Omak Lake is the kind of place you dream about during winter. The reason is simple. On every trip, the lake offers a shot at catching a big fish. It’s the kind of place that leads anglers who’ve heard or read about it to idle through the cold months vowing that the coming season will finally be the one when they check it out. Those who’ve been there plan trips back. Omak Lake, the largest saline lake in Washington, at 3,244 acres, is stocked with Lahontan cutthroat trout from Pyramid Lake in Nevada. Omak Lake, which was first stocked with Lahontans in 1968, holds the Washington state record at a little over 18 pounds. The lake, which eons ago was a channel of the Columbia River, is several miles long and very deep. It’s located about 8 miles south of the town of Omak, on the Colville Indian Reservation, so tribal permits are required. You can buy fishing permits at North 40 Outfitters, Omak, https://north40flyshop.com/ , Colville Fish and Wildlife office in Omak as well as the Omak WalMart. Costs are $10 for a one-day permit, $20 for three days, $30 for seven days or $40 for a season. Seniors get discounts. No booze allowed on the reservation.
Most of the fish in Omak Lake average 3 pounds or so, but 8- to 10-pounders are not unusual. While it has big fish, Omak Lake doesn’t have big crowds. Don’t be surprised to have the lake nearly to yourself or even all to yourself, especially early in the season. The lake is open year-round, but shore fishing is best from February through May, when the fish are either in the shallows, fruitlessly looking for a place to spawn on the lake, which has no outlet, or along the shoreline, looking for food. Omak Lake has sculpin and redside shiners, a major reason the cutthroat get so big. So you don’t need a hatch to catch fish. Streamer patterns are very effective. Sometimes a simple white or olive Woolly Bugger or a white rabbit-strip leech pattern are all you need. During a hatch, try an intermediate line for nymphs or even a floating line if the fish are near the surface. Dry lines, a strike indicator, and a long leader are good for fishing Chironomids, including Blood Worms, which are effective for much of the year. And there’s a catch-and-release period from March 1 to May 31, when fish are thinking about spawning. Lahontan cutthroat aren’t fast runners and rarely jump. What they mostly do is stay down and slug it out. You can fish from a boat, pontoon or float tube, from shore or off a ladder. This is eastern Washington so the winds can kick up and it is a large lake so caution is needed.
Here’s a list of top fly patterns for Omak Lake:
- Articulated bunny leech
- Sculpzilla
- Balanced leeches
- Smoke N’ Mirrors
- Snowcone midges
There are plenty of cheap hotels in Omak, the camping on the reservation has a fee, more information here, https://www.colvilletribes.com/parks-recreation . There is no overnight camping allowed at the lake (even though they list camping at the lake as one of the available recreational opportunities there). Remember that Highway 20 will still be closed in early April.
Please direct any questions to Angus at:
Here's some videos to check out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZZPKjdi2Vk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS6HNCPxgcg
