I made the 3 1/4 mile hike to Eight Mile Lake today with the hopes of finding some good fishing and with luck, tying into one of the lake trout (mackinaw) that are reputed to be there.

There is an 1100 foot elevation gain to the lake, most of it in the first and last half miles. Overall though, it's not too bad of a hike. The trail was brushy in places because of a forest fire that occurred several years ago, but the reddish-purplefireweed, lavender asters, and other flowers along the way made for some nice scenery.

2 1/2 miles into the hike you will find Little Eight Mile Lake, a very small lake that is a good place for a rest stop and a few casts. I ran into a spike mule deer on the trail just before reaching the lake. The deer wasn't shy, standing just 15 yards from me before slowly ambling off into the brush. At the little lake itself I was amazed to see a mother grouse and one of her brood come within two feet of where I was standing on a log as they fed on leaves and berries below me. You know, these things never, ever, happen to me during hunting season!

The main lake is pretty large, probably a mile long. I worked my way from the outlet along the south shore for a couple of hours. I caught over a half a dozen small cut-bow tout, none of which topped six inches.

It was kind of amusing at first catching them on a Royal Wulff fly with a casting bubble or with a spinner, but I soon became disappointed in not seeing any fish larger than what I was catching (or more often, hooking and losing).

Just as I was about to write off the possibility ofcatching any real fish, I had a hard strike and a deep bend on my fishing rod. The fish on the other end of my light trout rod fought hard until I could finally bring it in some five minutes later. I was happy to see it was a thick bodied, 16 inch, lake trout, the first one I have ever had the pleasure of catching. After admiring him for a moment in the water, I slipped the barbless hook from him and released him.

I concentrated on working the drop off between the shallow and deep water after that and a few minutes later was rewarded with another hook up with a similar sized mackinaw. This one, however, slipped the hook about 20 seconds into the fight. After a few more casts it was unfortunately time to leave and hike back to the trailhead.

The trailhead to Eight Mile Lake can be reached from Leavenworth by traveling the Icicle River Road apx 8 miles to the Bridge Creek Campground. Turn left onto the road and travel (slowly) three miles to the trailhead. Don't forget to bring your Forest Service Parking Permit. Count on an hour and a half to two hours on the way in and about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half on the way back out. If you plan on spending the night, you will need to register in advance through Reservations NW or the USFS Ranger Station in Leavenworth.

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