Where's Waldo.....?

[troutski]

Took a trip to Waldo Lake this morning, what a beautiful day. A little frost on the boat ramp but not bad, the weather was clear and bright. The fishing didn't heat up until mid day, but man did it heat up, we fished large spoons - gold in the early am, but when the sun came out we went to chrome with red dots(Jakes 1/4oz.)seed like the slower you retrieved the spoon the harder that attacked it. Water temp. was 52 degrees at sunrise and heated up to 54 degrees by high noon. Surprising their was not a single bird of pray in the area we fished. I fully expected and Eagle or two, seems like the wildlife has taken to the deep woods, must be the hunters, their were a lot campers at the camp grounds and hikers along the shore line some with mountain bikes and some remote camps. Not another angler all day long. Mid week fishing is such a pleasure, if you have never been to this lake, the color of the water is absolutely indescribable. There is just not another color like it, maybe Crater lake even then its not the same. Here you get up close and personal with the water, in 80 feet of water you can see the bottom as if you were in 5 feet......it is almost spooky it is so clear. Back to the fishing, Koke's in full spawning colors and very aggressive against any thing intruding on them. The Brook trout, what can you say the most beautiful fish I have ever seen when in full spawning mode, and these fish were in schools of up to a hundred or more. We fished until about noon and took a nice lunch and finished with an early evening fish......What a great day in the High Cascades, even with sunblock 50 I got fried. If you ever get the chance to experience this phenomenal lake and the surrounding Wilderness I highly recommend it. Here are a few pictures..... :wave:
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_7.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_8.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_9.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_10.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_1.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_2.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_3.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Waldo_4.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_5.jpg
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Waldo_6.jpg
On another note, all fish were released unharmed, and in excellent shape....the water is in such great shape the fish rebounded all most instantly......to think we are blessed with this in our back yard.. :angel:

[hookjawfreak]

Nice going on some beautiful brookies! Man, I love those. I have always wanted to fish Waldo, and wondered how big the brookies get in there. In your sightings of large schools, did you see any monsters (say, over 5 lb) lurking?
Crane Prairie has produced several brookies over 5 pounds for my boat in the last few years.
Any tips on where to find them on Waldo if I were to go give it a try?

[wind troller]

Chuck,
You are the fisherman's fisherman, your a total fishing fool and I think it's great! I wish I didn't have to work, I think I could get the hang of fishing a lot more. Beautiful post and superb pictures, Waldo looks like a place I need to visit.
You have way more will power than I do, I saw that Brookie in the beginning of your post and then I started the "I love fish mode". I imagined that fish in a fry pan sizzling away mixed with butter and onions, right next to a big pan of fried potatoes and onions, top that off with a pot of fresh asparagus steaming in water and butter. Add some lemon wedges for all and we have a meal for a king! Dang, I just made myself really hungry.
Thanks for sharing your day,
tightlines! :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[wind troller]

I got so hung up in the eating thing I forgot to ask "where is Waldo"?
:shrug:

[fish-on-bend]

Nice job Chuck. Wait till I tell elklaker about those brookies. That didnt look like your boat, was it? By the way the jerky is great. Taking the last of it to Tillamook Friday.

[trollin4trout]

Wow- those are some beauty fish! Kudos on the releasing part.

I've only been there once about 5yrs. ago.. We didn't catch anything for the 3 hrs we had to fish. But the beauty of that water remains in my mind to this day- impressive to say the least- I would go back again even if I didn't think there were fish there, it's that awesome! Thanks for the great pictures- brings back good memories.

[lentz]

Now you've done it. Makes me want to grab my gear and head that way. Looks wonderful and you caught fish too. What a beautiful lake and fish.

[troutski]

Joe, your right that wasn't my boat.....it was my Weds. fishing partners - 16' Alumaweld fun boat to fish out of. Powered by two Honda's,a 50hp and 8 1/2 kicker...

Chuck

[Mokai]

Awesome....Thats it im going...See you at Waldo everyone... :wave: :wave:

[FallRiverGuy]

Chuck :bowdown:

I fished the lake over Labor day. Not real hard, but put some effort into it and I did not see one fish or even have a bump. I was sure there were no fish in that lake. Those are amazing fish. What size were the kokanee? :applause:

[troutski]

Seeing that I all ready posted the pictures I can't lie about the size....as you can tell by my hands, which are absolutely huge....these fish were in the mid to high teen range...there were larger ones in the schools but they were smarter than the ones I caught.....I hate it when I have to tell the truth about the actual size.. next time I use a fisheye lens.

Chuck

[troutski]

On another note, when landing one of the Brook trout it spit up some of its lunch and they seemed to be fresh water shrimp, or scuds depending on the forum. Just some insight if your interested in angling for them.

Chuck

[FallRiverGuy]

It might be shrimp. With the lake so clear and clean, I have wondered what the kokanee eat in Waldo as thier diet is mostly zooplankton and it seems that the lake would not support high populations of anything.

[troutski]

As far as a food supply I don't know...while I was there their was a hatch on the water in the late afternoon. I am not sure what type it was, but I appeared to be a small gnat.... There were some frogs around the shore line....as far as the population of fish, quite a large number of both Brook Trout and Koke's. I think the Brook trout are in majority.

Chuck

[Dullhook]

Thanks for the information and pics on Waldo Lake troutski.

I've only been to Waldo once, many years ago in the month of June, and received a nasty skunkin' and lots of mosquito bites for the efforts. The lake seemed so overwhelming in size (although really beautiful)) that I didn't have a clue of how or where to fish it. Wound up leaving convinced that it was barren of fish or just contained stunted ones :idea: :help:. Since joining Ifish I found out there's "plenty" yet to learn about trout fishing.

I'll have to try Waldo again one of these days, next time in the Fall. Those are nice brookies for any lake in Oregon! :cheers:

[joemomma]

Awesome report, beautiful fish! So they allow motors there? I camped there 5 yrs or so ago and didn't launch my driftboat, for some reason, I didn't think you could use motors. We could make a living off your reports! Thanks again chuck!

[troutski]

Jomamma, sure they allow motors, two stroke or four no restrictions, just a speed limit (10mph). That lake is one of the healthiest in the Cascades. When I asked a ODFW bio. about the water his reply was "that lake's water is purer than the double distilled water from OSU's science lab" you can actually drink right from the lake and have no ill effects. It has great powers in it, self cleaning. Even after an accidental dose of fire retardant during a forest fire a few years back it didn't even phase it....by an large it is fed by under ground springs therefore no natural pollutants from river or creek run off. Just an amazing place.

Chuck

[Jimmy]

Troutski,

Those are some great looking photo's. I have never fished Waldo but I might have to add it to my list of lakes to fish. With the water so clear what pound test were you using?