Outing Host - Wytold Lebing
Registration Fee: Free
This 90 acre lake is managed as a quality fishing water where fish in excess of 16 inches can be regularly caught. The lake at its deepest is less than 20 feet. Fishing is best in the spring and the fall as warmer water temperatures and reduced water clarity in the summer can limit catch rates. Two pole fishing is allowed. Chironomid, leeches, and wooly bugger patterns are very successful. A bloodworm pattern is often effective February into April. Introduced warm water species (i.e. Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch and Brown Bullhead) are also present in the lake.
The access area on the north shore has a concrete boat ramp, parking area and pit toilet. The access is via a county park so there is no need for a Discovery Pass or WDFW Pass.
Driving Instructions, From Mukilteo:
What to Bring:
Coffee Pot Lake Hosts - David Williams & Eric Olson
Coffee Pot Lake is best known for its prodigious chironomid hatches that feed rainbow trout reaching nearly 24 inches long. In addition to those big trout, swimming under the fly fishers radar are plenty of largemouth bass that go up to 5 pounds. It has black crappie and some yellow perch as well. Coffeepot is located in a deep coulee a few miles northeast of Odessa, so a floating device is necessary.
You’ll want chironomids–some with weight and some without. If the water is still cool, then the fish will be working deep. Last June, the fish were cruising the surface. TDC’s, Ice Cream Cones, and your favorite chironomid patterns in size 14-18 work. Dragonfly nymphs such as Chickabou Dragon or Draper Dragon (Flies Of The Northwest pattern book) on a sinking line will take fish. Of course the ubiquitous black or olive rabbit bugger will catch most anything.
All you need to have the most topwater fun with the largemouth is The Hamster (Flyfishing for Western Smallmouth) and expect a nasty strike from a big rainbow as well. Add a white baitfish pattern (ask Eric Olson for his pattern) and you’ll be set.
This lake is in a remote location but there is a small BLM campground and boat launch available there. The campground has approximately 10 campsites with picnic tables and campfire rings, a large covered pavilion, plenty of parking for RVs, and a vault toilet. There is no potable water on site so each of us will need to bring drinking water, approximately 1 gallon per person per day.
What to Bring for Fishing:
What to Bring for Camping:
Food & Beverages:
Getting There
Cancellation Deadline: Deadline for cancellation is 8:00 p.m. the Sunday before the outing. If you need to cancel, please contact the Outing Host(s). There will be no refunds after the cancellation deadline.
John Day River Super Float - Outing Host TBD
Dates: The dates are tentative and registration will be enabled when host is selected and float license is obtained.
Registration Fee: $250/person (no charge for host)
This is a multi-day float on Oregon's John Day River for small mouth bass fishing. Expect to catch dozens of fish a day. This is one of Oregon's most spectacular rivers.
The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 284 miles long, in northeastern Oregon. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the third longest free-flowing river in the contiguous U. S. and the longest undammed river in Oregon. This segment offers warm-water bass fishing with 30-40 fish days the norm. Calm water boating is punctuated with relatively easy rapids.
You will want bass flies and lots of them: poppers, pretty ones, ugly ones, and even uglier ones. You will be casting into the foam lines and against the cliff faces. Forty fish days are going to tear those flies apart.
The plan is to leave Seattle on TBD and drive to TBD, OR. The group will shuttle to the put-in spot, set up all of the boats and gear and push off once all are ready. After spending 6 nights on the river the group will take out on TBD.
What to Bring for Fishing & Rafting:
Put-in & Take-out Logistics & Fees:
Put in: The group will meet in TBD, OR. on TBD at the Condon Motel parking lot to discuss the shuttle and put-in logistics. Lodging on TBD is available at the TBD. You need to make your own reservations. Camping is also available in the area.
Take-out: The take-out on TBD will be at TBD. All of the equipment and boats, including the gear boats, will need to be cleaned and packed before anyone departs. Plan on being on the road at 4:30 p.m. and getting back to Seattle at 10:00 p.m.
FEES: The fee will cover shuttles and food while on the river. It will not cover meals while driving to and from Oregon nor dinner while in TBD.
Getting There:
Cancellation Deadline: Deadline for cancellation is 8:00 p.m. TBD, 2 weeks before the outing. If you need to cancel, please contact the Outing Host(s). There will be no refunds after the cancellation deadline.
Chopaka Lake Hosts - Errol Flagor & Vance Thompson
This trip is designed to hit the peak of trout activity in this remote lake in Okanogan country. Chopaka Lake is where fly fishermen belong, and chironomid soakers put down roots. It just may be the hottest Callibaetis mayfly lake in the state. Located on a distant walled-in funnel at just under 3,000 feet elevation above the Sinlahekin Valley, Chopaka Lake is 148.8 acres of trout water squeezed into a narrow 1½ mile-long ladle. Depths in the southern half, the handle end, average less than 10 feet and support fertile nests of bottom vegetation that grow incredible insect fodder, especially mayfly nymphs. The bowl of the ladle is on the north end where the lake bottom plunges to more than 70 feet. A floating device is necessary to fish for the really large rainbows that cruise the lake.
