First time fishing Rattlesnake Lake and all I have to say is, "WOW!" Not quite as good as the bass fishing at Potholes but pretty darn close. Fish were jumping all over the lake, especially the middle. Brought a sinking line and a floating line and it didn't seem to matter which one I used. Caught 5 on the sinking line until it got snagged on a tree stump at the north end of the lake. Dragged a floating line for the rest of the trip and picked up another 7. Two hours of fishing and 12 fish. They were most likely the steelhead smolts that were planted last Fall, but I couldn't tell the difference between that and a hatchery rainbow trout. Wind was gusty at times, probably just above 10-12 mph. Water temperature was 50-52 degrees F. Nice little lake to do some solitary fly fishing. I had the lake all to myself until I pulled out at 8:30am when another boater showed up. All fish C&R'd and caught on selective gear, single barbless hooks.

About an hour into my fishing, I saw a truck with flashing lights pull up behind my car. First thing that went through my mind was, "Did I need to display my Discover Pass"? I rowed as fast as I could back to shore but by the time I reached shore the truck was gone and...no ticket. Phew! I couldn't remember if there was a "Discover Pass Required" sign or not and/or if it was Rattlesnake Lake Recreational Area or Rattlesnake Lake State Park. I put up my Discover Pass anyway in case the guy in the truck was fetching the Ranger to serve me a ticket.

Nice lake productive lake for solitary fly fishing, but dress warm and be ready to get blown all around the lake by the wind if you fish here. Watch out for the diving Osprey.

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