Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Trout Lake, Pend Oreille County, Washington

Trout Lake
Trout Lake is a beautiful tree lined lake and is totally Private Lake so do not try to access it. In the old days it was known for its great Trout fishing but unfortunately it is no longer open to the public. However on a good note at least the lake is being kept somewhat pristine by its current owner, which has two homes on the lake with docks. Technically and legally at late spring when the current slows one would could paddle from Lake Sacheen to Trout lake via the little Spokane River as it would be considered a navigable water way, however you would have to portage over several beaver dams. The Little Spokane River starts at Sacheen Lake, then goes through Trout Lake on its way to Horseshoe Lake and Spokane County. The river exiting Trout lake and is not navigable due to it passing under a road/dike, plus when the river nears Horseshoe Lake there is a large waterfall. This lake is in Northeaster part of Pend Oreille County, Washington. Its West of Horseshoe Lake and Lost Lake and South of the Wilderness Lakes. Maps: Visit google.com/maps type in GPS coordinates 48.121158, -117.372711

ACCESSIBILITY: No access allowed.

7 comments:

  1. That's not the little spokane river at all. The little spokane starts at chain lake by Camden.

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    1. Actually, your right and wrong. The little Spokane river starts at the chain lake, but the west branch starts at Lake Sacheen and passes through Trout Lake. I rechecked it due to your comment. I have kayaked the Chain Lake several times, great fishing to.

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    2. Also, the Little Spokane River starts a way north of Chain Lake at a marshy area just a few miles east of Diamond Lake just off of HWY 2. Thank you for your comments as it allowed me to explore and become better educated. So, there is the main river, and the West branch.

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  2. You do know there is a west and east branch of the Little Spokane River. However, I see no info on the Little Spokane River exiting from the chain lakes. Do you have any maps on the topic? The info I could find is the Little Spokane River starting out from Lake Sacheen, going through Trout Lake, through Horseshoe Lake, then Fan Lake, the Eloika Lake, and then snaking toward and into Spokane Lake/Long Lake. Maybe the East arm of the river travels from Chain Lakes but again I have not seen any info this. We appreciate your input so if you have any info on this topic email it to accesstooutdoors@gmail.com

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  3. So if one could get on this lake via little spokane river could you legally fish it since it's a navigable water way?

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    1. No, you cannot use the Little Spokane River to access the lake as on this river the public is legally lock out, no trespassing. Navigable waters rule does not apply to this river, due to the WA state supreme court's ruling in favor of private landowners. Only way to access this lake possibility legally would be via a small pontoon plane or ultra-light, and even then, I would make sure to check on the legality of that (access the water only, not the land). Seems to me not worth the time with so many amazing lakes and rivers to access in WA. Would be interesting to know though the legality of landing on the water. Is this lake surface water considered navigable when the river that enters and exists the lake is private/not navigable. I should note the only portion of the Little Spokane River that is navigable to the public is within the park near the Spokane River/Long-Spokane Lake. You can learn more about the park and the little Spokane river at this link http://funtosail.blogspot.com/2016/10/little-spokane-river-spokane-county.html

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    2. Just another thought. I wonder if the Little Spokane River (west branch) section between Lake Sacheen and Trout Lake passes through any private land or if it's all public wetlands. If so then it would be public navigable waters, that is if fish and game department of WA has locked the public out due to their rules. I have paddle quite a way from Lake Sacheen into these wetlands. Lots of wildlife, like beavers, etc.

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