Questions about fishing subalpine lakes

[Eric M]

Hey all. One of the areas I bear hunt has a lake with fish in it. I'm no kind of great fisherman, but took some rooster tails up recently and casted until the mosquitoes became unbearable. (I used 100% DEET and still counted 27 bites). Anyway, anyone have any suggestions on what sort of bait works for them? I don't know how to fly fish. Never did this kind of fishing before.Thanks.

[Brushcrawler]

It’s probably not what you want to hear, but skip the DEET. If I you it on your line or lure I think you will catch far less if anything. A roostertail early or late in the day should work. Maybe try a smaller size next time. If fish are rising and you don’t flyfish try a fly with a casting bubble. And don’t forget to enjoy the scenery! Those alpine lakes are spectacular here in Washington.

[Eric M]

It’s probably not what you want to hear, but skip the DEET. If I you it on your line or lure I think you will catch far less if anything. A roostertail early or late in the day should work. Maybe try a smaller size next time. If fish are rising and you don’t flyfish try a fly with a casting bubble. And don’t forget to enjoy the scenery! Those alpine lakes are spectacular here in Washington.

Thanks. Ill probably need to get a head net, at least in July. Yes, i love the lakes up high. Is the fishing still any good in August and September?

[Birdgetter]

Yep, the fishing in August is great for me. Rarely fish in September because I’m usually preoccupied, so I can’t speak much for September. I’ve always fly fished so I don’t have any insight other than that method.  Good luck.

[Igor]

It’s probably not what you want to hear, but skip the DEET. If I you it on your line or lure I think you will catch far less if anything. A roostertail early or late in the day should work. Maybe try a smaller size next time. If fish are rising and you don’t flyfish try a fly with a casting bubble. And don’t forget to enjoy the scenery! Those alpine lakes are spectacular here in Washington.

Yep.  Just take a clear plastic bubble, and fill it around 1/2 - 3/4 full of water.  Put a fly about 4' behind it.
The bubble provides a lot of weight, so casting it is easy.  Do a slow retrieve.  It seems to work best for me in the evening.  I have caught many high-lake trout using this method.

[Eric M]

Thanks everyone

[Okanagan]

FIW, DEET eats nylon, dissolves it or something, so it puts holes in nylon fabric windbreakers, sleep pads, etc.  I have never tested it on mono fishing line but guess that it will eat that as well if you get some from fingers onto line or leader, weakening or breaking the line.

Mega ditto re casting bubbles.

I will provide the snide comment from men with far north experience:  if you could count the mosquito bites the bugs were not bad. 

[Eric M]

FIW, DEET eats nylon, dissolves it or something, so it puts holes in nylon fabric windbreakers, sleep pads, etc.  I have never tested it on mono fishing line but guess that it will eat that as well if you get some from fingers onto line or leader, weakening or breaking the line.

Mega ditto re casting bubbles.

I will provide the snide comment from men with far north experience:  if you could count the mosquito bites the bugs were not bad. 

Haha ok thanks

[Alpine Mojo]

If you fish roostertails, but overwhelm your *censored* from mosquitos, you have no business hiking in to any high lake.  Just sayin'...

[Shoofly09]

DEET is hard on fishing line, sunglasses, plastic watch bands, etc....        Pray for a windy day to keep the bugs away.

[WapitiTalk1]

Use the highest concentration of DEET you can find, bad skeetos ruin everything. For fishing, ultra lite spinning rod, no heavier than 6 lb test line, fly bubble with two flies (tiny Adams, skeeto, Black ant flies), with 6 to 8 ft of line behind bubble. Retrieve slowwwwwww, feel for the tug.

