Ptarmigan Lake in Whatcom County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Ptarmigan Lake is one of the Whatcom County listings for Washington. The surface lies 6,742 feet up. It covers about 2 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Whatcom County standards. The town to know is Keremeos, 39 miles out. For a city, Chilliwack is 68 miles off. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Ptarmigan Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Open biodiversity records for Whatcom County list sockeye salmon, Coho salmon, white sturgeon and Chum salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Ptarmigan Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, August reads 53°F and December reads 17°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. After mid May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Climate figures give an open season running mid May to early November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. The season on Ptarmigan Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Dot Lakes sits 2.1 miles off and takes the overflow. For Ptarmigan Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.