where:

Up Highway 55 North of Boise this beautiful mountain reservoir sits just to the east of the Payette National Forest. Depending on your starting point it is about a 2 hours drive alongside the winding Payette River. The town of Cascade has a city boat launch near the dam which is also located next to the golf course club house if you want a convenient place to grab a bite to eat. If your looking for a less crowded place to put in, there are numerous other boat launches including Sugar Loaf about 15 minutes North of Cascade and Poison Creek on the west side of the lake.

The town of Donelly lies on the Northeast side of the lake and is where you will want to turn off Hwy 55 to access the west banks of Lake Cascade. There is a handful of great camping opportunities in this area at one of the many campgrounds. The Tamarack Ski Resort also lies on this side of the lake and can be a nice place to grab a bite to eat after eating camp food for a few days but expect food options and prices to reflect the fact that it is a ski resort.

Another location worth mentioning is the Boulder Creek day use area. This is located just past Sugar Loaf on the east side of the lake. This area has a well-kept swimming beach and can also be a productive place to fish. Just be mindful that fishing hooks and swimming areas don’t mix well so keeping your distance from the swimming area and cleaning up after ourselves goes a long way. This is also a great access point in the winter for Ice fishing and snowmobiling on the lake.

What:

Trout
Kokanee
Bass
Yellow Perch

HOW:

If you are in a boat trolling for trout and kokanee dodgers, flashers, and pop gear followed by wedding rings with worm and either corn or cocktail shrimp. I personally don’t spend much time targeting trout on this Cascade as you don’t find many opportunities for Perch fishing as good as this lake has to offer. That said there are some nice sized trout in the lake as can been seen on the Tackle Tom’s (The local bait shop in Cascade) Facebook page.

If you are fishing from the bank my personal go to for trout and kokanee is a slip bobber and worm tipped with power bait, corn, or shrimp. I have had days where reaching trout this way has been difficult due to the sheer number of perch that would more the happily eat anything you thru in under your bobber.

For targeting perch from a boat it can just be a matter of finding fish and the right depth. Once you're on them, my personal favorite is a green jig with a red eye tipped with a full worm. When fishing them in the shallows, about 20ft or less, tossing this setup on the bottom and dragging it a couple reels then letting it sit for a minute and repeating as necessary seems to do the trick. This also works from the bank for both perch and small mouth.

Some of the best success I have had bank fishing has been done around the damn and city boat launch. If you are tossing jigs and worm off the rocks around the dam you may have your perch fishing interrupted by handfuls of Smallmouth Bass and the occasional Largemouth. If the perch are in full feeding mode it might not matter so much what you're throwing out there, but just that you have a rod in the water.

I have also had some success from both the boat and the shore around the Boulder Creek day use area. With the gently sloping and sandy bottom plus thick seaweed cover, a sliding sinker bottom fishing setup with a small corkie can works well. This allows you to get a bit more distance off the bank and avoids dragging a jig thru the weeds. I have picked up a handful of perch and catfish this way.

Bonus:

The Lake Cascade area has a lot to offer but the drive to get there can be a little cumbersome. For this reason, I recommend making a full day or an overnight trip out of it. The lake itself offers great fishing and has a few nice swimming beaches such as the one at the Boulder Creek day use area. The towns of Donnelly and Cascade also offer some great places to grab a bite to eat and a beer. Donnelly also hosts a weekly farmers market June thru September and the Tamarack resort host a variety of events thru the summer and has some great downhill mountain biking opportunities.

For outdoor activities in the area, I recommend a visit to Warm Lake or Horsetheif Reservoir which can be found by taking a right turn from Hwy 55 onto Warm Lake road right after leaving the town of Cascade. On your way you can swing by Trail Creek hot springs (just off the side of Warm Lake road) for a quick dip and grab a burger at the lodge at Warm Lake.