Quick Trip to the Rock

We loaded up the camper, drove through Spokane, took a right onto highway 2 and proceeded to Steamboat Rock State Park for a quick two-day visit.  Joining us were Tom and Sarah Husby and their dog Sal. The boys had dreamed up a little plan to get out fishing and Steamboat provided a chance to cut their drive time in half.

Arriving at about 3:30 PM, Linda and I set up the camper while Kobi inspected his new grounds. The sun was out and the day was a perfect temperature for camping. Tom and Sarah arrived about a half hour after we did and once we finished claiming our campsites we grabbed our chairs and poured some drinks. It was a lazy afternoon followed by a great dinner and a wonderful campfire.

The next morning Tom and I drove up past Grand Coulee to Omak Lake to fish for Lahontan cutthroat trout. Tom had fished this lake before and had some very good luck. As we drove down into the lake we spotted a friend of Tom's who had said he might meet us there.

Omak Lake with Tom and Jake. 

Tom's friend, Jake had driven from Spokane that morning and as we approached the parking lot we could see him casting away hunting for the trout. We set up our gear and hit the water as quickly as we could.

There were huge fish everywhere! We started casting and continued to cast for the next six hours.

We got a few strikes but were stumped, these big guys just were not hitting on what we were presenting. We all fished hard but by the end of the day, Tom was the only one that caught and landed a fish. He caught it on a chironomid pattern that he borrowed from me. Who would have thunk that those huge fish would be after such a small pattern?

Lahontan Cutthroat

For the next hour, we flogged the water with tiny flies, casting to cruising pods of huge fish. Some of the schools of fish had 25 fish in them, but none wanted what we were presenting. It got late in the afternoon and Tom and I had to leave, Jake fished on into the evening.

Back at the campground Linda and Sarah had a great day walking around, reading, and bonding with the muts. We arrived at about 6:45 PM, helped fix dinner and then spent the rest of the evening telling stories by the fire.

Qur drive home was uneventful, we made a decision to get out again soon. Looks like we might be heading North after we restock!