WA DNR has a no fee campground with 2 vault toilets, questionable potable water, and a number of campsites with picnic tables. A few of the picnic tables have wooden canopies. You should have your WA Discovery Pass or WA DNR Pass with you for this campground.
The federal BLM has a no fee campground with 8 campsites with campfire rings and a vault toilet just past the DNR campground. There has been camping outside of the defined campsites in the BLM campground area.
NFA usually establishes itself in the DNR campground.
Directions:
We will be camping at the Beavertail Campground 10 miles below Sherar’s Falls. The campground is halfway between Lone Pine Put-in and Mack’s Canyon Campground. On Saturday, folks can float from Lone Pine down to Beavertail or from Beavertail down to Mack’s. And vice versa on Sunday.
There are tons of places to bank-fish along the road. You can purchase online an Oregon fishing license and a Deschutes River Floaters Pass (if you are going to float the river); there will be a campground fee as well.
To see pictures from previous outings, click here and to see a video of a previous year's Deschutes outing click here.
WHAT TO BRING
Cedar River Host - Tom Beaulaurier
The date is tentative and registration will be enabled when the date is chosen.
A favorite with Seattle locals, the Cedar River is a great, close-to-town option that offers exceptional fishing for feisty wild trout. Though the Cedar River is now a household name among anglers in the Seattle area, it wasn’t always that way. In fact, the Cedar River went largely unnoticed until it was opened for trout fishing during the summer of 2004. The river had been closed to fishing decades earlier because its salmon and steelhead runs had been devastated and still aren’t where they ought to be.
The Cedar River remains an important spawning ground for these anadromous fish. The river is still closed to any and all fishing for salmon and steelhead, and it’s also simply illegal to fish when most of these big species return and spawn. But during the years of closure, the Cedar River’s trout thrived. So, when it opened it quickly caught on, and it’s been a go-to spot for Puget Sound-area anglers ever since. You must release all of these wild trout unharmed, which helps preserve this fishery. You’ll find both rainbow trout and cutthroat trout in the Cedar River, though rainbow trout tend to be more common.
Trout 10” to 12” are very common. Trout 16” to 19” are not unusual. They are not present behind every good-looking rock however and to find them requires some diligence. The Cedar River is a walk-and-wade fishery, with an emphasis on the walk portion of that phrase. Most anglers access the river via the Cedar River Trail, which parallels the river for a large portion of the open stream. The river is open from the mouth at Lake Washington to the Landsburg Road Bridge a little more than 20 miles upstream. The season opens on the last Saturday in May and closes on August 31.
Flies:
Outing Host - Dustin Robinson
Date is tentative and registration will be enabled when date becomes available.
The Snoqualmie River is located approximately 1 hour from Seattle. it has 3 forks, the South, Middle, and North Forks, which join to form the main stem river at Snoqualmie. It flows over the Snoqualmie Falls and through the towns of Fall City, Carnation, and Duvall before joining the Skykomish to form the Snohomish River. The Snoqualmie River is a freestone river without dams to control the flow of water. Mother Nature is completely in charge of the stream flow.
The falls present an upstream barrier to anadromous fish. As a result, native Rainbow Trout and West Slope Cutthroat Trout are found in all three forks. The average size is around 8" to 10", with some more than 12" in length. Due to the size of the trout it is recommended you use lightweight gear on these streams.
Food & Beverages
Outing Host: Susanne Staats & Brett Schormann
Big bushy dry flies are of special interest to the large (up to 20 inches) cutthroat that live in the Methow River. Nymphs will also tempt these cutthroat and the healthy rainbow population. The Methow is a great river to float: fishing is allowed from the boat. Other flowing water venues are the Twist River and the Chewuck River; both best suited for wading. For the non-fishers, there is swimming, hiking, biking, shopping (Twisp's Saturday farmers market and cowboy town Winthrop), and sightseeing (Grand Coolee Dam).
Directions: TBD
No Host Outing: This outing has been arranged with the Rock Island Fish Camp. All food and lodging is being supplied. We have told them that we will have a maximum of 12 people. The cost is $900 (US) and must be paid at the time of registration. If you sign up and need to cancel you must cancel no later than 45 days before the start of the trip unless you can get somebody to take your place. You may be able to carpool with other members. Much of the information on their website is reproduced below. There are other members who have been there before including Wytold Lebing, Peter Maunsell and Peter Rubenstein.
