Jim Creek Wilderness Recreation Area

Published in MWR Today (& Navy Navigator), Atlanta, GA Oct. 2004

It’s 7 a.m. on a Monday morning, the sun shining through the forest canopy overhead. 

Bouncing along a dirt-forest roadway, 210 rainbow trout yearlings are ‘migrating’ to their new homes at NRS Jim Creek’s Twin Lakes, just east of Arlington, Washington. My Ford Explorer kicks up dust as I ride the brakes, falling safely behind the pick-up shuttling the rainbows ahead of me.

Mildly apprehensive, I watched as the insulated, 100-gallon tank sways dramatically when the pick-up negotiates the hairpin turn ahead.  Instinctively, I give the vehicle a little more headway. 

My brakes squeal disapprovingly. One final switchback, and we arrive safely on the shores of the Twin Lakes. The trout are already splashing in their tank, seemingly anticipating the release that awaits them.

“Here we are,” said Diana Bejvl, as she disembarked from the driver’s side door and turns off the oxygen tank aerating the fidgety trout, “Hand me that net, and I’ll start loading the first batch into the release bucket.”

While a ride in the bed of a pickup truck might not seem to be a traditional form of fish migration, these trout have just arrived from J.& D. Fisheries, a hatchery and trout-rearing facility located in nearby Darrington.

A few years ago, when the State of Washington ceased stocking the site, Bejvl and her husband were hired to bring fish to the Twin Lakes. Today, the private, state-certified company was repeating their routine, adding over two hundred more rainbows to Jim Creek’s mountain lakes, and strengthening the local population of trout already spawning in these cold mountain waters.

Located in the western foothills of the Cascade Mountain range near Oso, Washington, Naval Radio Station Jim Creek serves the military community of the Puget Sound both as a functional communications site, and a 5000-acre wilderness recreation destination.

Offering authorized military personal and their families’ miles of trails, fishing, camping opportunities, and cabin and lodge rental facilities, the site’s Twin Lakes is becoming increasingly popular with fishermen and women in the regional Navy community. 

Boasting a stable trout population, along with a healthy contingency of otters, eagles and other fish-loving predators, the Twin Lakes are one of the few locations in the northwest where fishing for trout is an annual possibility—as a functional military installation, the Lakes have slightly different conservation rules, and anglers who successfully negotiate the roadway have an opportunity to ply their sport-fishing activities 12 months each year at these Lakes.

And judging from the splashing, sinewy robustness of this particular stock, the resident trout here are indeed a healthy, feisty population.

I watched Bejvl, and her mother-in-law Rose, transfer 12 of the fish into a large bucket, and shuttle that bucket to the edge of the dock.

“Let’s move them quick”, calls Bejvl, “these guys are hungry!” Less than 40-seconds later, a dozen vigorous rainbows darted away from the dock, some immediately rising to pluck insects from the surface, less than 15-feet away from where we stand.

“See that?” said Bevjl. “They’re natural hunters - don’t believe anyone who claims hatchery-raised trout won’t feed on natural prey.”

Rainbow and cutthroat trout, although not necessarily native to all the high mountain lakes in the North Cascades, have been stocked since the 1940s by Washington State Department of Fish and Game in order to promote recreation at these sites. At some locations like the Twin Lakes, these trout eventually established breeding populations, and as such, now require cold, clean rivers and lakes to propagate and thrive. 

At Jim Creek, the Twin Lakes’ watershed makes for good habitat for the rainbow and cutthroat trout, and continued intervals of stocking, have yielded a rigorous population of 15-to-20 inch fish, that readily take bait and delight local fishers.

“Each year, we order about 2,500 live trout from local hatcheries such as Bejvl’s operation,” said Mike Petrowski, recreation assistant at Jim Creek. “When we found this hatchery, we were pleased to learn that Diana and her husband offered a stock absolutely clean of all chemicals, medications and other artificial treatments.”

Petrowski’s words are convincing, judging from the vibrant colors and vigor displayed by that morning’s arrival.

“These trout generally spread out across the lake less than a few hours after they are stocked - I’d think it’s partially a matter of survival, since I’m convinced that our otters and eagles generally recognize Bejvl’s truck,” he joked.

Despite the presence of natural predators, (and perhaps partially because of their presence), Twin Lake’s rainbows do indeed thrive. An average of nine-inches and less than half a pound when delivered, these fish rapidly reach weights of up to four pounds after a few years growth.

Bejvl partially contributes this rate of growth to her business’s habit of routinely selecting genetically diverse brood stock from local ‘breeders’ to augment her selection.

“We also keep all our fry swimming against a mild current throughout their lives,” she added, confessing that while this may limit some growth, it definitely strengthens and conditions the fish.

Petrowski agrees. “Here at the administration offices, we’ve got volumes of photos of our patrons posing with fat, 16-plus inch trout - and I can tell you that our otter population is healthy and well-fed.”

Whether by way of natural selection, selective conditioning, or a combination of both, anglers fishing the Twin Lakes are definitely harvesting some of the best trout available in the North Cascades. Petrowski and his staff do remind anglers that, while rental boats are available at the Twin Lakes during the summer season, private boats and float tubes are not allowed on the lakes, primarily in order to prevent cross contamination from outside aquatic organisms. 

Fishing, however, is allowed on the Twin Lakes throughout the year. Please check with the Jim Creek Recreation Office to determine road conditions prior to planning your trip. Please note also that a current Washington State fishing license is also required before any lines can be cast into the Twin Lakes.

For information, or to book your accommodations, call Jim Creek at (425) 304-5315. Attendants will provide you with everything needed to plan an angler’s getaway within a short drive from all northwest bases.