Lake Profile: Curlew Lake
Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 12:59 am
Curlew Lake, of Washington's tiger muskie lakes, most nearly resembles a midwest muskie lake in terms of its structure and surroundings. It has islands, points, flats, weedbeds, dropoffs, wood, docks, and rock walls, but no sunken rock bars that I know of; and is surrounded by wooded uplands. It’s long had noteworthy trout and bass fisheries. Tiger muskies have been planted since 1998 to control a northern pikeminnow (aka squawfish) infestation. WDFW stomach content studies indicate the tiger muskies also feed on rainbow trout during winter and spring.
Curlew Lake is located near the town of Republic in north central Washington only 16 air miles south of the Canadian border. It is a long way from any city, but nevertheless is a popular recreation lake with a state park, three private resorts, and about 300 private homes and cabins. Consequently, you won’t find solitude here. But it’s a pretty lake, and a fair amount of the shoreline is undeveloped.
Curlew Lake is a natural lake, fed by springs and streams, but has a 3-foot head dam (built in 1926) to stabilize the water levels It is connected by a navigable channel to Lake Roberta on its south end, which is very shallow, and brings the total surface acreage to 921 acres. It is deep in most places, with a maximum depth of 130 feet. Physically, it's long and narrow in a north-south direction, and has an irregular shoreline. It is 4.8 miles long, varies in width (but not over 1/3 mile), and has 15.8 miles of shoreline. It lies at an elevation of 2,333 feet. This lake develops a thermocline in summer, and suffers from water quality problems that limit visibility and may cause algae blooms in summer.
There is no free boat launch on the lake, but an excellent double concrete ramp with ample parking exists at the state park, which is located on the east side of the lake with access from Highway 21 about 8 miles from town. It has 82 vehicle campsites plus 5 primitive sites, including some with water and power. There also are rest rooms with showers, and expansive and pleasantly manicured lawns. Reservations are not available; camping is on a first-come, first-served basis. Gas, groceries, and a laundromat are available in town.
Republic itself is somewhat of a tourist destination. However, its economy was heavily dependent on a gold mine and lumber mill, both of which shut down. As a result, the area is economically distressed and the local residents are hurting for jobs and income. They will certainly appreciate your tourist business.
I can’t tell you much about how to fish this lake, because I’ve visited it only once. I can say, however, that is fun to fish because of the variety of structure; and it’s big enough to hold a decent number of fish and keep you interested in probing its secrets for several days. In August 2002, I spent three days scouting Curlew Lake, and didn’t see a single tiger muskie. No one I talked with knew much about them; the sketchy local lore indicated they hang around the docks and the railroad trestle at the north end (note, this is an active track). Nor is there much information in the Washingtonlakes.com lake reports. So, I'd pretty much be starting from scratch here, and I would work the obvious shallow weed beds, shoreline wood, around the islands, in bays and coves, and anywhere there’s a shelf with deep water nearby. There is a quite a bit of recreational boating traffic; so early morning, evening, and mid-week would be the preferred times to fish; and I’d be tempted to experiment with a reputed night fishery, too.
Driving directions: From I-90 take Hwy. 21 exit (between Moses Lake and Ritzville) and drive north through Odessa and Wilbur, take Keller’s Ferry across Lake Roosevelt, and continue through Republic (this is quite a long drive, and involves some of the steepest grades in the state). Hwy 21 skirts the east side of Curlew Lake and continues to the border crossing into Canada. From Spokane, take U.S. 395 through Chewelah and Colville, and after crossing Lake Roosevelt at Kettle Falls, turn south on state Highway 20 which veers west in about 3 miles and continues another 30-plus miles to the junction with Highway 21 (climbing steeply over Sherman Pass in the process). This is picturesque country and an enjoyable, but slow, drive because of the grades and switchbacks. At the junction, you can turn left and go 2 ½ miles into town, or turn right and go north about 5 or 6 miles to the state park entrance.
As always, feel free to dispute details of this report, or add your own.
Curlew Lake is located near the town of Republic in north central Washington only 16 air miles south of the Canadian border. It is a long way from any city, but nevertheless is a popular recreation lake with a state park, three private resorts, and about 300 private homes and cabins. Consequently, you won’t find solitude here. But it’s a pretty lake, and a fair amount of the shoreline is undeveloped.
Curlew Lake is a natural lake, fed by springs and streams, but has a 3-foot head dam (built in 1926) to stabilize the water levels It is connected by a navigable channel to Lake Roberta on its south end, which is very shallow, and brings the total surface acreage to 921 acres. It is deep in most places, with a maximum depth of 130 feet. Physically, it's long and narrow in a north-south direction, and has an irregular shoreline. It is 4.8 miles long, varies in width (but not over 1/3 mile), and has 15.8 miles of shoreline. It lies at an elevation of 2,333 feet. This lake develops a thermocline in summer, and suffers from water quality problems that limit visibility and may cause algae blooms in summer.
There is no free boat launch on the lake, but an excellent double concrete ramp with ample parking exists at the state park, which is located on the east side of the lake with access from Highway 21 about 8 miles from town. It has 82 vehicle campsites plus 5 primitive sites, including some with water and power. There also are rest rooms with showers, and expansive and pleasantly manicured lawns. Reservations are not available; camping is on a first-come, first-served basis. Gas, groceries, and a laundromat are available in town.
Republic itself is somewhat of a tourist destination. However, its economy was heavily dependent on a gold mine and lumber mill, both of which shut down. As a result, the area is economically distressed and the local residents are hurting for jobs and income. They will certainly appreciate your tourist business.
I can’t tell you much about how to fish this lake, because I’ve visited it only once. I can say, however, that is fun to fish because of the variety of structure; and it’s big enough to hold a decent number of fish and keep you interested in probing its secrets for several days. In August 2002, I spent three days scouting Curlew Lake, and didn’t see a single tiger muskie. No one I talked with knew much about them; the sketchy local lore indicated they hang around the docks and the railroad trestle at the north end (note, this is an active track). Nor is there much information in the Washingtonlakes.com lake reports. So, I'd pretty much be starting from scratch here, and I would work the obvious shallow weed beds, shoreline wood, around the islands, in bays and coves, and anywhere there’s a shelf with deep water nearby. There is a quite a bit of recreational boating traffic; so early morning, evening, and mid-week would be the preferred times to fish; and I’d be tempted to experiment with a reputed night fishery, too.
Driving directions: From I-90 take Hwy. 21 exit (between Moses Lake and Ritzville) and drive north through Odessa and Wilbur, take Keller’s Ferry across Lake Roosevelt, and continue through Republic (this is quite a long drive, and involves some of the steepest grades in the state). Hwy 21 skirts the east side of Curlew Lake and continues to the border crossing into Canada. From Spokane, take U.S. 395 through Chewelah and Colville, and after crossing Lake Roosevelt at Kettle Falls, turn south on state Highway 20 which veers west in about 3 miles and continues another 30-plus miles to the junction with Highway 21 (climbing steeply over Sherman Pass in the process). This is picturesque country and an enjoyable, but slow, drive because of the grades and switchbacks. At the junction, you can turn left and go 2 ½ miles into town, or turn right and go north about 5 or 6 miles to the state park entrance.
As always, feel free to dispute details of this report, or add your own.