Lone / Pass Lakes, WA

Lake fly fishers in the Seattle area focus on two places that are open year-round: Pass Lake near Deception Pass in Skagit County and Lone Lake a couple miles from Langley on Whidbey Island.

Pass has some big rainbow and brown trout that have become pretty smart because of the many anglers on the lake. Among the best times to capture big browns is in the fall when they go after the big schools of minnows.

If you're traveling around and you see minnows leaping wildly out of the water along the bank, you know there are big browns there. In spring, try chironomids. Key fly: Pass Lake minnow.

Lone is much more of a chironomid lake, with several different sizes and colors hatching at the same time. The lake is relatively shallow, with a 20-foot hole in the middle where you can often catch fish while trolling deep with a red woolley bugger. Key fly: Size 12 rootbeer chironomid.