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Website: Jones Sportfishing

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Mildred Lake Report
Mason County, WA

Photos

Details

07/02/2016
56° - 60°
Other
Rainbow Trout
Worms
Cloudy
Hook & Bait
All Day
51° - 55°
07/05/2016
5
1477

Conquered Mildred Lakes for my 4th time, 1st time for this summer 2016. She's truly an Alpine Lake gem. Talked with hikers at the trailhead who said they only caught a few small rainbow trout and it was hit and miss.

Wasn't the case for us and never has been the case at Mildred Lakes. We caught between 15-20 rainbow trout in the 3rd lake. Caught and released everything safely except for a few for dinner/breakfast.

Fish were jumping everywhere all around us. Not just surfacing, but 1ft. airborne for flies. Big (16in+) and little guys jumping. Everyone was jumping. Could hardly look anywhere on the lake for more than 30 seconds without an airborne trout.

We used nightcrawlers, powerbait, and a few different rooster tails. We made sure to be extremely careful with C&R these alpine lake fish. We cut the line of more than five embedded hooks and safely released the fish to swim away.

I hooked into a big fish (guessing 2lb. range) in a cove on a rooster tail. It instantly starting spinning my drag and 6lb. test and dove deep into a hole of rock. It tangled me up and spit the lure after about 30 seconds of fight. It hit like a semi-truck compared to the rest of the fish. I'm convinced there are big fish in these alpine lakes.

I challenged myself and brought up my buddy's inflatable 2 man kayak. Tough workout but well worth the reward of exploring every cove and hotspot of the 3rd lake. We found really great hotspots that I'll share with anyone willing to pack up a raft :)

If you love alpine lake fishing, solitude, and a phenomenal workout that will push you to your limit and beyond, put Mildred Lakes in the Olympic National Forest on your list.

For those of you who lace up the boots to conquer Mildred, good luck...the fish are waiting!


Comments

Mike Carey
7/5/2016 7:47:00 PM
I want to go! What an amazing picture of the lake and mountains behind it.
Before anyone jumps on you, I'm sure the fish you caught by bait and released you counted toward your daily limit and then did catch and release using no bait. Just gotta keep the internet fishing police at bay... :-)
bedawes
7/5/2016 8:49:00 PM
Mike,

Absolutely, we make sure we are always within the regs and absolutely in the best interest of the fish. To be more clear, we had a total of three anglers fishing over two days to achieve those numbers, with no single angler reaching a daily limit when including fish caught with bait and subsequently released.

With that said, definitely add it to your calendar. It's a brute of a hike, but that must be why the fishing is so good :)
AJFishdude
7/6/2016 11:19:00 AM
Very nice! This is a lake I have been wanting to get to for a few years now.
bedawes
7/6/2016 11:25:00 AM
AJ,

You won't regret it, truly beautiful and phenomenal alpine lake fishing! Anytime I have a free 3 day weekend between June-September, I always consider this. Usually the hard part is convincing my friends to join me because they know how tough Mildred is :)
Dave M
7/8/2016 1:19:00 AM
Reading the trail description on WTA, how did your dog handle the trail? And where did you get his pack? I have a young GSD that is becoming my trail buddy and need to outfit him. Probably wont take him on a trail like this until next year.
bedawes
7/8/2016 8:29:00 AM
Dave,

Sent you a message.
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Jones Sportfishing

Phone: (208) 861-0654