Trout Master
6/11/2009 9:25:00 PMduraboat
6/12/2009 6:32:00 AMSammy
6/12/2009 12:26:00 PMflake4840
6/21/2009 4:26:00 PM(longer story skip below for short version)
I talked with a ranger once at snow lake, its after paradise but before you go down box canyon in the Ranier National Forest. She was explaining that you dont need a licsense to fish in the national forest as they want people to help remove the fish from thier lakes. Its thier belief that the higher elevation lakes did not have fish naturally, especially as they were started by glaciers and are glacier fed. However, they have an abundance of brook trout in thier lakes. (I have seen them, the lakes are so clear up there..
(short)
As the ranger explained, they used to stock lakes in washington state with brook trout from the late 1800's through the 1960's, heavily. It was only later they realized that brook trout negatively affect other trout species in the process. While they stopped planting the fish, much to thier suprise they seemed to have found a way in these higher elevation lates to reproduce at sustaining levels.
I am not shocked it was there or that it was that size, more that you caught it as if they are plants turned natural over the years, they are likely very finicky eaters as they are at Snow lake..
BTW, dura, you can email the pics to me and I can try to see if I can get them to post, it may be a format issue, or otherwise.