Fontal Lake

If you look closely at the pictures, you might recognize this as a "secret" lake that I didn't want to divulge last year. However, I'm naming names today, and this one is Fontal Lake north of Duvall.  If you can hike your way in there, you deserve to fish it!  Its about 45-60 minutes by foot, and your GPS will not really help you. Good luck!

On the trail to Fontal Lake

I took a Friday off to enjoy the weather and get in some "adventuring", by which I usually mean hiking and fishing. The fishing is much more enjoyable if there's a measure of planning and effort that must go into it. Fontal Lake is a good starter lake for this kind of trip; it's a relatively flat walk but long enough to keep the hordes away. It's remote enough in that if you were to twist your ankle you might be in serious trouble; I couldn't get cell reception out there. Lastly, in the past there have been nice fish taken there, though I haven't seen any (which is why I'm not afraid to name names today).

I didn't see another soul on the way, or at the lake. I arrived and unpacked my gear. Even though this was the location where I was introduced to the magical Trail Boat, this time I brought my trusty Float Tube. You see, there aren't a lot of fish at Fontal, and you might only get one chance, and if that's the case its nice to have both hands on your flyrod. Vlad and I discussed this strategy and he agreed.


To my dismay, my waders had a gushing leak right at the small of the back. I fished while FREEZING COLD, listening to Fresh Air on my iPhone to pass the time. I was wet and so cold that my legs were numb and my teeth were chattering. As I said, there's aren't a lot of fish in Fontal, and you might get only once chance. As it happened, I did get only only chance and I made the most of it. I landed a very pretty Brook Trout.

After kicking around the lake for over two hours I got out, ostensibly to warm up and have a snack. As I dried off I looked back at the lake and decided that I didn't need to catch any more fish. If anything, I confirmed that my winter waders have seen their last days and that I should get a new pair. I changed my socks to the dry pair I'd brought, loaded my gear into my pack and hiked the hour back out to my car.

On the way home I stopped in Duvall at a place that sold Espresso and Ice Cream and got some of both. I like Duvall, nice town. I hope that our street renovations in Snoqualmie make it look more like what they've done up there. When I finally got home (about 8 hours after I'd left) I was surprised at how tired I was.

It was a good start for "Adventuring".