I drove up the Mountain Loop Hwy, East of Granite falls. Independence lake is off of Coal lake road. Forest Service road about 1/4 mile past the Big Four Ice Caves. I carried my float tube, fins, and crap into the lake... about 1/3 mile. It was a beautiful sunny day. I slowly dragged a black wooly bugger around... hat a couple of hits on this, but missed the hookset. Seems like it always came when my hands were busy. Then I floated a worm off the bottom, with no hits. Then it was power eggs.... power bait + worm... not hits. Later it was those SHWEET fishingcreek spinners. I did have some hits off the Armadillo spinner, but just couldn't seem to set the hook.
The lake definetly has trout in it. I could see them with my polarized lenses. Small fish about 10" It was very strange though that these fish may have had some sort of "Funk" on them. (remember, this is a crystal clear alpine lake. 25' visibility.) It looked as though someone splashed milk on the fish. As I said, I never landed one,, but the ones I saw in the water had a weird white splotchy pattern on them. I'm thinking it was some kind disease or something. Now I even more want to go back and catch one.

For those who know the area.. The road in has now been re-graded since the wash out. It's a great little place for an over night. The next lake over the ridge is about 1.5 hours away, and twice as big. The first lake,,, Coal lake is loaded with Eastern Brooke.
Quadfather