Lakes just west of Suttle Lake

[troutdude]

There are a handful of small lakes a little east of HooDoo, and west of Suttle & Blue Lakes. They are inside of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. Some of the names are Island, Meadow, Hand, Link, Casche, etc.

Does anyone have any experience fishing these small cascade lakes? If so, any information you can share would be appreciated (i.e. species available, catch methods, etc).

Thanks!

P.S. I once fell into nearby Blue Lake. And believe me...it is called BLUE lake for a reason!!! :shock::shock::shock:

 

[fisherwilly]

Hey Troutdude,

I have "fished" some of the lakes on a hot tip from a neighbor. We didn't catch any fish, but I have heard some stories. Anyways I just looked in the book Fishing Central Oregon and most of those lakes you named are stocked. I found this information in the backcountry lake section by the Sisters area. Mainly it looks like brookies and cutts are stocked. A few have stocked rainbows in them. In these lakes I think most of the fish stocked are fingerlings. I have seen volunteers packing fingerlings into some wilderness lakes, and I bet the further you hike the better it gets.
Good Luck,
Fisherwilly

 

[troutdude]

Thanks Willy. I appreciate your reply.

All of the lakes that I described (if I remember correctly), are all accessible from a Forest Service road. I have also heard of some brookies caught in one of them. And Link Creek flows out of the lake and into Blue Lake, then into Suttle Lake. So, it may even have some browns.

I just read up on Meadow, it is stocked w/ 'bows, brooks and cutts. All 3 species are also found in Link. Island Lake has cutts and brooks...as does Hand. And Cache has 'bows and brooks.

I am hoping that some OFF members, can share some information about what type of gear to use. What time of year to go, etc.

 

[bigsteel]

troutdude ive got a friend at work that has fished that area extensively ill talk to him and see what he can come up with,,,,ill let ya know

 

[bassin16]

i hunt all around these lakes im gunna have to start bringin my pole with me

 

[burrelectronics]

I fished Island Lake recently. Rough roads getting to it. If you have a car you probably won't make it unless you want to hike in. Caught 4 cutthroat and one brook. Cutthroats were surprisingly larger. Biggest one was 14-15 inch. I'll post a couple pics when i figure out how to

 

[burrelectronics]

island lake

island lake

hope this works

 

[fisherwilly]

Nice fish! Those are some nice pictures and it looks like some fun out there. I almost went up there the other day, but decided to explore some rivers.

 

[troutdude]

I fished Island Lake recently. Rough roads getting to it. If you have a car you probably won't make it unless you want to hike in. Caught 4 cutthroat and one brook. Cutthroats were surprisingly larger. Biggest one was 14-15 inch. I'll post a couple pics when i figure out how to

I went up there once, in a small Mazda hatchback. It was bumpy, but I made it.

However, that was many years ago. So, maybe the road is much worse now.

 

[AV8R]

island lake

island lake

hope this works

what kinda bait/lure/fly did you use?

 

[michigan_transplant]

troutdude if you go post some pics for us, sounds interesting.

 

[AV8R]

Thanks Willy. I appreciate your reply.

All of the lakes that I described (if I remember correctly), are all accessible from a Forest Service road. I have also heard of some brookies caught in one of them. And Link Creek flows out of the lake and into Blue Lake, then into Suttle Lake. So, it may even have some browns.

I just read up on Meadow, it is stocked w/ 'bows, brooks and cutts. All 3 species are also found in Link. Island Lake has cutts and brooks...as does Hand. And Cache has 'bows and brooks.

I am hoping that some OFF members, can share some information about what type of gear to use. What time of year to go, etc.

What are "'bows" I have not heard tha term before. Thanks

 

[troutdude]

'Bows are Rainbow Trout.

I would really doubt that there are any Browns in Blue Lake. It is called Blue Lake, because it is FREEZING COLD!!! There may be some browns in there, but I suspect it is too cold. However, there are BIG browns in Suttle (and Kokes too).

 

[burrelectronics]

I was using buoyant spoons. I tried all sorts of powerbait but only got hits with the spoon.

 

[AV8R]

Spoons

Spoons

Thank you. Am going over next Wed. for2 or three days.
Any particular color spoon?,
Dick

 

[bigfootfish]

Blue/Link/ Suttle

Blue/Link/ Suttle

Blue Lake is a spring-fed lake, and it is cold. Blue Lake Resort sold out to some outfit called the Caldera and now it's all private property. There is a small bit of Blue Lake shoreline that is still inside the Deschutes National Forest. If you can get to it the fishing could be good. If you go to the Corbett Sno-park just past the Hoodoo/Big Lake turnoff heading east and drive to the backside of Corbett you will find a road you can take that will turn into a trail which goes to that open part of Blue Lake, or so I was told by a Wizard Falls Hatchery worker.
Link Creek flows out of Blue Lake into Suttle. Link is CLOSED to all angling. Suttle has some Rainbows which were stocked years ago but were eaten by the Brown Trout in Suttle. Suttle has the best Brown Trout population of any lake in Oregon, according to the same hatchery people, though it has never produced a record Brown like Wickiup, Paulina or East Lakes. The current Suttle Lake record Brown is 19 pounds 7 ounces. It's mounted inside the Lodge at the Suttle Lake Resort, on the second floor just outside the elevator. Here's a pic I took of it last week:

 

[bigfootfish]

Suttle/Link/Blue

Suttle/Link/Blue

Brown Trout like to feed in low-light, from an hour before sunrise to about 8 or 9 in the morning. From about 6 pm to an hour after sunset is good also. Kokanee abound in Suttle down deep and there is a special reg in effect for Suttle Lake Kokanee, that being 25 per day no minimum length.
Suttle Lake is drained by Lake Creek which flows for about 5 or 6 miles into the Metolius River.
Now just to the east of the Pacific Crest Trail which crosses over Hwy. 20 is a trailhead that's a little tricky to find, which goes North over the top of a ridge. Follow that trail to Square and Long Lakes which are just inside the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. Long Lake has very LARGE Brook Trout in it.

BFF

 

[Markcanby]

Man BFF You should right a book!

 

[bigfootfish]

a book?

a book?

A book? Naw, it would take forever to type. First time I saw Long Lake was as I went over that ridge and saw Square and Long Lakes down below. As I descended the trail and approached Long Lake I found myself at a vantage point looking off a cliff straight down into long Lake. It was just after sunrise and the sun was starting to light up Long. Crystal clear water and I spotted dozens of huge brookies. I was amazed at how big they were, considering brookies do not usually get that big. Though they certainly CAN get downright large. The state record brookie was caught in the Deschutes between Lava Lake and Crane Prairie Reservoir, and it was 9 pounds 6 ounces, back in 1980. That is one big brookie!!!

Resources: Fishing - Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

BFF

 

[bigfootfish]

Island, Meadow, Hand, Link, & Casche Lakes

Island, Meadow, Hand, Link, & Casche Lakes

I think some of these lake are inside the Mt. Washington Wilderness. Or at least on the edge of the boundary.

BFF