Smith Lake Fishing near Keremeos, Washington

• Overview

  You will find Smith Lake in Okanogan County, Washington. The bank is 6,969 feet above sea level. It covers about 3 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Okanogan County. Keremeos lies 16 miles from the water. The big place round here is Kelowna, 65 miles distant. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Smith Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Okanogan County: rainbow trout, largemouth bass, sockeye salmon and yellow perch. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Smith Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 16°F in December up to 52°F in August. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid May. Climate averages put the opening at about mid May and the closing near early November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Smith Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Louden Lake at 1.6 miles is the nearest alternative. The position on Smith Lake is worth confirming on the day.