Fishing Cocolalla Lake

Planning our first fishing trip in the kayaks

Cheri wanted to obtain our fishing licenses this year, so a couple of weeks ago we wandered into Blacksheep and browsed the fishing gear. Cheri purchased a kids casting setup, and an entry level spinning set. We chose colorful lures, purchased our licenses, and went on our way.

The day was a bit windy, and there were plenty of waves large enough to produce whitecaps. This of course made for slow going unless you were willing to swamp your boat! The boat launch was concrete, the parking lot gravel, and there was an outhouse available (but it was very stinky). There was also a boat inspection at the entrance that I completely missed – there is a noxious weed eradication problem.

Randy caught a fish almost immediately

We made our way across the lake toward the southern end, and Randy caught fish almost right away. Cheri and I naturally didn’t catch anything. At around noon, we made our kayak raft and had lunch.

Plenty of snacks were available, such as an assortment of cheeses and meats, dried fruit, crackers, and candy. We also enjoyed a budget Rose from Grocery Outlet that Randy found – we need to get more because it was quite good. Also on the wine list was a L’Ecole Semillion.

Now we’re all catching fish

After lunch it was getting even more windy so we decided to power toward the southern end of the lake. I chose going right through the center of the lake and took my time keeping the waves perpendicular to my boat. I took on very little water, but it was slow going. Randy went to the west end and was very successful fishing – a large catfish and a trout (I think) both of which he kept (I could kick myself for not getting video, but I was so astounded by the catches, I completely forgot that I even had a camera!). Cheri and Sandy went to the calmer eastern shore and were able to rather quickly make their way to the end of the lake. In the lily pond, I caught several fish, mostly bass and a couple of perch. I did not keep any of them mostly because they got off my hook just as I got them to the boat! I wish we had thought to bring our radios so I could have told Cheri to come to my spot – I was getting strikes just about every cast.

Cheri caught a log trout!

We all collected near Cheri and Sandy after fishing a while, and Randy kept catching while I caught nothing, and Cheri caught a log trout and a small fingerling, both of she released. No trout dinner for us tonight!

Cheri, Randy, and I continued to fish on the way back to the dock, and Sandy made her way to the launch area to use the facilities. We will definitely come here again to fish, and Randy even said this might end up being one of his new favorite fishing lake.

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Links

Fishing Planner – Cocolalla Lake
Kayaking Twin Lakes

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