I visited Chopaka on Saturday and fished with good friends on what will be my last trip up there. It was a nice day, a little overcast with a light breeze and average fishing for average fish. Fishing with friends for a change was the highlight of my day and certainly the dinner at Fat Boys in Oroville feasting on all-you-can-eat fish and chips with onion rings and micro brews was a perfect way to close out the day. I first fished Chopaka over 30 years ago. On that first trip there was only one vehicle in the campground and a guy and his girlfriend came up in the evening in a Honda sedan and caught fish form the bank on an Adams pattern. Primarily a stream fisherman at the time I knew little about lake fishing for trout but did okay fishing right up against the reeds with wooly buggers. I remember the fish being strong and aggressive with hard takes and spirited fights. Over the years I made occasional return trips but each time it seems that the crowds increased and the experience diminished. Before Friday the last trip I made up there was a couple of years ago and it seemed like there was a record number of rigs parked around the lake. There was about 25-30 guys on the lower end lined up in a daisy chain soaking cronies. I was fishing 20 feet of water just at the upper end of the campground and just hammering fish on a full sink line when the wind came up. It quickly blew everone off the lake and left long foam streaks down the center of the lake. It blew us all the way back to Fat Boys for hamburgers, onion rings and micro brews while we contemplated making such a miserable drive for 2 hours of fishing. It is one of those places about which the perception seems to exceed the reality but if you haven't been there you must go simply to fill out your resume'. Are there better lakes with bigger fish and more enchanting surroundings that are much easier to reach in Washington? Definately. In fact Islander and I spent a couple of days on just such a lake last week where we caught a double armload of 20"+ fish up to 23" and more 17''-19'' fish than we could keep track of. So if you are anything like me in wanting to avoid fishing with a crowd start doing your homework. If you are driving to Chopaka every year just because you always catch fish there you are doing yourself a disservice by not expanding your reach and applying your experience to other waters. On Thursday I fished a lake where I was the only person on the water. I only had a couple of hours to fish but landed probably 15 gorgeous brook trout up to 15", I'm sure there are bigger ones and I'll go back in the spring when I have more time to explore. And on Saturday the four of us fished our favorite Okonogan brook trout lake and had it all to ourselves. The fishing was crazy good, the fish feisty and the lake charming. So if I find myself in a similar situation again with our particular group of friends going to Chopaka I will simply take my boat over to Palmer and pound the banks for smallies. I have wanted to do that for years but just never made time for it. So essentially my messaage is this: Find your own Chopaka. There are so many good lakes in Washington that are underfished and have good sized fish and almost no pressure. They are a pleasure to visit and some times the fishing is mind bogglingly good. Find these places and enjoy them and for christ sakes don't blab about them on the internet. Treat a good friend or two to them when possible and hopefully they will still be good the next time you return. If Chopaka somehow fulfills your need for an adventurous drive or is your gold standard for quality fishing you need to raise your sights. Chopaka will always be the same-a rough dusty road with hordes at the end fishing for average fish that have seen every type of fly known to man. Some years will be outstanding, some poor, some average , sometimes winter kill. But always the crowds. You can do better. Ive
I've never fished Chopaka, though I've been up there on a drive with my in-laws (They used to live in Loomis). Honestly I was never quite sure what the appeal was. There are so many reports on here of making the long drive up there just to fish that lake that, as you said, always seems to have crowds. Is it because it's designated as a "fly fishing" lake? There is so much stinking water up there to explore. Maybe it's not regulated for fishing flies, but much of it sees little pressure it seems. I've had some ridiculously good times hopping around boulders fishing plunge pools and beaver ponds on some of the skinny water up there too. Also, you really should get up and poke around Palmer some time. There are some BIG smallies in that water.
I've come to appreciate that certain waters act as "fly paper". I like to get the reports because I can use that data point as an index for other destinations.
Ive-it was nice to meet you at Chopaka and your thoughts are just like mine (and watching Scott catch lots of fish while Patty and I went fishless didn't help my attitude about Chopaka!) I can tell you are a man who values good food and good company just like I do! We need to meet at one or more of the lakes we talked about. I will look forward to next spring! Rick
Nicely said Ive, I have found many great lakes in the area that have great fishing and their own kind of beauty. I hope to meet you some day on the water.
Thanks for your thoughts. Coming from an area with much less people, I too enjoy a bit of peace and quiet while fishing (and good food afterwards). I don't have much experience fishing lakes but I hope to get out and explore next spring - find my own Chopaka as you said.
Chopaka holds lots of great memories for me given the few times I've been there. It's always been crowded, but the crowd has usually been jovial. I remember several years in a row in the early 90's the gentleman who would, just before noon on Canadian Memorial Day, emerge from his trailer dressed in full dress Scotch regalia, row across the lake, ascend some fair distance, and at high noon exactly would play Amazing Grace on his pipes. And I've driven that road in a 77 Honda Civic many times, what's wrong with you guys? But yes, I've other memories at other places, and there are many, many Chopakas, most without Gore-tex hatches. Thanks, Ive, for your eloquent post.
