Title slide.
Here is a 14 inch golden trout and an 11 inch cutthroat from the same Glacier Peak Wilderness lake three years later.
Here is a slide of a 14 inch golden trout from a Glacier Peak Wilderness lake. Note the white edging on the lower fins, a trait not present in TL cutthroat.
This was my first high lakes golden trout, 16 inches, about 2.5 pounds. Note the camoflage shirt that I am wearing to allow stalking fish that may be feeding in the shallows, which is were this fish was caught using a slow sinking bubble and gold ribbed hare's ear fly.
14 inch golden trout, male.
Six and 7 inch stunted brook trout from a lake north of Stevens Pass. Brook trout tend to overpopulate central and northern Cascade lakes, but do not overpopulate and grow to quality sizes from near White Pass and southward.
Sixteen inch cutthroat and 18 inch brook trout from an Indian Heaven Wilderness lake.
Here I am holding the 16" cutthroat and 18" brook trout from the prior slide. The orange spinner that caught the brook trout is still hanging from its jaw.
John Thomas holds another 12 inch brook trout in excellent condition from the Indian Heaven Wilderness.
John Thomas holding 14 and 15 inch brook trout from an Indian Heaven Wilderness lake.
Here is a slide of 13 and 15 inch Mackinaw (Lake Trout) caught near the shoreline on dry flies. After they get a bit larger, Mackinaw head for deeper water and feed preferentially on small fish, a diet that encourage their use in some lakes with excessive brook trout populations.
Washington's High Lake fishery is not just about the fish. It's also about the settings - lakes in dramatic high elevation panoramasÉ
Another 14 inch Mackinaw from Eight-Mile Lake in the Icicle Creek drainage near Leavenworth.
This is a 22 inch, 3 pound Dolly Varden/Bull Trout from the North Fork Stilliguamish River in the early 1980s, before concerns arose about their population levels in many river systems.
A 14 inch German Brown trout stocked in a high lake with an excessive population of brook trout to see if the browns would help control the population by preying on brook trout fry.
This is a 16 inch German Brown trout from the southern Cascades near Mt. Adams.
High Lakes Fishing Means Hiking! Over 80 percent of high alpine lakes are not vehicle accessible and can only be reached on foot or horseback. Even for dayhikes, high lake anglers should pack the ten essentials and use common sense. Since trout tend to grow slower in high lakes, better fishing usually means hiking longer distances or going off trail to lakes that see less fishing pressure each year. Off trail hiking requires excellent navigational skills with map, compass and altimeter. The rewards are many, outstanding scenary, solitude, quality fish, and better health.
Many lakes can be accessed by formal trails.
A smaller percentage of lakes have no formal trails and can only be accessed by careful offtrail navigation, such as this lake in the Big Snow Mountain area.
A smaller percentage of lakes have no formal trails and can only be accessed by careful offtrail navigation, such as this lake in the Big Snow Mountain area.
The scenary is as stunning as the fish. Here is a view of Glacier Peak from Lk Byrne.
In addition to navigational skills, the prepared hiker will be ready for any kind of weather. Here is incoming heavy weather on the Pacific Crest Trail near Parks Lakes and Mt. Chikamin.
or with dramatic backgrounds and backdrops...
The Cascades are named for the many streams and rivulets tumbling down the hills in small to large waterfalls. So much water comes from the sky rain during any time of the year, accumulated as snowpack from November through March. Hence, the Cascades are Gore-Tex country. The first successful applications of Gore-Tex were in the northwest, in the Omnipitent from Early Winters in the 1970s.
The other extreme can be summer temperatures approaching the 90s. Great weather for floating around a high lake on a light weight raft, but dangerous for overheating or sunstroke if carrying heavy packs up steep trails or routes.
And that gorgeous meadow by the lake for a scenic campsite just might be home to millions of hungry mosquitos. Bring plenty of mosquito repellant.
