Awesome Matt! Thanks for the picture of that beautiful rainbow from the East Bay.

I used to fish there when I was younger. I prefer the far end of the lake from shore on the south side of this small lake. The lake shoreline on the west end and north shoreline gets much more fishing pressure and is less productive. We caught small rainbow trout that are stocked by the state DFG. We used a sliding sinker rig from shore with a small treble hook with power bait. We did best with chartreuse glitter and rainbow power bait. You want to get there fairly early if you plan on fishing in the morning due to the fact there is two large Boy Scout camps near this small lake. Therefore the best shoreline spots get taken quickly.Good luck and please let us know how you do.

Nice brownie. Well done Ribs.

Excellent job PNW. Great fish on the mini jig. You adjusted very well to the conditions you saw on the lake that day.😊

I have fished this lake a few times in the past in November and January with cousins who live in the area. They do stock it very well with trout with their hatchery just below the dam. We caught a lot of beautiful cutbows on chartreuse glitter power bait. The key is these fish stay in the upper part of the water column. I only caught cutbows with power bait suspended using a clear bubble and small split to suspend the bait. Sliding sinker rig was unsuccessful with power bait. The other option is using a clear bubble with an olive Wooly bugger trailer about 3 feet back. I caught my largest cutbow there with this rig. The cutbows were quite active on the surface in the early morning hours. For location off shore we caught our fish between the corner of the dam and the marina. We also saw other fishermen on the shoreline having the best success in this area.
Good luck PNW and please tell us how you do.

My friend just sent me pictures of him and his son with 2 large rainbows from Lower Twin Lake(Bridgeport). His was about 6 lbs and his son’s about 4lbs. They caught these fish and others on pink/ white micetails. Good luck and let us know how you fare.

A friend of mine just sent me pictures of him and his son holding up each a large rainbow trout they caught last weekend at Lower Twin Lake. My friends fish looked about 7 lbs and his son’s fish was about 4 lbs. They caught these and other smaller fish on pink micetails. He also sent out a video of Lower Twin Lake being stocked recently with many 4-8 lb rainbow trout by a group of local merchants. Little Virginia Lake had tagged larger rainbows put in recently in quite we’re caught on micetails and power bait according to pictures and story on Virginia Lakes Resort website. If you are looking for more numbers of trout not size the fly/ bubble technique has been excellent with adams parachute and mosquitoes size16-18. This personally is my favorite technique of both Big and Little Virginia Lakes in the month of August. Good luck and please let us know how you do.

Thanks for the reply. Your plans for your trip on the Kenai peninsula sound great. Please keep in touch and let us know your fishtales from your trip. After your trip you will understand why they call Alaska “The Last Frontier””.

HI Jeff,
I did not get your reply you tried to send. Keep trying please.
Thanks,
Brian

Hi Jeff,
You and your daughter are going in silver salmon season which peaks in September in the Kenai Peninsula. I would advise getting a guide to fish to Kenai River first in the sections near the ocean because there is limited shore access (private) and the banks are steep and cutoff. A guide can help you quickly find the silvers as our guide did close to the ocean mouth in 1986. We caught silvers, pink salmon, Dolly Varden, and even some later run sockeye on the Kenai river the last week in August. You will not have pink salmon running because they only run upriver on even number years. The middle river and upper river you can shore fish easily and are the best areas for big rainbow trout that follow the spawning salmon upriver. For the large river rainbows salmon egg pattern flies work best fished deep in the eddies on the sides of the river. The best lures from shore were pixie spoons (1/4 ounce) in fluorescent orange, fluorescent pink, or chartreuse for the salmon. A cluster of salmon eggs with a spin-a-glo bobber was what we primarily used with our guide on the river. We also caught some nice rainbow trout in a backcountry lake in the Swan River drainage in the north end of the peninsula. It was a 20 minute drive on logging roads and a 1.5 mile hike but worth it. We tried bait, lures, and other flies but the rainbow trout there would only hit a bubble/ California mosquito fly (size 14) combo. I highly recommend you get a copy of the Milepost book that is a bible to fishing in Alaska. It details all the lodging, fishing, and restaurants opportunities in the areas that are reachable by road. We got our fishing guide for the Kenai River by way of our bed and breakfast owner's recommendation and the backcountry lake fishing option as well. I would recommend find guides in the Milepost, resorts, or chamber of commerce in Soldotna. Ask for references from clients to confirm their competence. Good guide can make or break your day on this glacial river. You will need dry ice and boxes to take some of your catch home. These salmon are the biggest of their species probably in all of Alaska in the Kenai River. The world record king salmon then was caught here at 97 lbs 4 ounces. It was mounted in a car dealership when I was there with my cousin. The silvers we caught were from 10-16 lbs, sockeye from 7-10 lbs, and pinks from 5-8 lbs. The wildlife (moose, bald eagles, and even owls standing right behind us on the shoreline) seen is as good as the fishing. The weather can change very quickly that time of year. Have a good rain jacket ready to go. Good luck. Please let us know how you and your daughter fare. Any other questions let me know. My first degree is in zoology and we just toured Humboldt State with my oldest daughter in July. She loved it.

Early morning was the only time we fished this lake honestly but at a lake that gets a good amount of pressure and boat traffic I would definitely prefer the morning if I had the choice. Good luck!

I concur with the prior reply you got from the other member. My dad and I caught all of our fish from trolling in a boat only on this lake. We got skunked the few times we tried to shore fish on the north shore. We did well trolling with the bikini and rainbow pattern Needlefish lures and 1/4 ounce silver kastmaster. Our best and only trolling lane was starting near the southern shoreline of the dam and trolling along with southern shoreline straight into the middle of the lake before turning around on the same path over and over again. This pathway allows you to reach trout on the southern half of the lake that shore fishermen on the north side cannot reach and disturb. Shore fishing is only allowed on the northern shore. Please let us know how you do. Good luck.

Nice largemouth from LMV. The big ones are ready to bite now with spawning season. I live 15 minutes away. Thanks for the picture. It’s nice to see the lake recovering from the golden algae outbreak a couple of years ago.

Nice largemouth from LMV. The big ones will be catchable now with spawning season. I recognize the background in your picture because I live 15 minutes away. Thanks for the picture.

The wind does make a big difference. We always caught almost all of our trout in the spring trolling from west to east from Boulder Bay toward Metcalf Bay. In the fall we trolled from Gray’s Landing on the north shore down to the house on the shore near the dam. Our favorite lure was the bikini needlefish. The prevailing common wind blows starting mid-morning and increases as the day goes on from west to east. I think the trout face into this prevailing wind. We caught most our fish in Oct.,Nov., and April after ice-out. Unfortunately the drought has seriously lowered the water level and the public was given a warning about blue-green algae being found in this lake and Lake Elsinore by biologists.