SPINNING GEAR
Spinning rods have the advantage over fly rods under certain conditions. They don't need much casting room -- which is a real boon when the lakeshore is choked with trees and willows. Also, they can cast farther -- important when the biggest fish in the lake are rising 70 feet from shore, and you can cast a fly only 60 feet. Plus they are versatile; you can fish lures or flies.

Spin-fishing gear is pretty simple. A 6-foot-long medium-light action rod matched with a reel filled with 6-pound-test line, a spool of 4-pound tippet, a couple of clear-plastic bubbles (the type that can be filled with water), a box of lures and another of flies, and you're good to go. Bait is not recommended: Fish generally swallow bait, making it difficult to release them without harm. (In Washington, even if you release a bait-caught fish, you must count that fish as part of your daily bag limit.)

While there are tons of lures on the market, some styles have proved more successful at catching fish over the years. Rooster Tails in brown and black, Mepps Black Fury, Panther Martin in yellow, Kastmaster or Crocodile spoons, Daredevles in red/white and black/white, and Dick Nites all catch fish. Experienced lure fishermen carry at least two of their favorites in case one gets snagged and lost, and substituting single hooks for the factory treble hooks helps reduce fish mortality.

FLY-FISHING
If you only carry one fly, make it a black Woolly Bugger. If you carry two flies, add an olive Woolly Bugger; WBs work virtually anywhere. Other patterns to toss behind that plastic bubble include Hare's Ears, scuds (particularly effective for goldens) and Parachute Adams in small sizes. If you know you'll encounter lake trout, toss in a couple of streamers.

To rig your fly, run your fishing line through the plastic bubble, then attach a barrel swivel. To the other end of the swivel, tie on an arm's length of tippet, then add the fly. If you're fishing the surface, then don't add any water to the bubble. If you want to fish deeper, add water until the bubble sinks to the proper depth.

A 9-foot, two-piece, 5- to 6-weight rod in a sturdy aluminum tube (which doubles as a hiking staff if cushioned at both ends) and a reel holding a floating line work just fine. The exceptional water clarity of lakes dictate longer tapered leaders in the 10- to 15-foot range.

Stream leaders can be much shorter. Add spools of 3x, 4x and 5x tippet material, some fly floatant, a box of flies and you're all set. If you can carry the extra weight, add full sinking and sink-tip lines. Knowing how to execute a rollcast may be your best weapon.

Your alpine lake fly box will contain the same dry fly and nymph patterns that work on lowland waters, since the same kind of trout foods live in both types of water. Mayflies, caddis, scuds, chironomids, leeches and damselflies are the primary food sources, with a healthy dose of terrestrials (ants, beetles and grasshoppers) added.