Ive: It was a real pleasure to fish with you for a couple of days. I finally started getting brookies and had once very nice, colorful fish of about 17" - got a decent picture but it just doesn't do justice to the real thing. I also enjoyed the travel conversation. Thank the misses for the sweet treats - very good. Good advice on taking the road less traveled. Rick: Good to see you and Patty again. I look forward to seeing you later this month. Sorry about my catching, I get lucky once in a while. BTW - nice raft! MB
When I lived in Colville in the early 80's I would drive over to Chopaka on my birthday in late September and have the entire lake to myself. It was great. It is a nice lake and usually a nice social experience. I guess I still have one trip left since my wife has never been there and now wants to camp up there. We missed this year due to the fires in Wenatchee. However, some people always assume that their values should be your values. The gentleman and the bag pipes is one reason to avoid places like Chopaka. The difference between rap and bag pipes is ONLY time measured in centuries. The more crowded the spot, the more inconsiderate the neighbors. At least it was NOT a Mariner's ballgame being broadcast over a loudspeaker which I experienced at another lake. There are much better lakes for catching fish. Chopaka is like taking a kid fishing. It is not about the fishing. So enjoy the company and the scenery. Save your serious fishing for other lakes.
It was fun fishing with all the folks, but I have to agree with Ivan as to the work versus the reward. Basically, I hate that road! The fishing was good and they fought well but there are some other quality lakes with better access and less crowds. I hit one on the way home that I had all to myself and fished excellent, thanks to Rick.
I've never been there so I don't know what the road is like, but I've always enjoyed driving rough unimproved mountain roads. Different strokes for different folks I guess. Although, said roads usually lead to uncrowded locations so that might be the difference here.
Agreed. What's all the hubbub about the road. It's a 7 mile stretch of Forest Service road. Big whoop.
It is an Okanogan County road. That's why it is in such good shape. It is merely steep and going out is no fun when the washboards take hold. Have you driven Forest Service roads lately??
All this talk of this awful goat trail of a road is making me itch to take my Dodge over and see what all the fuss is about. Spent many summer weeks in my younger days crawling around the "backroads" of BC looking for off the radar lakes. We learned real quick that when the guide book said a 4x4 was necessary to gain access they TRULY mean it
As a member of the Washington Fly Fishing Club, Chopaka has, for many years, been an annual pilgrimage over the Memorial Day weekend for the club's outing. The weather has ranged from snow to 90 degree temperatures but the camaraderie and the Sunday night tempura fish fry have always made the trip more than worthwhile. Crowds have varied over the years but the beauty of the setting has always made it a very special place. The fishing has changed over the years and I will always have hopes that the days of absolutely massive Callibaetis hatches, seemingly bringing every fish in the lake to the surface (said fish averaging a fat 18-20 inches) will return. As to the road, its reputation far exceeds the reality.
Been years since I fished it. Heck it is almost as quick to make it to the Kamloops area. I loved it every time I've fished it with great memories each time. I'll never forget rounding a corner on that road to basically come side by side with a cougar (four legged, with fur... oh who the heck am I kidding, someone is going to make a joke about it) on the drivers side of my truck with my window rolled down. At the place in the road the beast couldn't drop down the grade and it could run to the other side because my truck was in the way so it just ran along side me as I drove for about 50 or more yards. Absolutely stunning. That was mid June and the lake was bitter cold that year, but I found fish consistently out in the middle with mids deep. Iveoflone, I hope that other lake you fished where you lost count of large fish isn't the one you mentioned to me. If so, it busted on me, found fish but they were all pretty much the smallest fish I've found there. Rod and I would find schools and as long as we could stay on them trolling, we could usually pick them up in 20 plus feet of water. We moved onto another lake that panned out much better for us, but no 20" fish. Great post!
Chopaka is one of the first lakes that I fly-fished about 30 years ago. Friends of mine talked me into buying their hand me down float tube (yes, the round ones) and fly rod. We fished the famous Chopaka emerger pattern and smoked those 14-16 inch footballs. What a blast! Over the years I drove every year (even in a Mazda 626 turbo) to make it a pilgrimage of sorts. Each year the experience got worse. Crowds, few fish, those caught fought little. I quit going up until I bought our property in Oroville. The last two years I made a solo birthday trip the second week in October. 2010 was stellar, 2011 was so-so. This year sucked, except for the great company and laughter. Like Ive, I will find another Mecca, and begin a new pilgrimage.
Ira, it's the same lake we talked about. Not everyone was catching fish, one guy was there in a float tube for two days and never landed a fish! Steve and I on the other hand were having some of our best fishing with the largest fish coming on dry flies! Go figure. PM me if you want to divulge where the fishing panned out better, it's always good to have a backup plan.
As Ive said, there are probably many other waters that offer a similiar experience to Chopaka, if not better- if better relates to size and quantity of fish, crowd size/pressure, etc... Living 45 minutes from the lake I am not sure if I would make a long trip each year to fish the lake. That being said, being so close, I have been out a few times this year in "non peak" times and had amazing fishing (especially with dries) with few other people around. I only started fishing it within the last two years, so I cannot compare it now to what it used to be in the past. It may not be what it once was, but its still a lake I would recommend to others. The damsel hatches this year were epic and so were the dry fly opportunities on that hatch.
This. The part about there being so many good and underfished lakes in Washington is the real elephant in the room. And I don't mind there being a few Chopaka's around that serve to corral the majority of the crowds. You and I can enjoy the benefit of that while fishing the remaining 99% out there. I probably live near the majority of us and still have more great stillwater fishing in the immediate area than I can get to (8 come to mind right off that I'm dying to visit this year and haven't had time to touch...all prime, lightly to unfished and in my own back yard). Add to that all the opportunity in the streams and salt around here, and the issue becomes one of narrowing the choices for a given weekend. With so much lake action in every direction, if I hit the road it's usually to pursue good moving water or the types of fishing we otherwise don't have around here. Also like dbk's thoughts. Same could be said for the one I visit most often (shhhh)
