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Trout Fishing at Leech Lake, WA

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Sunset over Leech Lake WA

Sunset over Leech Lake WA

The heat wave in Western WA over the past couple of weeks has put a damper on trout fishing in the lowlands so many fishermen are looking to the hills for cooler waters. Leech Lake near Mt. Rainier, a high altitude flyfishing only lake, is one of my favorite lakes because of the scenery, prolific insect hatches, and the size of the prey.

Last weekend, we tried to unsuccessfully to escape the heat. Despite being at high altitude (about 4,500 ft), the temperature at Leech Lake was in the high 80s.

Leech Lake brook trout

Leech Lake brook trout

Despite the heat, we had decent success with our 5 weights on the first day. The brook trout at Leech Lake, with beautiful markings, were as pretty as any I’ve seen. Perhaps it was because I haven’t seen a brookie recently? The largest brook trout was 14″ and was taken on a size 14 elk hair caddis.

The rainbows, fat and feisty, no doubt feasted on the prolific damsel fly hatches that day. The largest, coming in at 18″, succumbed to a tiny black ant fly on the surface. The dry fly action was fairly good on the first day but dived precipitously on the following day.

Damsel fly hatch on Leech Lake WA

Damsel fly hatch on Leech Lake WA

Although it was not lights out fishing by any means, the scenery and quality of the fish at Leech Lake make it one of my top choices for WA lakes, especially during the heat of the summer.

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