probe the lake’ s depths, head out from the shallow shoals at the ends of the lake and work the dropoffs. Here there may be large trout taking nymphs off sinking and sink-tip lines. A good probing fly to try here might be a Seal Bugger or a Flashback Nymph. Just keep them non-leaded, incorporating brass or perhaps glass beads to get them down. Or try using unweighted wet flies like a standard Hare’ s Ear and rely on your sinking line to get those flies down to the big guys.
8. BIG TWIN LAKE
A refilling aquifer and meticulous management have put Big Twin Lake on the mend and back on the angler’ s radar.
Big Twin and its little sister Little Twin sit together in a bowl in the Methow Valley, just outside the cowboy town of Winthrop. This makes the lake a popular destination for folks on vacation in this wonderful recreation area.
Access to Big Twin is simple— a state-run boat ramp at the south end, and a private resort with boat facilities at the north, provide two solid launching options. Rainbow trout are the attraction at Big Twin and anglers have long considered it a standby for weighty trout pushing into the lower 20-inch range. Most are 12-to 18 inches and are eager to please by the general statewide opener, which is when Big Twin opens.
In our experience, Big Twin has hung around a little further into the summer than other lakes that rest below 2,500 feet elevation. This makes it a candidate for excellent damselfly fishing, with wets and dries. As many anglers attest, there is almost nothing better than watching a trout inhale a blue or olive dry damselfly. Not only does this happen at Big Twin, but its eager trout smash dragonfly nymphs too.
Happily, the lake usually fishes well into the fall, when mayfly hatches reappear in smaller and smaller sizes. The trout are no less eager and are seen rising all evening while mayfly spinners fall to the surface.
Anglers running selective gear( single, barbless hooks) can retain one trout of any size from Big Twin during its season, which ends on Halloween. Some favorite early season Big Twin patterns to help make that frying pan crackle are Rowley’ s Clearwater Pupae # 12-16 in black or olive, as well as Chan’ s Chironomid Bomber # 12-14 in various black / contrasting rib color combinations.
Later in the season, to cover the plentiful damselfly hatches, we’ ll run the Parachute Foam Damsel # 10-12 as well as the CDC Adult Damsel for topwater action. When getting down with sinking lines, the Killer Kiwi and the Slimfast damsels get it done. We’ re also running the Rowley’ s Dragon # 6-8 in olive for large fish. This floating, booby-eyed pattern fishes off a full-sinking line with a longish leader and can scare up the real toad trout when retrieved slowly in Big Twin’ s medium depths.
9. DRY FALLS LAKE
What could be better than landing a 20-inch German brown at the base of an ancient 400-foot tall desert waterfall? Answer: following it up with a 20-inch tiger trout. Or even an average size rainbow of 14 inches, the standard for this Grant County lake.
Located near Coulee City, in Sun Lakes State Park, Dry Falls is a testament to the magnitude of the ice age flooding that scalloped out huge swaths of Eastern Washington and ultimately gave anglers so many awesome stillwaters. At one time more water flowed over Dry Falls than currently flows in all of earth’ s rivers combined. Today the lake stands at 88 acres and sits 1,510 feet above sea level.
The shape of Dry Falls can best be described as an ink splotch— with islands and protruding peninsulas scattered throughout. Most anglers haul pontoon boats and small prams to the launch areas situated along the south shoreline. However, if you prefer to fish from shore you can sight fish to cruising trout, but be careful— any step could be