Here Bob Pfeifer prepares to hunker down in his tent and prepare dinner. After a day surveying a nearby lake, we arrived back in camp in time to beat the storm and stayed dry and warm in spite of pounding rain and wind. Note that we had set up camp with trees screening us from the winds howling off the lake shoreline nearby.
If you ride out the storm, or if you hike in on the heels of departing weather, you can get outstanding mountains and clouds photos in late afternoons or at sunset.
Campfires are seldom allowed at lake shore areas any more. While campfires provide some warmth and a central conversation point, their impact on fragile camping areas and surrounding tree vegetation is severe. Camping areas by lakes near the Pacific Crest Trail that were denuded in the 1960s to early 1980s recovered quickly once campfire bans were enacted.
Camp stoves provide plenty of cooking power. Many freeze dried meals require only boiling water to be added to the mix. And fresh fish can easily be cooked over camp stoves, if one has a large enough fry pan.
Even if you don't catch fish, the scenary can provide lifetime memories. Here is a view toward Glacier Peak in the far distance, and nearby Gun, Merchant and Baring Peaks from Boner Lake on Mt. Crosby.
The weather can sometimes be as dramatic as the surrounding peaks. Here gathering thunderclouds catch the afternoon sunlight in the north Cascades.
Keep an eye on the weather. Sometimes the clouds suggest heading quickly for camp or the trailhead.
or in the Fall with dramatic surrounding coloration...
Or the clouds may provide a sunset pallette of colors reflected in the quiet waters of an alpine lake.
And the peaks can catch the last rays of sunshine and mirror their high splendor in the glassy waters by your camp.
In the fall, many areas of the Cascades don a riot of colors. Here vine maples in Mineral Creek below Parks Lakes show flaming reds.
High alpine huckleberries, tucked into the heather meadows, also turn brightly red. Indian Heaven is famous for fields of these heather meadow blue short bush huckleberries.
Alpine heather meadow huckleberries up close. These berries, added to instant oatmeal, create a true breakfast of champions.
Here morning sunrise reflects of the peaks west of Gem Lake, north of Snoqualmie Pass. Gem Lake is purposefully left fishless, in part due to the high level of hiking pressure this lake already receives due to the scenary.
This is a morning sunrise view of Summit Chief (left) and Bears Breast (right) seen from the outlet end of Waptus Lake.
This is a morning view of the Bulls Tooth, from the outlet of lower Grace Lake on the western flank of the Chiwaukum mountains.
Here incoming weather is reflected in a small tarn on the Iron Cap Mountain traverse with a view over the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River to Summit Chief, Lemah, and Chimney Rock.
Big Snow Mountain is reflected in the inlet stream of Mildred Lake in the Dingford Creek drainage.
and sometimes with dramatic fish. This is a picture of John Thomas with a high lake rainbow that weighed about 4-5 pounds.
Late afternoon light on the Middle Fork peaks Chimney Rock, Burnt Boot Peak and Lemah Mtn. from above Upper Hardscrabble Lake.
House Mountain (? House Rock?) reflected in American Lake south of White Pass.
Sunset view down the Middle Fork Snoqualmie valley from above Upper Hardscrabble Lake.
Sunset colors on lenticular clouds above the Chiwaukum Mountains as viewed from Upper Doelle Lake.
Sunset above the Bulls Tooth from lower Grace Lake.
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Stocking rates have dropped dramatically as WDFW has learned how fragile the high lake resource is and how sensitive to over stocking. Stocking rates of over 1000 fish per acre in the 1950s are ten times current levels of less than 100 fish per acre. Often small, hand-stocked lakes are stocked at 50-75 fish per acre, every third year.
Hand stocking of high lakes is done with the support and oversight of the Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW). Here biologist Bob Pfeifer is walking toward the camera and volunteer Russ Tolsma, at the Tokul Creek Hatchery, prior to a high lake survey and stocking trip in the 1980s.
The fry to be planted are transferred at the hatchery and weighed...
then poured into collapseable water containers...
the air is then squeezed out and replaced by pure oxygen...
resulting in a water container with fry ready for a trip into the mountains to their new home.
