Wrights Lake and Twin Lakes

Note: this is from a few days of fishing over a September weekend in 2023. So your experience may vary.

About Wrights Lake

Wrights Lake is a very cute lake. It’s ringed by tall pines, flanked by mountains in the distance, and the water is crystal clear. It was never particular windy and wavy while I was there, so it seems like a nice place to take out a small boat and explore.

The main problem with this lake is that it is extremely shallow. There is a deep creek bed running through the center, and the rest of the lake is only one or two feet deep - you can practically wade across at some spots. What that means is that you need to pick your spot carefully on the shoreline, and cast far, so that your bait reaches that deep channel. I was fairly surprised by this - I thought there would be at least some trout rising for insects in the shallows in the morning or evening, but I did not see a single rise close to shore while I was here. I threw a spoon for quite a while with no luck. All of my bites here were off corn Powerbait, casted into that deeper channel. I would recommend pulling up the Google Maps satellite view - it shows that deeper creek channel fairly clearly. It seems that closer to inlet and outlet of the lake this channel gets closer to shore. Other parts of the lake, you’ll either need a heavy sinker or a boat.

Supposedly, the trout can also stack up out the outlet of the lake by the tiny dam - however, I did not see any fish there while I was visiting.

One annoying bit is that the parking situation is not all that great here - there are a limited number of parking spots, especially by the inlet of the lake. So you’ll probably have to walk quite a bit.

About Twin Lakes

These two lakes are absolutely beautiful. Awe-inspiring granite cliffs and rockfalls frame the lakes, making for picturesque vistas. The fishing seems to be almost as good as the view. Nice pan-sized brookies are eager to hit spoons and spinners - we had a lot of success on Thomas Buoyants and Panther Martins. I also did really well on a green zebra midge. We tried both the shallower sections by the outlets and the deeper water by the rockfall areas - both seemed to produce equally well. The upper lake seemed to yield fewer fish than the lower one for whatever reason. The stream that feeds out of Lower Twin also has some nice brookies as well, which we caught on the same lures.

The only con of these two lakes is the crowds. We came on a post Labor Day weekend, when the nights are cold and chilly, and there were still a ton of people camped out at the lakes. Doesn’t quite provide you that mountain solitude, but maybe the fishing is just good enough to keep your mind off your neighbors nearby.

These trout are wild, so try to be mindful and release fish in good condition.

Notes

The hike up to Twin Lakes can be a bit of a buttkicker, especially if you haven’t quite acclimated to the higher elevation yet and you’re carrying a lot of gear. Make sure to bring lots of water, or a water filter.

There’s technically a day use fee, which you pay at a kiosk.

There’s a nice-sized campground by Wrights Lake. The vault toilets there were some of the nicest I’ve seen.

Fish stockings at Wrights Lake: DFW

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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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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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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Mini jig, 1/16 or 1/32 oz

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. Can be hard to cast far, unless you're using very light line (2 - 4 lb)

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Powerbait

A must-have trout bait. Take a small bit of the dough, and mold it around a size 14-16 treble hook on a sliding sinker rig. Cast the bait out and just let it sit. It can smell kinda bad, so be ready to vigorously clean your hands afterward. I've linked the garlic flavor, but the corn and original scents work just as well. I personally don't think the color matters a whole lot, but some people swear by chartreuse.

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Powerbait Micetails

A less messy version of Powerbait, which is basically a piece of soft plastic infused with the Powerbait flavoring. I prefer the micetails in moving water, as they have a more natural appearance and drift more naturally.

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