Fishing with Ricky
A great father/son day back in 2006
We have always enjoyed going to high mountain lakes for a bit of fishing and camping. Fishing with Ricky is always a pleasure, and makes for a great outing.
After we stopped visiting Lake Elsie, we went further out into the wilderness for a better experience. Years ago Glidden lake was much better, and often we were the only ones there, at least in the beginning. You could drive around most of the lake and park anywhere on the beach to set up camp. Over the years we found the best fishing hole and we never left the lake without our limit of rainbow trout, and a good amount of native brook trout. I personally liked the brook trout the most because their flesh was pink, almost like salmon, and they were delicious.
I specifically wanted to go fishing with Ricky for this outing, and we brought cooking equipment to fry up a batch of fish – from lake to pan in minutes. Ricky was the cook and he began by rendering bacon so we had a crispy snack while the fish cooked. Cooking the fish in the bacon drippings made for fins and tails as crisp as potato chips, and they were delicious! A hint of smoky bacon and no fishy whatsoever since it is so fresh.
Forest Service now restricts access
Unfortunately as is often the case when a place becomes well known, people trash it to the point where the Forest Service restricts access. In this case the Forest Service has closed 90% of vehicle access around the lake. Fortunately you can still walk it, but you can’t camp in your vehicle except at the entry point to the lake which fills quickly.
Another lake option
So far I’ve described lower Glidden lake which contains native brook trout as well as stocked rainbows. However, there is a smaller lake a bit higher up the mountain called upper Glidden. You access it by parking in the small lot at lower Glidden and following a marked trail to the upper lake which is not stocked, but supports native brook trout.
Visiting the old mine
After we finished fishing we drove to the far end of the lake where a trail led up to an old abandoned mine. The opening was a bit collapsed but we could stick a camera in and take a few snapshots.
On the way home we stopped by the Snake Pit in Enaville where we enjoyed our favorite dish of theirs: Idaho nachos. It was a wonderful, and memorable day. I remember it today as if it were yesterday, and it was 15 years ago.
We purchased Hobie inflatable kayaks several years ago, and our group likes to use them for fishing. Here is an example: Fishing – Cocolalla Lake
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