Here Mike Ward, past president of the Trail Blazers, puts a container of fry in his backpack surrounded by insulation to keep them cold for the trip up to the lake.
Here is an old Trail Blazer sign on a tree in the wilderness, a rare artifact that is now hard to find, although lakes planted by the Trail Blazers club are common.
Air stocking photo by Bob Pfeifer at the Arlington Airport. Pilot Tom Wilson (ret.) was helping to load. This was a standard Cessna 185 trip to stock 4-6 lakes.
The fry are brought to the airport in numbered containers with specific variety and number of fry for each lake...
They are then transferred to the aerated containers in the Cessna.
Here is an interior shot of the Cessna and the aerated containers ready for takeoff. When the lake is reached, the container for that lake is dumped into the rectangular opening at the pilot's left elbow.
And the fry emerge through the center pipe under the aircraft for a free fall down to the lake.
Bob Pfeifer took this picture of Tom Wilson stocking Kelcema Lake. Although the fry are released at 200-300 feet above the lake, fry survival rates exceed 95%. The fry quickly reach a low terminal velocity and are only briefly stunned when the hit the surface of the lake.
The yellow triangular sign in this photo at the edge of (big) Twin Lake declares these waters "Closed to Fishing." Twin Lakes, in the southeastern corner of the Glacier Peak Wilderness, are the broodstock waters of the Twin Lakes Cutthroat, a West Slope strain, native to the Columbia River drainage. Twin Lakes Cutthroat have inhabited Twin Lakes for as long as biologists can remember and prior to any records of stocking. They have adapted to this mid-elevation (2500') montane environment and do extremely well in many of the eastern Cascade lakes.
This is the WDFW cabin at the outlet end of big Twin Lake, built in 1949. It is used by WDFW to house biologists and gear when eggs are taken and fertilized in the spring to provide nearly a million cutthroat fry for stocking other waters.
This is the view of the upper (big) Twin Lake from the cabin. Note the walkway across the outlet. This walkway houses both a fish trap and holding area.
This is a shot of the holding area with about 200 Twin Lakes cutthroat in it. There are two other fish traps located on the main inlet streams of the lake...
Here biologist Bob Pfeifer is netting fish out of one of the traps. The WDFW maintains a small boat with outboard motor, grandfathered into the Wilderness Act, to transport fish from the inlet traps to the outlet holding area.
The netted fish are placed into this wash tub in the bottom of the boat. An anesthetic is added to the water to calm the fish for the ride to the outlet.
Here are about 100 Twin Lakes cutthroat, about 11-14" in size, ready for the trip to the outlet.
At the outlet, the procedure is reversed and the fish are netted out of the washtub...
and then placed into the holding area. By the end of the weekend, we had put about 800 fish into the holding area ready for the biologists to come in on Monday and strip and fertilize eggs. The fish are then returned to the lake with pretty good survival rates.
This is a shot of the holding area at the big Twin Lake outlet with about 200 cutthroat. At the end of the weekend, Bob Pfeifer had transferred about 800 fish to the holding area to await the biologists who were coming in on Monday to take and fertilize the eggs.
In the 1980s, WDFW biologist Jim Johnston studied about 80 lakes in the North Cascades, outside of the national park and within and outside of Wilderness areas. This map shows the area studied.
Forty-eight percent of the lakes were within Wilderness and 52% were outside of Wilderness. The majority of lakes (71%) had fish. Thirty-seven percent had fish and were within Wilderness, while 34% had fish and were outside of Wilderness.
The larger lakes had fish, predominantly. Of the total surface area of lakes studied, 63% (by acreage) had fish and were within Wilderness and 26% had fish and were outside of Wilderness.
Although the larger lakes tend to be the ones with fish, the high lake fishery is a fragile resource. The lakes themselves are sensitive alpine environments. The bulk of stocking is hand stocking by volunteers. Increasing human usage of wilderness is putting stress on the alpine environment and the fishery.
