A taste of the west is swimming east, right into your backyard.
After a 17 year run at Lake Pawhuska ran it’s course, just this year, Oklahoma’s wildlife department made Perry’s CCC Lake one of eight trout fisheries through out the state.
The lake has a rich history dating back to the 30s, when the Civilian Conservation Corp built the park.
“It’s close enough to Oklahoma City where it’s a 30 minute drive from Edmond,” Bill Wentroth, Regional Fisheries Supervisor for North-Central Oklahoma, said. “You can get up here and enjoy the peace and quiet. It’s a small lake. You don’t need a boat to fish it. You have bank access almost the entire way around it. It’s just a great way to catch something you can take home and eat, you can play the fish and let them go and we stock it every two weeks to make sure there’s plenty of fish here for you.”
Oklahoma’s rainbows range from nine to ten inches up to nearly two feet long and weighing several pounds.
Native to waters west of the Rockies and described as a hard fighting game fish, rainbows flourish during cold months, while traditional Sooner State favorites shut down for the winter.
“Bass fisherman. Catfish. Crappie. They all have their season,” Wentroth said. “But during the winter time, everybody goes to the house and they get this cabin fever stuff. All they do is look at bass pro magazines and things like that.”
“When the bite’s on, you’re getting that fishing rush that you’re used to getting in Oklahoma from May through early November and you can then replicate that for what are supposedly the dead months,” Skyler St. Yves, of the Oklahoma Wildlife Department, said.
Of course, fisherman will need a state license. And while there is no size limit on the fish that can be caught, fisherman can only use one pole at a time, and can only keep six catches.
Reeling in rainbows does require some specific gear. Ideally, a light line paired with a light action rod and real should be used.
As for baits, Skyler St. Yves, an avid fisherman from Seattle, recommends working small artificial lures or trying power bait. Power bait is a scented dough packed on to small hooks that can be fished by bobber or with a weight off the bottom.
“Trout fishing sometimes, especially on lakes or ponds, gets a bad reputation for sitting in a lawn chair,” St. Yves said. “I think the most effective way to get yourself a lot of bites and catch a lot of fish, or at least give yourself the opportunity to catch a lot of fish, is moving around early on.”
St. Yves ended up landing around eight fish on our trip.
After having some recent success on the lake, yours truly tried his luck again.
Making cast, after cast, after cast before landing two beautiful bows.
Watch St. Yves’ additional pointers in the video below to get more a detailed look at how to land your own trout from Perry’s CCC Lake.
