Stayed at the campground and fished both Saturday and Sunday morning. On Saturday we used the rough launch at the north end of the campground. It was fine for my light trailer but I wouldn't launch a "real" boat there. We were early enough (7AM) that there was still a place to park a trailer not too far away. Water level was not a problem, but certainly not high.

That upper launch is in the middle of the channel between the main lake and so-called Little Kachess, the northern section. That area is surprisingly shallow and full of stumps, so it's a frustrating spot to fish. Tons of fish on the finder, but they're hiding in the stumps, so it's really tough to get to them without getting hung up. We made our way south and trolled in a circle that included the steep drop-off along the east bank as well as the shallow section at the top end of the main lake. Due to the stumps and sudden shallows, we mostly fished around 10' deep, which was also where we were seeing the most meter marks.

We were marking plenty of fish, but not getting a lot of bites. My buddy managed to land two small kokes (about 7" and 9") and I got a couple bites, but no hook ups. Later, in the shallow section, I saw an enormous stump looming and quickly lifted a rod up in hopes of clearing the stump. That move drew a solid bite, and it turned out to be a 15 or 16" bull trout (released unharmed without removing it from the water). The pleasure boats and jet skis were ramping up and the sun was wearing us down, so we called it around noon. The launch was a circus. People were literally sunbathing on the launch, and paddleboarders were just floating in the way, not moving.

On Sunday, we had essentially the same experience but in reverse: we used the lower launch at the south end of the campground (MUCH nicer, and with far more parking) and we trolled a big circle across the middle of the lake, down the east bank, and up the west bank. We were marking some fish, but fewer than Saturday, and getting no action. Finally, near the big cabin on the west bank, a school of small kokanee started biting near the surface. I got two dinks in about 3 minutes, and that was it for the day.

Both days, the only rig that had success was an orange wedding ring with two corn behind a dimpled chrome dodger. We tried a variety of setups on the other rod, and got nibbles but no hookups.

This is an absolutely beautiful lake, but this isn't the year to fish it. The kokanee are just too young, and it's a high lake known for skinny fish as it is. The only nice fish here are the ones you aren't targeting.

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