Got on the water at 1:15 pm and started towards the north end of the lake where it is much deeper. I didn't see any fish on the fish finder until I reached the depth of 50+ feet on the chart. At that point a thermocline appeared between 20' and 30'. I began to read numerous fish just at the top of the thermocline. The water temperature was 63º at the surface and the water was clear of any algae. The outside temperature was 72º, clear skies and a light variable breeze. There was a fair amount of haze in the sky from the wildfires in Central Washington. Insect activity over the lake was minimal with only a few Dragon & Damsel Flies darting around.

I started off trolling my Yellow Jacket pattern (green and yellow) and caught a couple of 10-12" Cutthroats. Since Cutthroats have a craving for international orange I put on a #12 orange leech and landed 2 fish. I finally settled into a using a #12 orange bodied Royal Bucktail that was the most successful. Overall I landed about 10 fish, losing the same amount during the retrieve. The largest one of the day was actually caught in the side of the body. It got hooked as it turned to strike at the fly. Being only 15", it felt like a 5 lb. trout on the retrieve. Since he had minimal damage to his side, I released it. Once back in the water, he quickly swam off at a rapid pace for deeper water.

At 5:00 pm I headed back to the launch. As I was leaving around 6pm, I could see fish starting to rise to the surface however most of them were very small fry. Overall, it was a very nice afternoon and I had the entire lake to myself.

What a great day at Yocum Lake. It's always great to come up here for my five cutthroat fish per day guaranteed.

Fished Yocum last Sunday; road to the lake was passable in my 4x2 toyota pickup, 4x4 not required. Kids fishing from the bank when I got there had about 15 nice cutthroats, using worms. Put on the fins and the float tube, 1st strike within a couple of minutes using night crawler on a #8 single hook. Shortly thereafter, big rolling boomers, thunder and lightning. After the storm passed, the fish seemed turned off, not another bite for two hours. One of the locals said he'd experienced the same thing, he said if he is fishing and there is thunder and lightning nearby, he just packs up and goes home. Any way, what a beautiful lake, very quiet and peaceful. I'm going back ASAP. Good luck!

If you cross the Pend Oreille River, eastbound at Usk Washington, you will need to turn north and drive about 30 miles. Keep an eye out for an old abandoned building marked Chapel Hill General Store & Resort. Go 1.3 more miles and turn right up a sandy road. In about 50 or 60 feet is a hard to see Forest Service Road marker. If the numbers read 1900 across the top of the sign, and 096 down the sign then you’re on the right road. The sign is kind of hard to see so you will need to look sharp. That’s where you will want to turn your hubs in and go 4X4 from there on. Drive in 1.7 miles to the T and turn left. Go .1 more miles and you are there. It’s only 1.8 miles, but you will be tired of the road by then. Fish were rising all over the place. I put my kickboat in and started with a 5 weight floating line on an 8 ½ foot Pleuger with a 7 ½ foot 6X 3lb tapered leader and a size 12 tan Elk Hair Caddis. On my second cast I got a hit, but was unable to hook up. I was looking at other fish jumping instead of the one after my fly. I kept fishing another ½ hour or so without success, and switched to a #8 Black Wooly Bugger w/copper wire rib on a sinking 6-weight line. I was stripping in 3-4 inch retrieves about 2 per second, and got hits on almost every cast for some time. I hooked up with less than ½ the hits because they were short striking and getting hooked on the outside of the mouth. All fish were around 12” and healthy cutthroats. All the fish that decided to come out and play, will come out and play another time. They all went back. There is something about releasing a fish right in front of you, that is habit forming. I find myself wanting to do it over and over. I suggest you not try to make the drive in without a 4X4. The Launch is steep, but it is a perfect lake for a float tube or pontoon boat. This time of year, the Tamaracks are turning gold, the foliage on the broadleaves is turning color, and the turkeys aren’t afraid of anything. I will
be going back.