Long Gone Lake in Skagit County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Long Gone Lake belongs to Skagit County, Washington. This is lake country bush ground. The water measures roughly 10 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Supplies mean a trip to Darrington, 23 miles off. The big place round here is Everett, 57 miles distant. Within a short drive: Woods Lake 1.4 miles off, Slim Lake 1.9 miles away, Bench Lake 2.3 miles off, Lake Number 2 2.5 miles away and South Cascade Lake 2.9 miles off. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Long Gone Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open biodiversity records for Skagit County list Coho salmon, Chum salmon, pink salmon and rainbow trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Long Gone Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 22°F in December up to 56°F in August. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Ice is part of the season here, ending near late April. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near late November in autumn. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. That is the shape of the year on Long Gone Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Woods Lake, 1.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. For Long Gone Lake in particular, ask before you travel.