Fishing at Upper Granite Lake, Skagit County, Washington

• Overview

  Upper Granite Lake lies in Skagit County, Washington. Elevation runs to 4,531 feet. It runs to roughly 126 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. There is roughly 1.8 miles of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. On our Skagit County list it sits near the top for size. For supplies, Darrington is 19 miles out. The big place round here is Everett, 52 miles distant. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Upper Granite Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for Skagit County include 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. At Upper Granite Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 24°F in December up to 56°F in August. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The lid usually goes in mid April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at late November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. The season on Upper Granite Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Lake Number 1 is 0.7 miles off. Treat Upper Granite Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.