ONE OF MAN’S biggest obstacles to piscatorial peace: His inherent laziness.
If a fishing hole isn’t just down the beaten path, or right off the highway, it is often ignored.
As West End fishing guru Bob Gooding said, “[Anglers] want to walk 75 feet, not six or eight miles.”
Thus, many an angler misses out on some of the more blissful outdoor experiences the North Olympic Peninsula has to offer.
For there are few fishing forays quite like those into the heavens of the Olympic mountains.
It’s not so much that there are trophy trout to be caught. In many cases the fish aren’t much bigger than six to eight inches.
Rather, it’s more that those fish are flanked by the sort of natural beauty that makes them a mere footnote.
The solitude and serenity such settings provide is the real reward. The fact that one might catch a trout or two (or five) is simply a bonus.
Now that summer has arrived, many of these spots are either accessible to anglers now or will be in the near future.
The Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center (360-565-3100) provides up-to-date information on trails within its parks.
Washington Trails Association’s website (wta.org) is also a good tool to check for trail conditions in and out of the park.
Below is a listing of some of the better back-country fisheries on the Peninsula.
Seven Lakes Basin
• Location: Off Soleduck Road just west of Lake Crescent.
• Hike: There is certainly more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to exploring Seven Lakes Basin.
You can take a steep but short day hike to Mink or Hidden lakes or spend an entire weekend traversing the network of trails that loop around each of the lakes in the area (which is actually more than seven).
The entire loop around the High Divide and past Appleton Pass requires more than 18 miles of hiking and some serious elevation gain.
• Fishing: There seems to be a differing set of opinions on these lakes.
Some love to fish the lakes and others see them as a waste of time and energy.
Almost all of the lakes have brook or cutthroat trout, while the largest of them all (Sol Duc) is home to some decent-sized rainbows that can be caught on dry and wet flies.
“Sol Duc has some big fish in it. There’s some nice rainbows,” said longtime Forks resident Lonnie Archibald, adding that anglers used to backpack some fish in years ago.
“All of them had fish, although it seemed to me like Round Lake wasn’t as good.”
• Bonus: The High Divide Trail takes hikers past Bogachiel Peak, which is home to numerous elk and black bear.
The network of trails, which lead to five different camping sites, also offer views of the Pacific Ocean and Blue Glacier on Mount Olympus.
Upper Elwha
• Location: Off Whiskey Bend Road just south of Lake Mills.
• Hike: The 4.3-mile Humes Ranch Loop doesn’t have much in the way of elevation gain.
While the distance is nothing to scoff at, it’s certainly not nearly as daunting as some of the other back-country fisheries on the Peninsula.
• Fishing: The Upper Elwha is one of the Peninsula’s best traditional fly fishing spots.
The river’s resident rainbow trout (some of which run past 12 inches) are certainly the biggest draw for fly anglers.
“There’s a lot of little guys. Once you weed through those you’ll pick out some nice fish,” Curt Reed of Waters West Fly Fishing Outfitters (360-417-0937) in Port Angeles said.
“Once the weather warms up a little bit, those fish will take dry flies pretty readily.”
• Bonus: Historic Humes Ranch Cabin, a vestige of early 20th century homesteaders, is worth the trip by itself.
Goblin’s Gate and its rushing rapids are worth a look as well.
Grand Valley
• Location: Off Obstruction Point Road east of Hurricane Ridge.
• Hike: This 3.7-mile hike from Obstruction Point to Grand Valley isn’t too bad on the way in.
Getting back out, however, is no easy task, with its 2,000-foot elevation gain and seemingly endless switchbacks, enough to test the hardiest of hikers.
• Fishing: Grand Valley’s three lakes — Grand, Moose and Gladys — all have a healthy share of brook trout.
Grand Lake is also populated by freshwater shrimp, making its fish populations the healthiest of the three.
The hole where Grand Creek feeds into the south side of the lake is particularly productive.
The sight fishing opportunities at Moose Lake — which features several elevated fishing positions — can also make for some fantastic dry fly fishing.
• Bonus: Once this trail actually opens, which usually isn’t until mid- to late-July, one can expect to run across numerous meadows littered with colorful wildflowers.
The above ridge line on Grand Pass Trail also offers spectacular views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Olympic mountains best taken in at dusk.
Lake Angeles
• Location: Off Hurricane Ridge Road north of Heart O’ the Hills.
• Hike: There are two ways of to get to Lake Angeles, depending upon the conditions.
Early in the summer before most of the snow has melted, hikers must take the 3.5-mile trek from Heart O’ the Hills to the lake.
By mid-July, you can actually take 1.6-mile Switchback Trail and its 1,500-foot elevation gain to Klahhane Ridge and head 2.7 miles down into Angeles.
Personally, I prefer the latter since most of the time you end up hiking downhill.
• Fishing: Just like most of the high elevation lakes on the Peninsula, Angeles has a decent amount of brook trout.
During late June, many of them are voracious feeders, willing to venture out into shallow water to take a bite at just about anything.
By the time the lake warms up later on in the summer, those fish will be feeding in deeper waters.
The west side of the lake offers decent back casting room for fly anglers.
• Bonus: There’s another reason I prefer heading to Angeles via Klahhane Ridge:
An early morning hike on a clear day along that ridge line is about as picturesque a scene as you will find on the Peninsula.
And given the time of day, you get to enjoy it all by yourself.
Mildred Lakes
• Location: West of Highway 101 off North Hamma Hamma Road in Mason County.
• Hike: The hike is a true test of one’s back-country bonafides.
Not only is it nine miles roundtrip, it also has a 2,300-foot elevation gain along a downright burly trail that is often hard to follow and includes two creek crossings.
To quote Reed of Waters West, “I probably wouldn’t take the family in there.”
• Fishing: So why recommend such a treacherous trip?
The fishing at the three back-country lakes is supposed to be some of the best in the area.
Doug Rose called the Mildred Lake, “one of the best places in the Olympics to have a shot at 15-plus-inch mountain trout,” on his insightful fly fishing blog (dougroseflyfishing.com).
And he isn’t the only one to sing its praises (Washington Trails Association’s website is quite complementary as well).
• Bonus: Just finishing the hike alone has to be the reward.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
