Fly Fishing Only Lakes

[Rooscooter]

Marc and gpc, I guess I need to work on my delivery or start using the smiley things. I was poking a little fun at the seriousness of some of the posts about elitist fly fishermen. The subject began with a valid question and went south in a hurry. Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't care less about whom I meet on the waters as long as they aren't rude or obnoxious. I'm there to escape from a profession that has far more elitists than all of the fly fishing clubs put together!!

Marc, I'm not a member of a club any more. When I moved to the area 25 years ago I didn't have any time to devote to a club or much of anything else. I don't think I miss it either.

gpc, have you caught a Tiger yet? If not you should come over and try Fish Lake by Cheney. I have been doing great there. A few weeks ago I got one almost 20" and about 3 to 4 lbs. They seem to be doing well there even with the heat we have been having.

Tight lines

[Marc Martyn]

With all the comments of being excluded from fishing a designated "fly fishing only" lake, I decided to look through the regs (that alone is eye strain) and see just how many lakes there are. My thoughts were that "these guys must be missing out on a lot of lakes". In guessing that there are over 1,000 lakes state wide, I was surprised to find only 13 lakes that have special regulations of "fly fishing only", 7 on the eastside, and 6 on the westside.
Now if my math is correct, the "fly fishing only" lakes account for .013% of the estimated 1,000 lakes state wide.
So, I ask you.............what is your flipping problem! Don't you have enough fishable water?
What is wrong with a group of fly fishermen, donating their time and money, working with the game department to preserve a very small percent of lakes. The fly clubs work closely with the department of fisheries to help improve a few lakes. At Browns Lake (fly fishing only)in Pend'Orielle Co., a local fly club donated their labor and rehabilitated Browns Creek, which feeds Browns Lake. The fish can now spawn up the creek.

Mallard, I am sorry that you feel that you are being looked down upon. That must be a very unsettling feeling.

For those that feel that they are being wrongly treated by the game department and would like to contact them, here is the list of "Fly Fishing Only" lakes you can complain about:
Westside-
Cady, Mason Co.
Ebey, Snohomish Co.
Merrill, Cowlitz Co.
Pass, Skagit Co.
Squalicum, Whatcom Co.
Vogler, Skagit Co.
Eastside-
Bayley, Stevens Co.
Browns, Pend Oreille Co.
Chopaka, Okanogan Co.
Leech, Yakima Co.
Quail, Adams Co.
Long, Ferry Co.
McDowell, Stevens Co.

If I have missed any, please feel free to add to the long list of "Fly Fishing Only" lakes.

[Mike Carey]

I believe the number of lakes is actually over 3,000, but I can't find my source to verify that. But I'm pretty sure 1,000 is low. Heck, we have over 600 in our data base and I know we are way short of complete.

[Anonymous]

Mike is correct -- there are more than 3,000 lakes in the state. Western Washington lists 3,887 and Eastern Washington lists another 4,073 for a grand total of 7,960. Source "Lakes of Washington."

[raffensg64]

Thanks to Marc, Mike and Bass Tracker for the doing the math.....They did what I considered but what I was too lazy to do. He verified my belief that Fly Fishing Only lakes accounted for less than 10% of our fishable water. Less than 1% actually...good job! It would probably go upwards of 10% if including restrictive regs lakes, leaving 90% or so available for "anything goes". Not a bad ratio at all.

Derrick-k, if you want an opportunity to fish this type of "quality" water, then take up fly fishing. It's not the mystical, magical art form that a lot of folks think it is, and the majority of us are not elitists. In my ventures to Amber, Medical, Coffeepot and Brown's and other lakes, I encounter mostly good people who share a hello, a laugh, techniques and patterns. Additionally, if these so-called "quality" waters were opened up to all, within a month or two they would be laden with beer cans, soda bottles, bait containers, miles of old line and countless types of other trash. THAT'S A FACT and I don't apologize for writing that. I'm sure, though, that the majority of WashLakes.com members are not these types of fishermen. But if you are then please clean up your act!

Anybody out there have a contact or two in the WDFW who could possibly answer the original question? This one will probably be tough to nail down without some factual outside support.

[littleriver]

I would have guessed that there are more "fly fishing only" lakes but flyfishers use the "selective fishery" lakes a lot and I tend to consider a lake "fly fishing only" if all I see on a lake are other flyfishermen. I thought there was a section of the upper yakima that was fly fishing only. And I think the north fork of the stilly is the same way. Probably should include rivers.


Let me see. I've fished chopaka, quail, and merrill. And I've been around leech enough times to feel like I've fished it even though I've never actually wet a line in that water. A pretty lake though. One that had virtually no sport fishing trip days in any given year until they changed the rules to fly fishing only. Now it's packed all the time. A very productive and heavily fished lake.

