Fishing at Spectacle Lake, Kittitas County, Washington

• Overview

  Washington holds Spectacle Lake, in Kittitas County. The ground around here is lake country bush. At about 82 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The bank runs about 1.4 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Size puts it in the front rank of our Kittitas County list. For a base, Tanner sits 22 miles out. Riverbend is 22 miles and Wilderness Rim 23 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Spectacle Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. County-wide records name cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, Chinook salmon and sockeye salmon. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Read Spectacle Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  August is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 56°F, while January sits near 24°F. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Spectacle Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. A campsite is mapped about half a mile away, which makes an early start easier. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Glacier Lake is 0.8 miles distant. Check the current arrangement for Spectacle Lake.