Fish Master: Todd Sandell
Contact: troutsahoy@gmail.com
East lake is full of trout, mostly rainbows with a few browns and rumors of the occasional brookie as well (Stevie?). The record brown trout caught here was 22.5 lbs! Don’t count on that but there are lots of nice fish in here and last July when I visited it was all dry fly fishing, all the time. The lake is at 6,385 ft elevation. The fishing really gets going in July and the nights can be cold (and, sadly, smoke from wildfires in the Cascades is always a possibility).
When: July 22-24 (Tuesday through Thursday)
Where: East Lake, Cinder Hill campground along the east shore. There are lots of nice camps here (esp. in the loop with camps numbering 86-98) though any along the shore are great.
Reservations through Recreation.gov are highly recommended (first opportunity to make reservation for our outing, July 22-24, occur on JANUARY 22rd, 2025) This CG fills up fast, DON’T WAIT TO RESERVE. There are usually open sites but not near the water.
Recreation.Gov website - https://www.recreation.gov/search?inventory_type=camping
Cinder Hill CG Information - https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/deschutes/recarea/?recid=38324
Cinder Hill CG Map - https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd647183.pdf
Or stay at the East Lake resort along the south shore. The resort has some flies and decent food.
East Lake Resort - https://www.eastlakeresort.com/
Note that East Lake is in the Newberry Crater National monument, so you will need to buy a pass ahead of time (there is a ranger station at the entrance but they don’t always have passes).
What: Any type of boat/float tube to get you outside of the weed beds provides an advantage though I have caught trout from the shore. There are two boat ramps; if you have a larger boat to launch, the more southerly one has deeper water at the ramp.
I usually bring two rods, one for dries (#5 WF) and one rigged for subsurface (#6 either midge tip or medium sink tip). It can be windy so sometimes that’s the way to go. Be sure to bring lots of Callibaetis (dries and nymphs) and terrestrials- last year it was red ants and small black beetles that worked well in the afternoons.
Host: Todd Sandell (troutsahoy@gmail.com; 206-707-2979). Call or email to sign up for this outing.
Group Plans: Group lunches are planned each day (12-2) to allow us to fish the morning and evening hatches. Likely grilled burgers and hot dogs, bring a side dish if you’re motivated.