Two of my hiking and fishing buddies have fished Omak Lake a lot, primarily in late fall, but I had never fished Omak, so it took no convincing to get me to go out with them.

We left Wenatchee early, just after 5am, to make the 2hour-ish drive to Cowpie Beach to launch. For those who have never been to Omak, there are only a couple places to launch. Cowpie Beach is sand and gravel and slopes gently before dropping off sharply, and we had my 20' Crestliner, so we had to back out a ways to float the boat off the trailer. If you are launching a larger boat like mine, I highly recommend using a 4-wheel drive vehicle to minimize the risk of getting stuck. I put the transmission in 4-low and had no issues, but you don't want to get stuck here, as there is no cellphone signal and no one around.

And when I say no one around, that is literally the case. We had the lake to ourselves. We fished until about 1:30pm or so and saw no one. What a gorgeous place! Rugged scenery of the Okanogan, a bald eagle circling overhead, beautiful clear water, and the lake to ourselves.

With respect to the fishing, I rated it a 4, instead of a 5, only because my buddies were disappointed. When they've been here in the past they caught fish quickly and frequently, and said they easily caught and released 40 Lahontan trout. But it was late fall when they fished here and they were able to fish the surface. We had to work harder and did catch a few fish while trolling the surface, but the real activity was when using downriggers set between 45-55 feet.

In addition to each of us catching our limit, we also released about a half-dozen more fish. One of the smaller fish we would have released but it was hooked through the eye. The one thing my buddies did say is that they've never caught two big fish like the two larger trout we caught this time, the larger pushing 24" and the other about 23". And these fish are beautiful. I know some people say the Lahontan trout aren't good to eat, but my buddies insist they taste awesome when smoked, so we kept fish today and I will have to update my report after I've tried the finished product.

The lure of choice was a Little Cleo, 1/2 oz, in silver and blue. We also caught fish on a Needlefish and a Krokodile. Note that on Omak Lake bait of any kind is prohibited, and you must use barbless hooks. Also, a Colville Tribe fishing permit is required. At this time that permit costs $10 for a one-day permit or $40 for an annual permit. So worth it.

Like any other time you share a favorite fishing spot, there is always the hesitation that the next time there will be 20+ boats in the way of your favorite fishing spot. But people have been singing the praises of Omak Lake for years and it still remains under utilized. What an awesome day!

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