[mozart]

For my first post on this site I'll hopefully make it not sound harsh, so here it goes.

Many here have said that many lakes that are not designated "Fly Fishing Only" are laden with endless clumps of mono line, worm containers, beer cans, and other assorted garbage - this is true. One of my favorite lakes to fly fish on is Fazon here in Whatcom County. Just yesterday I was out in my float tube ready to float out and noticed a Coors Light box, worm containers, beer cans, candy wrappers, and cigarette boxes. I couldn't believe my eyes. Who in their right mind would litter at a lake like Fazon? When I go to Squalicum, a Fly Fishing only lake, no garbage, none.

I would agree that most of us fly fisherman are so called "Tree Huggers" but it's our mentality that keeps our fly fishing only lakes clean. We care about the environment and the future of fishing. It's the large percentage of bait chuckers that do not.

[cavdad45]

I have to agree with mozart. Too many people who fish are pigs who leave their trash around and ruin the natural beauty of a lake. It's an unfortunate reality of our day. However I do believe that most fishermen do take home their trash or get rid of it right. It's seems it's always the few who cause problems for the majority.

I don't believe that flyfishers are tree-hugging elitists nor that the majority are jerks. They are simply men and ladies who for their own reasons choose to catch fish in their own unique way, carrying on various traditions of the sport. Don't forget, they started the catch-and-release ethic long before Ray Scott founded BASS.

Tree Hugging? To be successful in fly fishing requires the angler to be more observant of the smaller details of the fish's environment than any other type of fishing. Their hooked offering must be as close to natural as possible. When one spends that much time and effort in anything, they tend to care about it more. That much "tree hugging" we all do. I prefer bass angling and issues that affect bass affect me. No different with flyfishers.

Elitists? Too an extent we all are, but not in the negative in your face sort of way. It's no more than liking your sport and taking pride in your accomplishments in that sport. I see elitist in bass fishing - ever hear of the Bassmaster ELITE tournament series. Sometimes we call someone an elitist because they have mastered or are mastering a specialized skill or technique that will consistently catch fish and there is some degree of jealousy on our part. When you see a $40,000 bass boat with a pair of anglers sporting G.Loomis rods with $300 reels and a complete tackle arsenal do you assume they are elitist bass pros? They love their sport. It's no different with fly anglers. They just love their sport!!!

Jerks??? It ain't the fishing technique that makes a person a jerk it's the character and maturity of the individual that determines who is a jerk. Why I bet a person could be a jerk if he was dunking doughballs with a cane pole?

If you don't flyfish, that's fine. Just don't dog those that do and call them names because they don't fish the way you prefer. We are all the same. We like to fish, we like to catch fish, we like to brag about fish, we like to talk about fishing, and we like the company of those who share our experience.

Boy, I sure took this on a rabbit trail, didn't I?

[raffensg64]

I still think that the majority of WashLakes.com members are not the problem, however we are only a small portion of the fishing population. But as mentioned earlier, it only takes a few to spoil things for the many. And if you're talking about a "put and take" lake that gets frequented by thousands of fishermen annually (like W. Medical), then it stands to reason that hundreds of people are going to leave their trash. Selective regs and fly fishing only waters see far fewer people, and oh by the way, these people are usually older and have great respect for the waters and surroundings they've been blessed with. Fly fishermen aren't perfect though. I've had to pick up, or have seen people pick up, trash or old leaders/tippet at launches before. The beauty of this is that we take care of our waters and one another.....mistakes happen, but most fly fishermen would never intentionally leave trash at out lakes, streams or rivers.

[Mr. Magler]

WOWSERS! I blinked for a second and all of a sudden there is an all out war on this topic. (The majority of which stray from the topic, I might add)

The best explanation I can gather out of this quagmire is that it helps the game wardens to see who's being legal and who's not by making a lake "fly-only".

However, a fly fisherman could still be using barbless hooks and thus, fishing illegally. So I still think the Reg is a little silly, but I can live with that.

And yes, there are plenty of other lakes in the state to fish. I just wanted to learn more about the reason for the Reg, but instead learned a little somthing about human nature. I learned that sterotypes are usually true for the extremist sect of any given group (fly fisherman and spinnerman alike). But that the majority of us are somewhere in the middle, just trying to have fun and ask a tough question every now and then. I love fly fishing AND I love bass fishing. Imagine that !

P.S. Please don't clump me together with Mallard. The fly fishing snobs are the extremist few. Most are great outdoorsman and good people - just like the rest of the angling community. I certainly don't consider all fly fisherman snobs - after all, I'm one too!

[Marc Martyn]

[raffensg64]

Welcome back, Magler! Where ya been?

[Marc Martyn]

The best explanation I can gather out of this quagmire is that it helps the game wardens to see who's being legal and who's not by making a lake "fly-only".

YUP! That's it, you got it!:thumleft: