Clear Lake (Skamania County)

Clear Lake is located in the Indian Heaven Wilderness. It is a beautiful lake which is planted alternately with rainbow and cutthroat fry every few years by horse pack and backpack. It has good shore angling access, but a float tube offers the best opportunity. It is possible to day hike and fish the lake, but camping in the area for a couple of days provide the better opportunity to fish the lake during early morning and late evening. This also gives you the opportunity to fish other lakes close by such as Deer, Bear, Elk, Cultus, Deep, and Lemei Lakes. The Indian Heaven is usually snow covered and lakes tough to access until the end of June or later. Mosquitos can be quite bad until late summer.

Getting here:

You can get to Clear Lake via several hiking trails including the Pacific Crest Trail. The shortest trail to the lake is from the Cultus Creek Campground, Trail #33. This is a couple of miles on a well defined trail.

Species you might catch

Lake information

County: Skamania
Acreage: 10.80 ac.
Elevation: 4944 ft.
TRS: T06R08E SEC10
Center: 46.023109, -121.782603
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Fish stocking info

Release Location: CLEAR LK (SKAM)
Stock Date Species Number Released Number of Fish Per Pound Facility
Oct 4, 1997 Cutthroat 1,000 250 GOLDENDALE HATCHERY
Oct 10, 1995 Cutthroat 910 182 GOLDENDALE HATCHERY

Fishing prospects calendar

Rainbow trout

Fishing success for Rainbow Trout is generally best in the spring when thousands of fish are stocked statewide, but they can be caught year-round in most waters with a little patience and persistence. Success remains high into June and gradually declines as water temperatures increase and fish move offshore to stay cool. Fish that escaped the spring harvest return to the nearshore areas in the fall as waters cool off. Some waters may also be stocked again in the fall further boosting catch rates.
Chart showing fishing prospects throughout the calendar year