Cascade Lakes Highway is the ideal route for those seeking some sort of outdoor recreation on a pristine mountain lake.

Sometimes, though, our high lakes seem to get separated into two categories: fishing lakes, and boating/hiking/swimming lakes.

Crane Prairie Reservoir and Lava Lake are where anglers go to catch big rainbow trout.

Todd, Sparks and Elk lakes are where folks go to take a refreshing dip or a serene kayak ride. But these three lakes also hold catchable fish.

Todd Lake is home to stocked brook trout in the 12- to 16-inch size range.

Sparks Lake is stocked with cutthroat trout (a rare opportunity in Central Oregon) and has a native brook trout population. Elk Lake is stocked with 20,000 brook trout each year, the biggest such allowance for any lake in Central Oregon, according to Brett Hodgson, a fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Bend.

But on Sparks and Elk lakes, a boat is necessary to take advantage of the fishing opportunities. On Todd Lake, anglers can fish from shore or wade in a little ways and cast into deeper water.

At 6,150 feet in elevation, 45-acre Todd Lake is the highest of the lakes accessible from Cascade Lakes Highway. Snow-capped Broken Top rises above the lush green alpine meadows at the north end of the lake, where red, purple, and yellow wildflowers bloom.

I made the 30-minute drive up to Todd Lake earlier this week and found a full parking lot. A few hikers were making their way along the trail that encircles the lake, and one lonely kayaker paddled along the clear water.

No anglers could be found.

I hiked along the west shore and found a spot to fish, where shallow water gave way to noticeably deeper water. Todd Lake is 56 feet at its deepest. (In mid- to late summer, the brook trout will seek the cooler temperatures of deeper water, according to Hodgson.)

“Fishing tends to be slow in the dog days of summer,” Hodgson said earlier this week. “They’re down deep. For fly-fishing, go below the surface with leeches or woolly buggers.”

I cast out a leech pattern, using a strike indicator. I waded along the lake until I ended up at the north end, my ankles surrounded by tadpoles. Mount Bachelor loomed above the south end of the lake, a fair amount of snow still clinging to its slopes.

Suddenly, my strike indicator dropped below the water surface, and I set the hook. I reeled in a 12-inch brook trout, perhaps the only fish caught that day on the lake.

“We don’t get a lot of reports from people going into Todd,” Hodgson said.

During evening hatches, dry-fly patterns such as a Parachute Adams can be effective, according to Hodgson. Small spinners and bait can also land brook trout on Todd Lake.

The ODFW stocks Todd Lake, via helicopter, with 2,000 brook trout every other year, Hodgson said. Many other high mountain lakes in Central Oregon that are difficult to access are also stocked from the air.

Todd Lake was last stocked in 2009 and is scheduled to be stocked again in July 2011.

“Todd is one of the larger water bodies that we stock using the helicopter,” Hodgson said. “Generally (brook trout) have better carryover and over-winter survival (in Todd Lake). Todd is one of our better producers from the air-stocking program.”

The biologist added that brook trout in Todd Lake can grow up to 16 inches and survive for four to five years. On many other, smaller, air-stocked lakes, the brook trout will survive for only two to three years, Hodgson said.

Brook trout thrive better than rainbow trout in high-elevation lakes, according to Hodgson. The ODFW stocks brook trout in lakes where opportunity is minimal for the fish to escape into other water bodies, which could have a negative effect on other fish populations, Hodgson noted.

Brook trout can be landed in the most scenic of locations, including Todd, Sparks and Elk lakes.

Outdoor enthusiasts are free to hike and kayak all they want on these majestic mountain lakes with their breathtaking Cascade Mountain views.

But they should remember that there’s fish in them — and they’re catchable.