With the onset of hot weather in the Spokane area, many of the productive
early season lakes have been providing poor fishing. Algae blooms and water
temps rapidly approaching 80 degrees not only turn off the fish, in this case
they turn off the fisherman. Picking algae off of flies after every cast is a
royal pain in the ass, so I decided to find a lake that was a little more
copasthetic to fishing. Because Rock Lake is so deep (approximately 360 ft.)
and spring fed, water temperatures remain low all year, and algae blooms are
not a problem. Despite the assertion that Rock is "primarily a spiny ray lake"
on this page's "Overview," browns are by far the most sought after fish in the
lake. I had heard that the fishing had been picking up for the wild fish, so I
set out to catch some. At the launch a local told me that fish to 27 inches
had been taken off of the launch within the last week, and that the average
fish was running around 14 inches.
I fished out of my tube with a 5 weight and sinking line, primarily
targeting bass (bass and trout techniques are essentially the same here: fish
the ledges and shelves with streamers or other "meaty" flies), but knowing
full well that the browns would show up too. My fly of choice was a #4 crawdad
pattern, and every fish in the lake seemed to want it-- when I wasn't getting
momentarily snagged that is. In just a couple of hours I hooked 3
largemouths-- all about a pound and a half, and three browns-- 14, 14, and 16
inches. Bluegills and crappies were also hitting, but the #4 hook was
apparently too much for them. Some other fishermen seemed to be doing fairly
well too, and I didn't talk to anyone who had been skunked. This lake is
definitely the most under-utilized lake in this area, primarily because it is
isolated and the launch leaves something to be desired. Nobody lives on the
lake, and it is teeming with wildlife. Since this winter I have seen otters,
pheasants and quail galore, coyotes, mule deer-- including a wide racked buck
just the other day, waterfowl of all kinds, and a wide array of other small
game animals-- all around the lake. I finally secured permission to hunt here
from the same local with the fishing advice, so I'm pumped.
Anyway, Rock is a spectacular lake in all respects, and it's well worth
the time and effort. If you fish it, remember to watch out for the rocks, but
also to keep your offerings in fairly close relationship to the rocks.
Crawdads are THE source of food for the browns and bass in the lake, but they
take other patterns as well. Water Hole Sports in Spokane can offer advice and
appropriate tackle for the non-flyfisherman, and Sports Cove, also in Spokane,
can offer advice to the flyfisherman. Good luck to you all.

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