This slide shows two volunteers, John Thomas and Russ Tolsma, gathering data on fish stomach contents at an alpine lake.
Even in the same lake, fish may have different feeding patterns on different biota. Here the difference becomes apparent with flesh color. The reddish color is usually due to a higher crustacean content in the diet, often from copepods or fresh water shrimp.
The fish data gathered by volunteers is submitted to WDFW biologists by standard report forms. Here is the upper portion of a form for a trip to Rowena Lake in 1987.
The lower half of the form shows information on fishing effort, stomach contents and lake usage. These fish surveys provide WDFW with information that allows them to manage stocking into high lakes to maximize the quality of fish.
WDFW biologists gather data on high lakes personally, as time permits. Here Bob Pfeifer sets out in his raft to measure the depth of a small pothole in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River drainage. This pothole was deemed too shallow to support fish. Overall, about one-quarter to one-third of lakes are left fishless.
Here is a shot of Snow Lake just north of Snoqualmie Pass. This survey trip was primarily to get depth data on the lake in the center, where the depth was beyond the range of the small portable depth sounder. Snow Lake is one of the deepest lakes in the western portion of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
One of the aspects of trout growth studied was rate of growth during the first three years. This slide shows the average rate of growth (averaged over the lakes from which the fish were taken) for hatchery stocked rainbow (top curve, pink), cutthroat (yellow), wild rainbow (red) and eastern brook trout (lite blue). The eastern brook trout show the least rate of growth of these species, primarily due to excessive populations of these fish in northern Cascade lakes.
This slide shows the difference in growth rates for rainbow trout from lakes with hatchery stocking only (red), lakes with hatchery and wild fish (yellow) and wild fish only (lite blue). The growth rates for the wild only fish are again depressed in comparison with rainbow from other lakes where natural reproduction is not excessive.
Nearly 40 chemical, physical, biochemical, biological, and similar variables were measured for these lakes. The intent was to model fish growth based on these variables. The results yielded a prediction model for rainbow trout that only needed eight of the variables. These variables included a ranking of density of fish in the lake (a negative influence on fish growth), the geology of the watershed (soil solubility), percentage vegitative cover of the watershed, percentage of the lake less than 10 feet in depth, conductivity, percentage of shoreline sedge grass, zooplankton density and cased caddis density.
The resulting rainbow trout growth model explained 77% of the variance in trout growth in these lakes using the eight variables. This slide shows the predicted fish growth versus actual fish growth. The 45 degree line would represent perfect correlation. Lakes below the line have better growth than predicted.
This slide is the view westward at Gem Lake toward Big Chair, Kaleetan and Roosevelt peaks. This is a reminder that the settings for this fishery can provide world class views.
Although high lakes trout are similar to lowland lakes trout, the lakes dictate some key differences in gear and technique. Because the lake waters are so clear, light lines are a must, typically 4 pound test tippets or less. Light gear is also handy as it is part of what you must backpack into the lakes. Since the waters are clear and the fish are frequently feeding in the shallows, a stalking approach is a must. Wearing clothing of colors that blend into the background is recommended. Hiding behind shrubbery or using foliage as a backdrop to hide your profile against the sky are valuable methods. For those interested in fly fishing, flotation devices are handy. This gets you away from the foliage where you have no backcasting room and gives access to brushy or cliffy shoreline areas.
Here is a set of gear that I often took into the mountains for day trips and overnights. All of the gear in the picture, except for the raft and paddles, foam pad, and fishing rods, could fit into the orange fanny pack. The raft is a single person, light-weight raft weighing only 22 ounces. I usually took both 4-piece fly rod and spinning rod with reels for each, in case I broke one rod scrambling off-trail. That way I would at least have a rod for fishing the rest of the trip.
Here I am on a fall daytrip with fishing gear in the fanny pack at my waist, day pack loaded with lunch and the ten essentials, camera case, rain pants and earth color shirt. A nice 16" rainbow indicates success.