[Eric M]

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Dslayer]

Big fan of Kastmaster spoons, 1/4 ounce, fish with a jerking retrieve, almost as if you're jigging it back.  Silver, Gold, Silver/Orange, Silver/Blue, and our favorite, Metallic Perch, which we call the CK or cutthroat killer.  Second the advice on casting bubbles with flies, but they can be filled and trolled with a wooly bugger, muddler minnow or Pautzke eggs or even Powerbait.  The trick with mountain trout is to have a lot of tools in the tool kit, you can just about always find something that works.  My belief is that the meateaters (bigger fish) are always looking for that bigger, better, different score, thus finding larger fish with salamanders, etc. in them, and if you can run something like that by them you might fire them up even during the summer doldrums which seems to happen during a long period of hot, dry weather.

I just about bathe in DEET in the early season and have never had trouble with it and clothing or line.  I use something called Crystal Fireline, 6 pound, which I like for it's castability and durability-you'll appreciate that when a decent fish takes you into rocks or around or over downed trees. I usually have something like Ben's 100 which is almost 100% DEET to rub directly to my skin and a spray to reach shoulders, back, etc.  I don't get bit much but living in clouds of bugs is pretty much what you have to endure in the early summer where I fish.  You can catch fish until the snow flies although most of us are otherwise engaged during the fall. 

[Boss .300 winmag]

Big fan of Kastmaster spoons, 1/4 ounce, fish with a jerking retrieve, almost as if you're jigging it back.  Silver, Gold, Silver/Orange, Silver/Blue, and our favorite, Metallic Perch, which we call the CK or cutthroat killer.  Second the advice on casting bubbles with flies, but they can be filled and trolled with a wooly bugger, muddler minnow or Pautzke eggs or even Powerbait.  The trick with mountain trout is to have a lot of tools in the tool kit, you can just about always find something that works.  My belief is that the meateaters (bigger fish) are always looking for that bigger, better, different score, thus finding larger fish with salamanders, etc. in them, and if you can run something like that by them you might fire them up even during the summer doldrums which seems to happen during a long period of hot, dry weather.

I just about bathe in DEET in the early season and have never had trouble with it and clothing or line.  I use something called Crystal Fireline, 6 pound, which I like for it's castability and durability-you'll appreciate that when a decent fish takes you into rocks or around or over downed trees. I usually have something like Ben's 100 which is almost 100% DEET to rub directly to my skin and a spray to reach shoulders, back, etc.  I don't get bit much but living in clouds of bugs is pretty much what you have to endure in the early summer where I fish.  You can catch fish until the snow flies although most of us are otherwise engaged during the fall.

I use one Kastmaster with out a hook on it to find the depth of the lake by counting down after I cast it out. If you can get your spoon closer to the bottom of the lake more often the bigger fish are down there, it’s hard sometimes to get by all the smaller hungry ones.😉

[Eric M]

Big fan of Kastmaster spoons, 1/4 ounce, fish with a jerking retrieve, almost as if you're jigging it back.  Silver, Gold, Silver/Orange, Silver/Blue, and our favorite, Metallic Perch, which we call the CK or cutthroat killer.  Second the advice on casting bubbles with flies, but they can be filled and trolled with a wooly bugger, muddler minnow or Pautzke eggs or even Powerbait.  The trick with mountain trout is to have a lot of tools in the tool kit, you can just about always find something that works.  My belief is that the meateaters (bigger fish) are always looking for that bigger, better, different score, thus finding larger fish with salamanders, etc. in them, and if you can run something like that by them you might fire them up even during the summer doldrums which seems to happen during a long period of hot, dry weather.

I just about bathe in DEET in the early season and have never had trouble with it and clothing or line.  I use something called Crystal Fireline, 6 pound, which I like for it's castability and durability-you'll appreciate that when a decent fish takes you into rocks or around or over downed trees. I usually have something like Ben's 100 which is almost 100% DEET to rub directly to my skin and a spray to reach shoulders, back, etc.  I don't get bit much but living in clouds of bugs is pretty much what you have to endure in the early summer where I fish.  You can catch fish until the snow flies although most of us are otherwise engaged during the fall.

Appreciate the advice.