Pass Lake

Overview

Pass Lake sits on Fidalgo Island about six miles south of Anacortes, along the northwest side of Highway 20 inside Deception Pass State Park. WDFW lists it at 95 acres and 123 feet of elevation, and manages it as a trophy fly-fishing-only, catch-and-release lake with a boat launch where motors are prohibited. It has carried that status for a long time; it is usually described as the first Washington lake restricted to fly fishing, back in 1939, which is why it is the touchstone of the state's stillwater tradition. The fish are stocked rainbow and brown trout that WDFW says average 15 inches with some reaching 28, plus a smaller number of resident coastal cutthroat and a few green sunfish that will also take a fly. The browns are the trophy fish here, and the largest of them tend to come in fall. The lake is open year-round and rarely freezes, so the calendar is set by water temperature rather than a season date. Chironomid pupae under an indicator carry the spring once surface temperatures reach about 50 degrees in March, leeches on a sinking line or balanced leeches under an indicator work in cold water, and in September and October regulars cast minnow patterns such as the Pass Lake Minnow tight to the shoreline for the biggest trout of the year. Summer afternoons can push the water into the low 70s, which makes early mornings and evenings the only sensible hours. A float tube or pontoon covers the whole lake in a session, and the launch is the natural starting point.