Champion Lakes Advice
 

Hey guys. I am pretty new to fly fishing and I will be heading to Champion for the first time. Any advice on where to fish and what flies to use would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Fish the Upper lake instead of the Lower lake. There are fish in the Lower lake but not as many as it winter kills. The upper lake is deep and has a small creek flowing into it to prevent winter kill. It also depends on if you have a belly boat or not. If you dont then you will want to stick to the lower lake because it is tough to fly fish from shore at the Upper.

Thanks for the heads up. I will make sure to bring my belly boat now.

Watch for bait fishermen...be prepared to contact report a poacher...it is a hot spot.

I am going with 24/7, would it be possible to take a kayak to the upper lake with an 8" wheel cart? meaning is the trail rocky & rooty or is it smooth?

The trail to the Lower Lake is fairly steep with lots of roots. If you can pull the trailer in then you should be OK but you cant actually drive up to the lake. You would have to carry the kayak into the Upper Lake because the trail is really narrow and you have to step over logs and such so it is not friendly for a trailer. If you have the pontoon type of belly boat then it is super easy to access both lakes. The Upper lake is harder because there is not a good shore for launching a donut-like belly boat. It is tricky. If there is no wind though, you can enjoy some good fly fishing in the lake and you will be able to see lots of fish.

The hike is not long to the lake from the bottom of the hill...taking a kayak is doable.