Here Russ Tolsma is fishing using foliage as a backdrop to hide his profile from the sky.
Here Sandy McKean is trying to convince hungry cutthroat that his T-shirt is small remnants of snowfields. What really saved Sandy is the ripples on the water that did not let the fish get a clear view of his casting movements.
Here is Sandy in Curtis Raft #151 on Rock Lake. Fishing from a raft allows one to get backcasting room and to cast into shorelines where fish commonly will feed. When fish are feeding in deep water, the raft allows you to get to them and to cast or troll gear as appropriate.
Here John Thomas is about to land a fiesty rainbow. Note the green colors of his raingear blend in with the general foliage colors of the surrounding evergreen trees.
Bruce Kowalski and I fished a lake that had produced excellent cutthroat on previous trips. On this day, even though we wore clothing that would blend into the backgrounds, the absolutely still water allowed fish to see our every movements. We had no luck and my conclusion is that our movements quickly spooked fish out into the middle of the lake and put them off feed.
Here I am stalking cutthroat that are surface feeding within 50 feet of the shoreline. Wearing a camoflage shirt helps to reduce spooking these fish. The reward was a nice cutthroat just after this picture was taken.
Here John Thomas is casting from the shoreline of Bald Eagle Lake. Note how clear the water appears. Remember that fish can see out of the water far easier than we can see in. When we first arrived, fish were easy to catch near the shoreline. After an hour, fishing success diminished. Tom Thorsvig than inflated his raft and paddled out into the middle. Looking down he announced that all the fish were out there, spooked by our movements and previous fish on.
Pete Smith releasing a fish at Trap Lake near the Pacific Crest Trail. Since it is recommend that you only keep a couple of fish to eat, knowing proper catch & release technique is recommended.
Sometimes you plan on catch and keep. And sometimes you need elephant gear to catch elephants. Here Brian Curtis and I took a morning trip into Lake Isabel near Gold Bar to try for Mackinaw (Lake Trout). Since these char can weigh in the teens and more, we took in heavy weight gear. That is my medium weight steelhead rod that is bending under a nice fish.
When Brian took this picture, I had worked the fish to the surface near my raft and was beginning to try to land it. Since I had no folding net that would have been large enough, I needed another approach. Fortunately, I always hiked with leather gloves for off trail scrambling. Holding the rod in my right hand, I worked my glove onto my left hand.
and grabbed the fish by the jaw and lifted it out of the water into the raft.
The result was a 29", 9.5 pound Mackinaw, my personal biggest high lake fish.
There are a good number of quality fish in the high lakes that will go 15 inches or more. Here Bob Pfeifer holds a 16" rainbow.
This slide is a quick reminder that the settings are as spectacular as the fish. The is the outlet pool of Boner Lake, high on Crosby Mountain. This spot is extremely difficult to reach, guarded by cliffs on most flanks of Crosby and no trail. This view is northeastwards, across the valley holding Highway 2. Baring Mountain is right about Mike Scott.
The most productive lakes tend to be mid-elevation shallow lakes, with substantial sedge grass along the shorelines and vegetated drainages. This lake is an excellent example of a prospective productive lake.
All lakes in intermediate elevations (3000'-5000' west and 4000'-5500' east in the Cascades) that have substantial shoreline and drainage vegetation may be productive. Do not pass by these lakes with giving them some fishing time.
Higher elevation lakes (4500+ feet) with little surrounding vegetation may not be productive. While scenic, some prospecting for fish can be entertaining, but these lakes should not be camping destinations if fishing is your primary interest.
Here is a shot of Robin Lakes east of Mt. Daniel. These lakes provide quantity fishing for 9"-11" cutthroat due to natural spawning and low lake productivity. Higher fishing pressure due to the scenic popularity of the lakes can help hold the fish population in check.
This medium elevation lake was very productive for rainbow and cutthroat in the 12-16 inch range. The difficult offtrail access to this lake allows the fish to grow to larger quality sizes.
