1. Video

If you’re lucky enough to still have your dad or another father figure in your life, take him fishing once in a while — if that’s what he’s into, of course.

My dad, Mike Whittle, taught me to fish when I was old enough to hold my Mickey Mouse fishing pole, but still young enough to not realize that there was no hook at the end of the line (I kept catching my parents with it). My sister and I grew up learning to cast, tie the improved clinch knot and the most important lesson: Even if you don’t catch anything, a day spent fishing is still a good day.

For the past few Father’s Days, we’ve taken him out for a whole day of fishing, just the three of us. We rarely catch anything, but floating in our kayaks on one of our favorite lakes while quietly chatting is still worth the smell of Power Bait and worm guts that lingers on our fingers by the end of it.

This year, Dad and I took the trip a little early and went bank fishing at Lava Lake along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, a lake that we’ve frequented countless times since moving to the area in 1990.

On the lava banks

Lava Lake is aptly named. The lake was formed when lava flows created a dam along the east shoreline and subsurface springs at the northeast corner fed it. There are no permanent streams entering or exiting the lake but in good years, water can come in from Wire Meadow and flow out to Little Lava Lake from a channel on the southeastern corner of the bigger sibling.

The lake’s age is apparent given the amount of vegetation and deep layer of muck on the bottom, according to the Deschutes National Forest website.

With one U.S. Forest Service campground (Lava Lake Campground) and one RV park that includes full hookups run by the Lava Lake Resort, the lake is full of activity during the summer of happy anglers and families taking weekend trips to the lake.

Starting at the boat ramp near the Lava Lake Campground, a trail follows the eastern edge of the lake for about 2 miles where bank anglers can easily cast out from the shore. The trail itself is part of the Metolius-Windigo Trail, which runs 143 miles from Windigo Pass near Crescent Lake to Bear Valley Creek near the Metolius River.

Along that eastern edge, the shoreline is mostly lava rock piled and loosely strewn, making walking down to the shore tricky but not too difficult. The level of the lake is pretty low and so the rocky field is a bit bigger to traverse than average: Make sure you have sturdier shoes and take your time if you have balance issues.

The water is slightly off-color and more greenish than the typical blue, which may have been one of the reasons why we were completely skunked. What’s more, it seemed like all the folks fishing from boats were having the same luck, and by 1 p.m., the boat parking was empty. It’s not like the fish weren’t out either, as one seemed to like to taunt us by jumping out the water near us to catch the mosquitos and other winged insects hovering above the water.

When the fish are biting, however, the fishing can be very good here. Lava Lake is stocked regularly and, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stocking schedule, was stocked this week with 1,250 legal-sized rainbow trout.

We tried our luck with the good old earthworm and Power Bait in a small inlet, but other tested methods that produce fish include spinners, flashers and even cheese. One point on the lake’s shore, my dad made clear, is even referred to as Velveeta Point by old-timers and listed on some maps.

After three hours of sitting on the rocks, dodging half-dollar-sized spiders and losing a few lines to the submerged rocks below, another father and his young daughter walked to the point near us.

“Caught anything?” he asked.

“Rocks,” I jokingly called back as they made their way to their perch a few hundred yards from us.

His daughter, no more than 5 years old, happily chattered away as her father cast his line out. I couldn’t help but smile, wondering if their own tradition of swapping fish stories and casting lines along the shores of these Cascade Lakes would start here.

Soon though, with stomachs growling and skin burnt by the sun, my own father and I called it a day and headed the short half-mile walk back to our car and headed home fishless, but still smiling.

Go fish

If you’re looking to take your own dear old dad out for a day of fishing, here are some more lakes to try. May you have better luck than we did:

Diamond Lake: Rainbow trout, brook trout. Brown trout and tiger trout are catch and release only. Limit is five rainbows per day with one over 20 inches. If you catch a trout over 20 inches, go to the marina to be entered into a raffle.

South Twin Lake: Rainbow trout.

Odell Lake: Kokanee, lake trout and rainbow trout. Daily limit is 25 kokanee per day in addition to daily trout limit. One lake trout per day, 24-inch minimum. Catch and release bull trout.

Paulina Lake: Kokanee, brown trout and rainbow trout.

Fall River: Rainbow trout and brown trout. Fly-fishing with barbless hooks only.

Metolius River: Rainbow trout and bull trout. Catch and release only. Fly-fishing only upstream from Bridge 99.

Crane Prairie: Rainbow trout, brook trout, largemouth bass and kokanee. Wild rainbow trout must be released.

Hosmer Lake: Brook trout, rainbow trout and cutthroat trout. Fly-fishing with barbless hooks only, with catch and release for all species.