To shake off the cabin fever I spend the afternoon (1-3pm) fly fishing the north end of Omak lake from shore. It was very windy so I decided to leave the pontoon boat at home rather than fight the wind. Prior reports from years past indicated that some guys had good success targeting fishing in the shallows near shore, and today (thankfully) the big Lahontans were there. The most challenging aspect today was dealing with the wind, which was blowing pretty much right in my face all afternoon, with the exception of brief periods where the wind would die down a bit. No chironomids were hatching which was not surprising given the conditions, so there was no need to "match the hatch". As such, it made the fishing pretty simple. If you could locate a pod of fish, chances are you would find at least one "player" in the group feeding opportunistically- just had to get the fly in front of his face. Fishing a size 8 bloodworm (w/ orange beadhead).i11-12 ft below an indicator got me my first Lahontan on my second cast. Over the next two hours, I landed 10 between 18-25 inches, most of which were between 20-22inches. Had another 5-6 hookups that I never brought to net. The takes were not very aggressive, even when I started fishng a large (3-4 inch) black articulated streamer that is actually a steelhead fly which worked well for me this fall on the Okanagan and Similkameen rivers. The streamer actually took more fish than the bloodworm. The fish did not fight well, which was not a surprise, but it was a fun day on the water. It should only get better as the water temps increase, the mids start hatching and more fish begin congregating in the shallows and bays of this large lake.

raffensg64

3/1/2011 6:15:00 AM

Dave, you lucky dog! Large Lahontans from the bank, what a hoot! And on a blood worm? When did you start using blood worms...hahahahahah. I know you'd have preferred your pontoon but hey, whatever works! I have a suspicion that Omak is going to become your favorite local lake. I haven't been there in years but I do recall heavy winds.

TB Wannabe

3/1/2011 11:57:00 AM

What a great report! Glad you got so rewarded for putting up with the wind. Also glad to hear you can get at those fish with something other than an outboard and downriggers.

dbk

3/1/2011 1:13:00 PM

Bloodworms under an indicator - who would have thunk it huh Gary!! Still works, especially in the early part of the season. Omak is a great lake to fish and could very well be my local favorite, but the wind always seems to be blowing. Large Lahontans though can make you forget about the wind very quickly... Still, they don't fight like the bows' on roids at Medical. My largest fish yesterday was close to 6lbs I suspect, but did not fight like the 18-20" bows in Medical. Not complaining though.... I will take those these large cuts any day of the week (except on Sunday, I am sort of busy with "work"!)

damguy

3/1/2011 2:15:00 PM

I have never fished Omak Lake but have heard that there are only certain areas/launches that non-native fisherman may access. I would like to give Omak a try, but I do not want to break any rules. Can anyone provide some insight/specifics? Thanks!

dbk

3/1/2011 3:59:00 PM

Damguy, I am no expert on Omak, but the launch at the North End of the Lake, as well as the beach at Nicholson Bay (on the Northeastern side of the lake) is open to the public. The South end of the lake is accesible via a road that parallels it, but the campground on that end is open to reservation residents and their guests only. I believe you can park along the road and walk down to the lake - just be aware of the no-trespassing signs as some areas are off limits, but others appear to be open to the public. Maybe somebody with more experience on the lake than I can offer you more up to date info.

raffensg64

3/1/2011 5:01:00 PM

There's also a road on the south end that leads down to a long, sandy beach that you can access. Head further south 300-400 yards and you will find a small bay, just before a rocky point. That bay is a great place for chironomids fished along the bank. Further out, get a large streamer down deep and rip it to the surface. Like dbk said, they don't fight like bows, but there's some BIG fish in there! What you got going on Sundays, Dave??!! Take care, bro! Good report!

dbk

3/1/2011 8:54:00 PM

After I finished up on the north end, I took a drive to check out the south end for a future trip, and that bay you speak of is chironomid "heaven" judging from the looks of it. It was late afternoon when I arrived there and it was calm, but no bugs were coming off - yet. I imagine very soon the hatches will begin and that spot will be the place to be if you are looking to fish chironomids.

MarkFromSea

3/2/2011 4:15:00 AM

Contact the Colville res, might be easy info to get at their website, you need a res license also.

MarkFromSea

3/2/2011 4:18:00 AM

And yes, I caught a few cutts there and they were very sluggish, like half dead, but very good looking fish! I actually released them cause they were too pretty to put on the table!

Troller

3/4/2011 6:59:00 AM

Great report.Those Lahontan Cutts are a really nice looking fish. Fished for them in Pyramid lake NV. I trolled normally but if you check out " Youtube Pyramid lake fishing you will see fly fishing from shore in wind can be very successful if you have a ladder.

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