Cyclone Lake Fishing in Skagit County, Washington

• Overview

  Washington holds Cyclone Lake, in Skagit County. Pine and birch runs right down to the water. It runs to roughly 55 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Washington listings. Darrington sits 19 miles from the bank. The big place round here is Everett, 53 miles distant. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Cyclone Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Skagit County, recorded fish include Coho salmon, Chum salmon, pink salmon, rainbow trout and Chinook salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Cyclone Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical August readings run about 55°F; by December the average is down near 23°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That shapes the year on Cyclone Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Snowking Lake is 0.7 miles off. Where Cyclone Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.