Patrick,
Ell Lake fished reasonably well last year. It starts a little bit slower
than Aeneas and Blue Lake since it's at 2600' elevation compared to 1400'
for Aeneas Lake. Ell Lake was a hit or miss situation last year with a good
chironomid hatch one day and then two or three days of slow fishing. Aeneas
was a bit more consistent during the early season. I fished Sidley Lake on
Sunday morning and there was still ice on 2/3 of the lake so it will likely
be in turnover during the opener week. Sidley is an underrated lake for fly
fishing since it is not a special gear lake. It can have very good
chironomid and callibaetis hatches but it seems that the fish rarely key on
the mayflies. I also fished Spectacle Lake which is about 9 miles north of
Aeneas. Some triploids were planted in Spectacle but it will be a couple of
years before they get very large as it is basically an oligotrophic lake
without much fish food.
As for smallmouths at Chopaka; if they don't significantly impact the trout
fishing I wouldn't worry about them. So far, there does not seem to be a
real problem according to the reports. Smallmouth are fun to catch and
delicious. I too no longer fish Chopaka more than once every few years. I
fished Chopaka on the opener about 17 years ago and there were 15 people on
the lake. For several years after that I spent 15 to 25 days a year on
Chopaka. Sigh.......
Good luck to all on the opener,
Keith
-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick Petersen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 11:10 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Bass in Chopaka
Hi Bill,
I also have caught some LARGE small mouth, Good eating for the ones not
ending up on the bank. Have you fished Ell lake at all? Any good? Were you
in Canada last week? I would like to fish with you sometime up there.
Patrick
----- Original Message -----
From: Warner, Paul W <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 8:30 AM
Subject: Bass in Chopaka
> Mike,
>
> I think the bass are a little bigger than 6 inches.
>
> I fished Chopaka in 99 after a layoff of over 15 years. Found out the
road in is as steep as I remembered it.
>
> I did catch two bass that trip. Both were deliberately caught. Smallest
one was 14 inches. Actually both of them were the largest fly caught
smallmouths I'd ever caught. They ended up as bank fish.
>
> If people see them on beds close to the reeds, just put on the biggest
bead head bugger they have.. bounce it thru the bed.. and the bass will grab
it. This is a standard method for when bass are on the beds.
>
>
> Bill
>
> > ----------
> > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED][SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> > Reply To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 6:08 AM
> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: Okanogan County Triploids (was Chopaka emerger)
> >
> > The bass have been in there for at least 5 years and occasionally there
is
> > talk of doing a rehab. However, the talk is usually tabled as the large
size
> > of the bows and the relatively small size of the bass makes it hard to
rehab
> > and start over.
> >
> > That lake is high enough and cold enough that the bass have never really
> > taken hold. If you fish the shallows long enough you may find one but
they
> > tend to be under 6 inches long. At least that is what they have been in
> > years past. I don't fish the lake much anymore due to the crowds so it
is
> > possible they have started to grow a bit more, thus warrenty the talk of
a
> > rehab.
> >
> > I will be curious to hear any reports you get.
> >
> > Mike
> >
>
