Emmaline Lake

This one has been on my to-do list since last season. So when my friend Ryan invited me to ski it along with him and his girlfriend Bret, I took the opportunity. It was great to have company on this one, as almost no one goes this far into the Comanche wilderness in the winter. The snow was surprisingly sparse up to Cirque Meadow, which is always a joy to behold. From there the snow was OK enough, and we were breaking trail the rest of the way. By the time we reached the lake which sits just above 11k feet, the sun was nearing the crest of the overshadowing ridgeline, leaving scant time for fishing. The windswept ice was about 40 inches thick. Thankfully I coaxed a few cutthroat trout into cooperating within the limited timeframe. I missed a few, and lost what I think would have been the biggest at the bottom of the hole. While not the giants that I believe lurk here, I was grateful to catch and release some beautiful greenback cutthroats. As we finished the last few miles by headlamp in the dark, we were treated with as brilliant a display of stars as you’ll see from our state, with wisps of the Milky Way visible on this crystal clear evening (prior to an usually bright moonrise). That was the 34th alpine lake I’ve skicefished (ski to icefish) so far.

After a 6 mile hike up to Emmaline Lake near Pingree Park, I fished a short time and landed a single cutthroat while losing one other. I also fished briefly in nearby Cirque Lake without any luck. If I had more time, I would have done more exploring, tried some different lures, and caught some more fish.