainbows

There you go. Three lakes you may have never heard of before. All of them offer good fishing from April to fall. Make it a point to check them out in the next year; I think you’ll be glad you did.