Lake Quinault

There isn’t a whole lot of open water in my area right now. All the rivers and creeks are closed still and that is the primary show here in Quinault. Of the few places that are open, Lake Quinault is definitely the premier fishery. This glacially carved lake, the largest in Grays Harbor, plays host to good populations of native charr and cutthroat trout. There are also murmurings of rainbow trout now and then, but I am pretty convinced these are just baby steelhead, and any rainbows over 20 inches have to be released. 

The Pond

I stood on the makeshift raft Leroy had crafted in our shop earlier that day, I held my five weight in one hand and my 4X leader attached to a number 12 Zug Bug in the other. I gazed at the tannin stained water watching for the tell tale sign of my quarry. Two feet from a fallen tree a sipping sound and small rings in the water gave the trout away, I cast slightly further than the rise and made a short, slow strip. The end of my line darted forward and I raised the rod and stripped a small amount of line. Two minutes later I held a beautiful 8-Inch native cutthroat, as densely spotted as any fish I’ve seen with crimson slashes on the throat and a golden hue to his thick body. When I released him he swam directly toward the sam snag as if this was a routine event.
    June 1st is quite the day in washington state. Most every stream, river, and creek opens on this day, and you can find most anglers on their favorite trout stream. Perhaps the Yakima if the runoff isn’t too bad, the Elwah with it feisty native ‘bows, a few can be found on the Skykomish or similar rivers fishing for the elusive and few summer steelhead. Others avoid the crowds and the runoff on their favorite small streams. Cedar creeks, headwaters, and tributaries often hold good populations of lightly fished trout.