Turquoise Lake Fishing Guide, Chelan County, Washington

• Overview

  Set in Chelan County, Turquoise Lake is a Washington water. It lies 5,495 feet above sea level. At 19 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. The edge runs 0.9 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Compared with other Washington water on our list, it sits high. Leavenworth is the closest place, 18 miles off. Cashmere is 28 miles and Cle Elum 30 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Turquoise Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Fish documented in Chelan County include cutthroat trout, rainbow trout and sockeye salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Turquoise Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put August near 56°F and December near 22°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near late November in autumn. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Expect Turquoise Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Local rules can differ across the county line, so check where you stand. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Welcome Lake is 0.7 miles off. What applies at Turquoise Lake may have changed since it was mapped.