September is when savvy flatland trout anglers check the thermometer, calculate the temperature differential for higher elevations and lick their lips at the prospect of lake waters cooling down after the summer heat.

Don't let the quiet surface fool you. Fish Lake is full of voracious rainbow and brown trout. Photo by Dave Graybill.

September marks the resumption of some great Northwest lake fishing. Two top lakes that stand out among the many offerings are Washington's Fish Lake and Oregon's East Lake.

FISH LAKE
Washington
Fish Lake, the smaller cousin to Lake Wenatchee, lies on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, nestled in the forested hills of the Wenatchee National Forest.

Only 20 minutes from Leavenworth or less than three hours from almost anyplace on the west side of the Washington, this lake is as close to a sure thing as any water can be.

At just below 2,000 feet elevation, Fish Lake boasts a year-round fishery for yellow perch, German brown trout and some really big rainbow trout.

Even though winter gets cold enough for the 500-acre lake to support ice-fishing, it also holds some decent-sized largemouth bass. A public boat launch site was built in 2006. Or for a small fee, boaters can launch at The Cove Resort, a private facility.

For anglers without a boat, this resort offers two alternatives: boat rentals or dock fishing. But you don't need a boat in order to catch the big fish that swim here.

Every year, anglers catch some of the biggest 'bows from the dock. The dock is also a good place to fish when the wind makes trolling or still-fishing out of the question.

The fishing is so good that most anglers spend more than one day on the water. The resort offers overnight accommodations. Lake Wenatchee State Park, just a few miles away, has tent and RV camping sites.

For anglers whose idea of roughing it is motel without room service, Leavenworth offers motels, restaurants and more.

Art Viola, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Region 2 fish biologist, manages Fish Lake. He said that it's a "prolific producer" that his department can stock at a higher rate than others.

The 2008 stocking plan calls for 92,000 catchable-size rainbows, another 203,000 rainbow fry and more than 24,000 brown trout fry, spread out from May to September. The new planters, plus the holdover fish from previous years, will provide plenty of angling opportunities.

The lake is elliptical in shape and features a gently sloping east end. On the north and south sides, it has steep dropoffs and on the west end, a more modest slope.

There are two humps. One lies about midlake toward the south shore, and the other in an obvious cove on the southwest end where the depth changes fairly dramatically. Humps and holes always attract fish, and these two are no exception.

Although managed for years as a put-and-take lake, it still delivers big fish, both rainbow and brown trout.

Scott West, the owner of The Cove Resort, spices up the fishing by buying and planting as many monster rainbows as the WDFW will allow.

These trout begin their Fish Lake days at 5 pounds and grow quickly.

If the prospect of putting a 10-pound rainbow in the boat doesn't get your heart racing, then will a nice big brown trout rev up your motor?

Viola fishes the lake regularly. His experience tells him that its brown trout are harder to catch than the rainbows.

You have to target brown trout to catch them. And fall is a good time to do that, he said.

In fact, since night-fishing is legal in Washington, he favors trolling a Rapala well behind his boat. Viola uses a no-stretch line, like FireLine, then adds a 10-foot-long mono leader.