Do not pass up small, one to two acre potholes. We were passing by this small pothole near the Rampart Lakes, when a fish broke water. There were about a dozen 12-14 inch rainbow remaining in this pothole from a stocking trip three years previous.
This is a shot of Lost Lake near Snoqualmie Pass. This lake has been a good producer of eastern brook trout. Substantial clear cutting has occurred in the forests surrounding the lake since this picture was taken in the early 1970's as the area is outside of Wilderness protection.
Here is a shot of trout spawning in an inlet steam of a lake near White Pass. Natural spawning often leads to excessive populations of trout that impact the food resources of the lake, leading to stunted fish. This lake is close enough to the trail head and popular, so that it receives enough fishing pressure to offset the natural reproduction.
One of the primary food resources for high lakes trout is the calebaetis mayfly. This is an example of the adult mayfly perched on a topographical map near the actual location of the lake where the picture was taken. Other key food resources include midge larvae and nymphs (chironomids), cased caddis larvae, adult caddis flies, large red copepods (primarily useful to rainbow trout), freshwater shrimp where they occur, dragon fly larvae, and damsel fly nymphs. Ants and adult flying insects can be seasonally important. Grass hoppers are not common at higher elevation lakes, but can be important at intermediate lakes, especially on the eastern side of the Cascades.
This shows the analysis of stomach contents of four cutthroat that ranged from 11 to 15 inches in size. Along with the usual insect larvae and adults, the contents included one partially digested salamander and one mouse.
The Washington Cascades have a greater variety of trout and char species than many other locations. Species and varieties present include Mt. Whitney and Kamloops rainbow, Twin Lakes (Westslope strain) and coastal cutthroat, brook trout, Mackinaw, Dolly Varden/Bull trout, golden trout, brown trout, Atlantic salmon and grayling.
This is an example of a four pound, 20 inch Mt. Whitney rainbow (female) held by John Thomas.
Here I (Gerry Ring Erickson) am holding a four-pound, 21 inch Mt. Whitney rainbow.
This slide is a 16 inch rainbow in fall colors from Upper Melakwa Lake. In spite of the substantial hiking/visitation level at Melakwa Lakes, obviously fish can grow to quality sizes.
This slide is of a 19 inch rainbow from an off-trail, glaciated lake. Coloration looks very much like a steelhead. Growth of trout in this lake is excellent due to high densities of large red copepods (Diaptomus kenai).
This slide is of a 12 inch coastal cutthroat. Note the uniform spotting pattern and the slight cutthroat "slash" under the jaw.
This slide shows a brace of 12-15 inch Twin Lakes cutthroat. The spotting pattern is heavier toward the tail and the cutthroat slash is very red and prominent.
This slide of Twin Lakes cutthroat shows a 13 inch female at the top and 15 inch male in the middle and a fully mature 9-inch male at the bottom.
Here is a picture of a large, 23 inch, 5 pound male cutthroat at the top and a 21 inch, 3.5 pound female below. These Twin Lakes cutthroat came from a lake containing fresh water shrimp.
Here is a slide of Larry Hirni holding those two large Twin Lakes cutthroat.
A few Washington high lakes still contain populations of Yellowstone or Montana Black Spotted cutthroat varieties. Here is a picture of three Yellowstone strain cuts from a lake in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Note the uniform spotting pattern from head to tail of larger spots than those of coastal cutthroat. The fish in the middle is a male cutthroat with females above and below.
Here is a picture of WDFW biologist Jim Cummins with an 18 inch Twin Lakes cutthroat from a lake in the William O. Douglas Wilderness near Crystal Mountain.
Here are seven fish that include two Twin Lakes cutthroat at the top and one at the bottom, two golden trout second and third from the bottom and a hybrid golden/TL cross third from the top. Often where there is suitable spawning streams, cutthroat will cross breed with rainbows and goldens when they are present together...
Here WDFW biologist Jim Cummins holds one of the golden trout from the previous slide.
Here is a 13 inch TL cutthroat and a 9 inch golden trout from a lake in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.