Discovering Lost Lake

A picture that I love occupies a place of honor in my fishing and hunting room. It’s an old, simple painting, framed with a couple of rough redwood boards, dimmed with the smoke of a thousand pipes, administered each evening when my grandfather settled in his easy chair and turned on the radio to catch the news.

The oil painting depicts a little log cabin sitting right on the shoreline of a tiny alpine lake. Grandpa always told me that the cabin is where he wanted to retire. When I was a little kid, I’d stare at the painting for hours, looking at the waters of the lake. If you looked hard enough, every once in awhile you’d see a fish jump, or at least that’s what happened to me! My Grandpa used to chuckle at my sightings, but we both longed to get out on that lake.

We used to take vacations and camp at various lakes in the Sierras. Grandma would pitch a tent, and Grandpa and I would head out for the lake. Sometimes we’d fish from shore, other times we’d troll in his ancient wooden boat. These were wonderful times, and I longed for his retirement when we could spend all summer chasing trout. Unfortunately, the pipe smoke claimed him way too early and we never realized that dream, but I still look at that picture and think of him.

Last week I got a glimpse of that little lake, and it was all I hoped it would be. If I could get Grandpa back, it would all be perfect. This little lake, strangely enough, is not way up in the Sierras or even in the Cascades, but right off Interstate 5!

Finding Lost Lake
For the last couple of years, my editor has been bugging me to drop up and do a fishing review of the private lake owned by one of our advertisers, Jeff Graham. Jeff has rebuilt and revitalized an old resort, turning it into a modern, very convenient spot for Northwest RV folks. While I like camping as much as the other guy, and fishing more than about anyone, I wasn’t all that motivated to take a fishing trip to a little lake right next to the freeway, just a few miles from Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle. But, my editor is a great guy, so I figured I owed him one, grabbed my buddy Jim, and headed north for a late morning fishing trip.

We drove up to Olympia, took a turnoff a couple of miles north, passed by a few farms, took a left over a gravel quarry, and dropped into a lost world! Lost Lake Resort is nestled among the prettiest, thickest woods you’ll ever see. Hundred-year-old firs surround the campsites, giving the entire campground a shady coolness that’s green and wonderful. We passed through the secure gate and Jeff met us for a trip to the lake.

It took about a minute to get to the water’s edge! The little lake is a real jewel. Nestled in a natural bowl, the spring-fed waters are completely surrounded by tall trees, huckleberries, and a myriad of woodland plants and bushes. Along the water’s edge were blooming wild iris, and several species of water lilies.

This was a lake that belonged way up in the woods, not right in the middle of the I-5 corridor! Other than the newly constructed fishing lodge and docks, there was only one cabin on the lake; this was just like my painting, only prettier! And both Jim and I could see the fish jump! This time they were real.

Manning the Oars
Jeff offered us a little late breakfast, but Jim and I were already loading our gear into a fiberglass rowboat. The lake was small, just about 11 acres, but it looked like a great place to spend some quality time.

A quick briefing from Jeff (who made no claims at all of being a fisherman) revealed that there were several species of fish in the lake. In addition to bluegill and crappie, the lake had bass, and a good supply of planted trout of various sizes. The lake was up to 70 feet deep, providing a lot of different waters to ply.

I took the oars and started paddling across the lake. It is surprising how much effort it can take to go a couple of hundred yards when you are anxious to fish! After we figured that we were far enough from shore not to be seen screwing up, we set up our plan for attack. Jim would cast out spinners and I would work the shoreline with a bobber and worms. Since it was now about 10, this was not the world’s best fishing time, but we were all alone on this lake and should be able to catch something to write about!

Strange Fish
Jim’s first cast brought a little action. He hauled in a foot-long bass, saying “There must be bigger ones out there; this is someone’s little kid.” He was right after all—they didn’t plant any bass!

Soon my bobber was diving under. I hauled in a bunch of little critters. They were a variety I’d never seen before—huge schools of little brown and gold-barred sunfish with bright golden bellies and a bright red square on their gills. Most were under five inches. A quick search on the computer identified my catch as red-eared sunfish. These were the perfect fish for a kid to learn on. A cane pole with bobber and worm could keep grandparent and kid busy for days!

Now was the time to try for something a little bigger. We cast into the deeper waters, trying to raise a trout or two. No luck, our lures didn’t seem to bring much midday action. We decided to get down and dirty. Jim baited up with a worm and a chunk of red Powerbait and cast into the deeper waters. Within seconds his rod took a deep bow. The fish went airborne a couple of times and gave a heck of a battle. We netted it and took a closer look.

The trout was beautiful, and had obviously been in the lake awhile. It had lots of dark spots and a bright red stripe down the side. It was heavy and full, a real nice foot-long battler. But, like a lot of trout, it seemed to prefer the bright red goop to a tasty worm! The next cast was even better. Jim’s rod bent twice as deep and the fish fought him like crazy, running out a ton of line. When we got it to the boat we could see what all the fuss was about—this fish was at least 18 inches long and really thick! It had taken the bait down to the gills so we decided to keep it, and see how it would be for dinner. (It proved to be excellent!)

Catch and Release
Our next dozen casts brought equally quick action. All the fish were at least a foot long and two actually broke off our leaders. My Grandpa and I never had fishing like this. In all our times at the lake we never caught anything over 14 inches! We switched back to spinners to slow down the action, and save the fish, (fish tend to take bait down too deep to remove the hooks without hurting them, and we already had plenty for our dinner), and we caught several more on Roostertails and released them.

If a lake turns out action like this in the middle of the day, early morning and evening must be amazing. Bald eagles circled us as we fished, cackling their displeasure that we were competing for their dinner. Most of the time the eagles have the lake to themselves. Fishing the lake is a benefit available only for RVers and lot owners at Lost Lake, so the birds catch most of the fish!

After we paddled to shore, Jeff gave us a tour of the resort and the available sites and park homes. The facility has a great pool, exercise area, and lots of outdoor recreation for the kids; I think my Grandpa would have loved it!

If you are looking for a place close by to take your kids or grandkids where they can have fun in the woods and catch all kinds of fish, I couldn’t think of a better location. Someone should do a painting of the lake; it’d look good on your wall.

Bob Ellsberg’s column, Fishin’, appears monthly in RV Life and rvlife.com.