This small but potent creek empties into the Madison River about three-quarters of a mile above Quake itself. This runoff is borne not only by Beaver Creek but by Cabin Creek as well. Generally, the last days of May bring a torrent of siltladen runoff that forces abrupt an end to spring fishing. There always seem to be as many fish concentrated in the heavy tree areas along 287 as there are toward Beaver Creek. The creek flows in from the north side of Quake, midway between the mouth of the Madison and the boat launch.īy mid-May the lake is completely free of ice and our fishing moves downlake. Along with the mouth of the Madison, one of the favorite fishing spots is the area where Beaver Creek empties into the lake. The rainbow trout are still concentrated from their spawning activity. The first week of May usually reveals more open water closer to Highway 287, and you can gain access by walking up the shoreline from the boat launch, located where Quake first meets the highway. The three-quarter-mile walk from the highway can be rewarding because the fish usually are ravenous after a winter under the ice. Spring access is limited to walking in from Highway 287 (which parallels the lake for all but this upper end), because the local access road usually is snowed in. Once we find the depth where the fish are located, we concentrate our fishing there, usually with a sinking-tip line. We cast the flies in a fan-like pattern and count the fly down before stripping it back erratically. Our favorite spring patterns are whitefish and chub streamers. Since the water is still bitterly cold and the trout are feeding in the shallows, we fish from shore rather than float tubes. Fishing normally will not begin until late April when the upper end of the lake starts to lose its heavy layer of ice. Spring comes late to quake lake, as it does everywhere in Yellowstone country. Insect life in Quake ranges from the tiniest midges and mayflies to the largest caddis, cranefly and dragonfly species–as well as some flying black ant hatches. The frenzy lasted an unfortunately short time, but we still managed a half-dozen good fish between us. Without even getting in the tubes we started casting into the thick of the chubs, and no more than two casts later, we were both fast to nice browns. As fast as we could–with trembling hands it wasn't very fast–we cut back our leaders and tied on chub streamers. Chubs were splashing and leaping a full foot out of the water in our little cove. Last summer, just as we were rigging up to get in our float tubes, a spectacular frenzy broke loose not more that 30 feet from shore. While the latter two may not seem particularly inviting, their presence and the chubs' schooling tendencies often trigger feeding frenzies by large trout. The fish life in Quake Lake is both abundant and varied in one day you may catch brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout along with whitefish and chubs. The lake is about four miles long, never more than a half-mile wide, and much of its shoreline is laced with drowned trees that provide valuable cover for the trout and interesting angling situations. Today, due to erosion and further work on the spillway, the maximum depth is around 175 feet. There's no hurry to get your fishing spot tonight though, for it's guaranteed that there will be no other competition for these fish.īefore the Army Corps of Engineers could cut a spillway through and stabilize the dam, the lake deepened to approximately 250 feet. Sliding into your waders, you can't help but notice the many fishermen heading down to the Madison River, or returning from their day's float. Upon arriving at any of a number of public access sites, you can see the fish already starting to dimple the surface.
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