The Lakes: Rock Island Lake is located on B.C.'s famed Nehalliston Plateau. Elevation - 4,200 ft. Some of our walk-in lakes are 5,000 ft. - 5,500 ft. The lakes vary in depth from deep volcanic holes to shallow beaver dams. They differ in water, from clear to marl bottoms, to dark tea colored lily pad ponds.
Most of the lakes have boats on them, but there are some remote walk-in lakes that are only float-tube fishable. Take your tube and enjoy the day. There are also four lakes that are easily accessed from camp, within a fifteen minute walk or short row. Most of our outer lakes are road accessible, some with a drive and walk.
The Fish: All the lakes have only one species "The Famous Wild Kamloops Trout". You have to hook one to know why they are called Wild. They will dance for you! There are no coarse fish in the lakes. The trout range from pan size to ... ? There is a good selection of flies that work on the Rock Island Lake at the lodge
There are six cozy log cabins at Rock Island Lake Fishing Camp. All are fully equipped for housekeeping with propane cook tops, wood stoves, towels, cooking & eating utensils and cold running water. Firewood and kindling are at your door. There is an ample supply of ice for your portable coolers. Showers, flush toilets and hot water are all centrally located.
Jeannie provides hearty home cooked meals in the cozy lodge. If you have any special dietary needs or restrictions, please let them know at the time of reservation. They will do their best to accommodate you.
To make your trip more enjoyable you should bring:
Outing Host - David Williams
The specific date and location will be determined as closer to August 19th. At that time registration will be enabled.
Clark Fork Hosts - Carl & Maura Johnson
Is 430 miles, one way, a long way to go for a weekend of fishing? It depends on where you are going and whom you are going to be with when you arrive. Many people come from all over the world to fish in Montana. We only have to cross eastern Washington and the panhandle of Idaho to get there. Once you arrive in Superior, MT (approximately an 8 hour drive from Seattle), you will be fishing with fellow NFA members and will be the guests of Carl and Maura Johnson.
Carl has a drift boat plus a big outdoor gas grill and he knows how to use it. Maura is a great cook. Tenting is on the Johnson's large lawn which has the softest green grass in the neighborhood. There is a big porch with chairs and lots of shade trees. The list of amenities goes on and on. Most of us will float the river but there are places to bank fish.
Host: Russ Shropshire
The Skagit River is a big river that's wide with long shallow runs and plenty of deep places for the fish to hold. It's full of large rocks and boulders. The Upper Skagit is a tailwater river and is gin clear most of the time. The Cascade River, a major tributary that enters at Marblemount, will be turbid at times during the Winter but other than that, the upper Skagit will stay clear. Below the Cascade River confluence, the Skagit River becomes wider, and continues on a shallower slope with slower riffles and runs. Downstream of the confluence with glacier fed Sauk River, water levels and turbidity are frequently very different from the upper Skagit. This is especially true after heavy winter rains.
A small run of summer steelhead starts in June. In the summer there are a few Chinook Salmon but the Pink Salmon that enter every other year, and the Silver Salmon, are the main salmon attraction. Fishing for them is best during the late Summer. Right behind the salmon are runs of Dolly Varden and sea-run cutthroats that feed on the salmon eggs. The Coho Salmon enter the river in the Fall. The winter steelhead, the Skagit's main attraction, enter the river around the first of the new year.
The Fishing:
Pink Salmon only show up in odd-numbered years. But when they do move in, they provide fast action for about 5 weeks, from the middle of August to late September depending on the rain. In recent years the Skagit has seen record and near record runs of Pink Salmon. Our outing this August will be focused on Pink Salmon. We will float and fish the Skagit River at the height of the Pink Salmon run. Also, on the menu, resident bull trout and early Coho.
The Rafting:
Although the Skagit River from Marblemount to Rockport State Park is not a serious whitewater river, it flows from 4 to 5,000 cubic feet per second in August and can be cold and fast with moderate wave train in places. This is not a river for rafting novices and newbies. The put-in and take-out will accommodate trailered rafts/boats.
Note: There is a launch fee at the take-out at Rockport State Park. Each participant is responsible for their own launch fee.
Outing Host: Ed Ianson
92-acre lake with limited shore access. This lake is very productive, grows large trout, and is very popular with fly fishers. Lenice Lake provides good shoreline access and a boat launch.
Bring a floating tube or pontoon, floating and sinking lines (if you have them), effective flies are primarily leeches and chironomids.
Saltwater Fishing, Camano Island (Host - Matt Moore)
Fishing the salt from the beach is one of the fastest growing facets of fly fishing because Puget Sound is blessed with so many miles of beach and so many willing fish. This year the NFA will meet on Camano Island in the early fall. Utsalady Bay will be the place where we will fish for feisty sea-run cutthroat.
What to Bring for Fishing :
Directions will be provided to registered attendees prior to the outing. Matt would like to talk with everyone a week before the outing to find out what folks would like to do, time, fishing and food.
