Outdoor Report: As the snows recede, fishing just keeps getting better

By ROB DEHARPPORT/for The Herald  —  As the winter snow melts away, the fishing gets better every day. With most High Cascade Lakes now accessible and water temperatures slowly rising, fishing has improved.

There have been good reports through the lakes within easy reach of out Highway 58 corridor.  Odell Lake Kokanee leads the way. Solid reports have come from Diamond Lake for nice Rainbows as well as Paulina Lake and Crane Prairie for both Rainbows and Kokanee.

Crescent Lake which has been often avoided in recent years is also producing Kokanee and Mackinaw for the anglers willing to tolerate terrible boat launching and continued low water.

My buddy, Clay Jones along with his grandson Steven, had some success on Sunday and on Labor Day at Odell Lake. We fished from sunrise until noon on both days and landed 17 fish on Sunday and 24 Kokanee on Memorial Day. The Kokanee are scattered with most being caught around the Princess Creek area. We targeted the nice 12-14″ Kokanee with our downriggers at the 35′- 60′ depth. We ran our long lines anywhere from 80-100′ behind the boat with 2-3.5 ounces of weight. We saw and visited with some anglers who did better and a few not as well as we did.

 

The annual Odell Resort Mackinaw Tournament begins this Saturday at Odell. Usually about 100 anglers enter the tournament. It’s a very well-run event, catch, weigh and release is encouraged. When a possible winning fish is caught, anglers call the lodge, and a boat will meet up at the location the fish was caught on the lake to weigh the fish.

Concerning access, there are still many sites in the higher elevations that remain inaccessible.  Including Waldo Lake. I took a drive up the Waldo Lake Road to see just how far I could drive. The snow was still more suitable for snowmobiles than vehicles near the Bobby Lake Trailhead.

For those who venture out onto our rivers and lakes, be cautious and safe, as the water temperatures can be deadly this time of year. The surface temperature at Odell was 48° yesterday. No one would survive long in water that is that cold.

It’s the perfect time of year to get out and explore the outdoors. You don’t have to think outside of the box. Just get outdoors and enjoy!