Note: this is from a few days of fishing in May 2024 so far. So your experience may vary.

Fishing and Hiking Heather Lake

Heather Lake is a nice hike just an hour from Redmond. A few switchbacks up a shady, forested hillside takes you up to a beautiful lake with what seems to be mediocre fishing.

About the Hike

Like nearby Lake 22, the trail works its way up a few switchbacks until it comes up to the lake. However, you’ll be in the forest the entire time, so at some point you might question your sanity as the trees and the twists and turns start blurring together.

However, you’ll eventually hit Heather Lake, where you’ll get a stunning view of a lake with a beautiful mountain backdrop. It’ll make it all worth it.

The trail is muddy and degraded at many points, and you’ll have to walk through a few small streams. I would recommend wearing a pair of hiking boots. As a result, I’d probably rate this hike as an easy-to-moderate, perhaps leaning more on the moderate side.

About the Fishing

This lake seems really shallow. I walked around the entirety of the lake, and most of the lake seems about a foot deep - at least the areas you can cast to. At the very back of the lake, there is a slight boulder field where the water seems to get a bit deeper, but I had no luck here over quite a few casts - I didn’t see a single fish follow, and there was little insect life in the water. This gives me the suspicion that the fishing here isn’t quite so great. There might be some bigger fish towards the center of the lake, but it’s not easy to get to…

There’s also a little lagoon that seems like it should be deep enough to hold fish, on the left side of the lake. But this one seemed pretty lifeless when I fished it too.

Notes

If you had a float tube of some kind, it might be helpful for getting towards the deeper water.

Recommended Gear

For the trout:

Acme Kastmaster, 1/8 oz

One of my favorite lures for trout fishing, very useful for covering a lot of water and finding where the active fish are. It's a very aerodynamic lure that can be casted quite far on light line. I've had the most success on stop-and-go, erratic retrieves. Use gold Kastmasters on sunny days or in murky water. Use silver Kastmasters on cloudy days or clear water. Kastmasters can be somewhat expensive - South Bend also sells Kastaways which are somewhat cheaper but can't say I've personally used them.

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Panther Martin, 1/16 oz

A classic trout spinner. I like a retrieve with many erratic jerks with these spinners, to let the blade flutter as much as possible. Traditionally the gold blade with black body and yellow spots has been the most effective for me, but the other colors should also work.

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Thomas Buoyant, 1/4 or 1/6 oz

A Kastmaster alternative. It casts a somewhat smaller distance, but the spoon has a slightly different fluttering action that seems to sometimes entice more hits.

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Mini jig, 1/16 or 1/32 oz

I don't use these as often in the backcountry as the casting distance is sometimes insufficient, but can be very effective if you can get them out far enough. A small tube that can be twitched in the water to entice wary trout. Keep your rod tip high, and wiggle the lure in the middle of the water column. Can be very effective, especially if you can see the fish. Use very light line (2 - 4 lb).

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Nymph collection

One of my favorite ways to target trout that sometimes seems to work a lot better than bait/lures. Gently lob them out and retrieve it with light pauses. If you don't have a fly rod, a spinning rod with a small split shot or casting bubble works as well.

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