Fishing Report For Cle Elum Lake, WA

By Rick Seaman

January 28, 2025

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Cle Elum Lake Fishing Video
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Fishing Report Cle Elum Lake, WA

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Cle Elum Lake, WA

Lake Trout

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Lake trout feed on small fish, so lures imitating baitfish, sunfish or small trout are good choices. Other choices include bottom fishing with nightcrawlers or Berkeley Power Crawlers, fished on drop-shot rigs. Flashy spoons can be fished at any depth, either jigging, trolling or cast and retrieve. For big lakers, use larger baits. According to WDFW, "Lake trout up to 20 lbs. have been taken". May, June and July are the best months to pursue lake trout at Cle Elum Lake, and the most productive time of day is the first hours of morning. These big lakers are being caught from shallow (15 to 20 feet) to 120 feet or more.

Rainbow Trout

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Very Good To Excellent

Rainbow trout make up for almost 50% of the trout in Cle Elum Lake. The diet of a rainbow trout consists of insects, small fishes and crustaceans. Use flies or small lures, imitating their natural food, to tempt them into biting. Small spinners, miniature crankbaits and swimbaits are catching rainbows, as are nightcrawlers, salmon eggs and prepared baits. Early morning is the best time of day to be successful chasing rainbows here. The current population of rainbows is naturally reproducing as no stocking has been done for some time now.

Brown Trout

Current Report: Fair
Outlook: Good

Weekend anglers are catching brown trout on spinners, small jerkbaits, nightcrawlers and a variety of other small offerings. Brown trout can be very aggressive, and put up a good battle. Casting or trolling are both working for catching trout in Cle Elum Lake, often catching other trout species while fishing for brownies.

Cle Elum Lake Fishing Video

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, lake trout, cutthroat, kokanee, sockeye salmon and burbot at Cle Elum Lake in Washington.

Cle Elum Lake is a 4,800-acre lake with a little over 20 miles of shoreline in central Washington. The lake is primarily a trout lake, but also has populations of salmon and burbot. The lake elevation is 2,223 ft above sea level. Popular fish species found in Cle Elum Lake include rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, lake trout (Mackinaw), and sockeye salmon.

Primary fish species residing in Cle Elum Lake

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Fishing Boat Rentals

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Fishing License

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Cle Elum Lake, WA Map - Fishing & Access

Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired bass tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".