Myrtle Lake and the upper Entiat River in October

In the fall, I often go to eastern Washington to restock the freezer for the winter. One place I like to visit is the Entiat River above Entiat Falls.

Note that the lower river (below the falls) is closed most of the time except for a winter whitefish season, and the upper river is usually open only from mid-May to the end of October. However, forest fires are common in this area and the road is sometimes closed due to the various hazards during and after forest fires. This year, the road was open. However, many fallen trees had recently been cleared from the road, and the road was damaged by unstable earth that gravity is slowly pushing down the valley. Hunters were camping all along the road and were causing some traffic congestion. You'll need your WDFW Vehicle Assess Pass to park at the Entiat River Trailhead. It's about a 2-hour hike upriver to Myrtle Lake.

I arrived at the lake about 11a during a BWO hatch. While I saw many smallish fish, they weren't feeding. I suspect they had already stuffed themselves earlier in the day. On my way back to the car, I stopped to fish in the river for brookies. WDFW considers brookies an invasive species in the Entiat, and there's no size limit or daily limit. In past years, I've had no problem catching brookies, but this year I caught none. However, I did catch rainbow and cutthroat between 10"-13" on a size 14 black ant fished tenkara-style.