Photos by: Calvin Fuller
This
legendary
lake kicks out
big rainbows
& deserves a
spot on your
summer hit
list.
58
If you hang around many fly shops—no
matter where you may live in the Pacific
Northwest—someday you’ll hear people
talking about eastern Washington’s
Chopaka Lake and its Callibaetis mayfly
hatches.
There’s good reason for that; Chopaka
offers scads of rainbow trout ranging
between 12 inches and a few pounds
and they feed eagerly on the surface
during these Callibaetis emergences and
spinnerfalls. I first heard about Chopaka
during college, and the stories about big
rainbows gulping Callibaetis dry flies stuck
in my mind.
Since the North 40 Fly Shop opened in
Omak, Washington a few years ago have
I visited the area regularly, but still hadn’t
found my way to Chopaka. This spring I
decided to remedy that flaw and made
Chopaka a priority. I called a few friends in
the know, queried them about the lake, then
stopped at the North 40 Fly Shop and spoke
with shop manager Keith Roe. He gave
me some intel and suggested several fly
patterns, including TFP Balanced Leeches,
Ice Cream Cone Chironomids, flying ants,
and damsel and dragonfly nymphs.
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