Wilderness Packraft Fishing

Lake Ozette is the farthest northwest lake in the continental US and the largest unaltered natural lake in Washington state. A wilderness lake ecosystem separated from the remote and rugged pacific ocean by only a few miles of coastal rainforest.

Kristy and I set out on the 4th of July with the goal of utilizing the packrafts to do a different Ozette loop, only possible with a packraft. A lot of people hike the upper loop to the remote beaches and other people kayak on lake Ozette, but unless you have a packraft, you cannot do both. Our plan was to packraft down the lake, roll up our boats and hike across to the ocean, then hike up the remote beach and back through the rainforest to the car. We wanted to experience both the wildness lake and ocean.

I also was really looking forward to a wilderness kayak fishing experience on Lake Ozette. There is not much information about fishing on the lake, but the few mentions I did find talked about perch. I had never fished for perch, but looked through my tackle box to find a few lures that may do the trick; some spinners with extra attractants, etc. I was using The Packraft Table on my packraft so I could troll while I was traveling around the lake. Also when we stopped I could cast at few spots. 

We carried our loaded-up packs down to the boat launch, inflated the packrafts and were off. No more than 5 minutes later, we encountered a small blacktail deer in velvet. It was really cool to see a deer from the water and just cruise on by in our boats. I took that as a good omen, that this was going to be a good trip.

The next morning we packed up camp and loaded down the packraft. We had to paddle out of the bay to meet the trail that lead to the ocean. As we were on our way there, I was trolling a different spinner and this time, being early morning, the fish were biting. Halfway across the bay, I saw my rod tip go down. Fish on! I pulled my pole out of the rod holder and began to reel. I landed it and measured it on the surface of the Packraft Fishing Table. It was a beautiful 11in yellow perch, a good sized one! I was ecstatic to catch my first perch, let alone on a wilderness packraft fishing adventure. 

After we made camp, we explored around the area and were excited to see some beautiful summer wild flowers in bloom.

We paddled down the lake, soaking up summer at its fullest. It was great July weather and great paddling too. We traveled past old growth coastal rainforest and over the glassy water of lake Ozette. Lake Ozette is not a new destination. It has been used through out history by natives and settlers because of its unique location between both lake and ocean ecosystems . An ancient village was just discovered that had vanished in a mud slide 300 years ago. We felt very connected to be paddling and fishing like people have done for thousands of years on that lake. I trolled different spinners the entire time we paddled and we pulled over a few times to cast; however, didn't catch anything that afternoon.

We had been warned about the wind and chop that can occur on Lake Ozette and stayed closer to shore, ready to bail and hike if needed. Sure enough, as afternoon was approaching, the wind picked up. It was gusty, but we felt like we could manage it. Struggling along, we finally paddled around the corner and into the calm bay. Almost to camp, we pushed on. It was turning out to be a ideal summer evening on the lake.

We made a beach camp and set out exploring the rugged Pacific coast, dominated by towering sea stacks and diverse tidal pools. It was really interesting to comb the beach, search the tidal pools, and collect some kelp to snack on. We even blew up the packraft and played in the chilly waves. As the sun started to set, we crafted a lounger out of sand and took in the awe inspiring sunset. 

After catching the perch, we paddled to our trailhead and made lunch. Surprisingly, we encountered two hard-sided kayakers there as well. They were amazed  by the capabilities of the packrafts and could not believe that we were rolling up our kayaks and hiking to the ocean. They were thinking about hiking to the ocean but would have to stash their boats and then return to paddle back to their car. Saying goodbye, we packed up or boats and pressed on towards the coast. It was a first-time experience to transition from a fresh water lake ecosystem to salt water ocean ecosystem in such a short time. We knew we were close to our destination when the wind blew in the salty air and we could hear the faint crashing of the pacific. Suddenly, we popped out of the thick forest and met the beach. 

The next day we packed up our camp and hiked up the beach, on our way back to the car. Before we disappeared back into the thick coastal rainforest, we climbed one of the sea stacks to take in one last 360 degree view.

 It was an amazing trip and an awesome wilderness kayak fishing experience. Make sure to check out the video of the trip below.


Jon Dykes

@realjondykes on Twitter