Not many anglers in Central Washington have ever fished for lake trout.

A member of the char family also known as mackinaw, lake trout thrive in lakes throughout Canada. There is also a fantastic lake trout fishery in Lake Chelan. But there just aren't many lakes in our area big enough and deep enough to support a good population of lake trout.

That doesn't mean there aren't any lake trout to be caught in our area. One Central Washington lake is getting some attention from anglers looking to do battle with a big laker without having to travel to Canada, or even to Lake Chelan.

That lake is Cle Elum Lake, just north of Roslyn in upper Kittitas County.

"I've seen pictures of fish up to 15 pounds coming out of Cle Elum Lake," said Eric Anderson, Region 3 biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. "Not a lot of anglers really know how to fish for them, but the guys who do are getting some nice fish."

Anderson said early summer is normally the best time to fish for macks in Cle Elum, but with everything being a little later this year, anglers may find the fish shallower, later in the season.

"They stay fairly shallow and spawn on the shallow humps and gravel bars," Anderson said of the lake trout. "Then they go deep as the water warms."

He says not a whole lot is known about the mackinaw in Cle Elum. Some research he has done on the lake shows the fish have probably been in the lake since the 1950s and anglers are still catching some fish that were tagged by a fish biologist in the 1980s. The tags are marked "WDG" for Washington Department of Game, a moniker the WDFW hasn't used in quite some time.

As far as where to fish on Cle Elum, Anderson sees most boaters sticking to the lower end of the lake, down by the dam.

"That's where I would start," he advised. "Seems like that is the deepest part of the lake and that is where most of the anglers are."

Anderson also suggests concentrating in the areas where the creeks flow into the lake. He says the mackinaw in Cle Elum are most likely eating small whitefish, trout and kokanee and those fish tend to congregate at the mouths of the creeks, where the water is cooler and is depositing insects and other food into the lake.

Anton Jones, a former Yakima resident who has become Lake Chelan's top lake-trout guide, would take it one step further.

"I'd use my electronics to see if I could find some bands of kokanee," Jones said. "I would concentrate on those bands because that is what the mackinaw feed on in Cle Elum. Then I would fish right below them."

Jones said he would drop down a few different types of lures to see if he could get the macks to bite.

"I would use bigger lures than I use here at Chelan," Jones said. "We use medium sized FlatFish here, but I would go with a larger-sized, like M-2s or even T-50s. Something that represents the size of the kokanee."

Jones said that he might also try big spoons, like a Daredevil. And for colors he would go with silvers, or even bright colors like reds or oranges.

At Chelan, Jones trolls FlatFish about 1.6 mph, and he would start with that speed, too, at Cle Elum. But he wouldn't fish the lures as deep.

"You don't necessarily want the lure on the bottom of the lake," he explained. "You want that lure right below the bait fish. Mackinaw can't catch a healthy kokanee that is paying attention, but they are looking for one that is injured or sick. That is what the FlatFish will represent."

Of course, a downrigger is a necessity in getting the lures down to where the fish are. Keep an eye on the depth finder to watch for arches that might be mackinaw below any schools or bands of small fish that might be the kokanee.

Jones recommends that anglers watch their electronics closely, not only to be on the lookout for depth changes and for fish that might be lake trout, but also to mark the speed and the spot once a fish is hooked.

"Go right back to that same spot and troll at the same depth and speed," Jones said. "You should be able to keep hooking fish."

Cle Elum is a big lake, nearly eight miles long, so it may take some searching to find the fish. And it might take a few lure changes to find what the fish will hit. Anderson says the WDFW doesn't have much information on how many mackinaw might be in Cle Elum. But he knows one thing for sure: There are mackinaw in the big lake, including some dandies. Anglers keep sending him the photos.

So, if you've ever wanted to fish for lake trout, but really don't have the time or money to do the Canada thing, you might consider heading up to Cle Elum Lake and poking around a little. Finding the fish might not be easy, but it would be tough to find a prettier locale to spend a day on the water.

* Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.