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Rock Lake Report
Whitman County, WA

Details

04/09/2011
Rainbow Trout
All Day
04/09/2011
1
995

I had a buddy take me to Rock Lake today. I had never been there and he had never fished it. We started about 8 am and finished around 4pm. We tried trolling, bottom fishing, top fishing with bobbers and casting lures. We used powerbaits, worms and marshmallows throughout the day. It seemed not matter what we used or how we did it we could not even buy a bite. The water was pretty murky and the wind blew all day. We saw lots of people giving it a go and only spoke to one person who had any luck.......He also had a full limit. Seems to be that we just do not know what it takes to get the fish interested. Although we had no bites it was still a nice to be on the water and see some new territory.
I have read on here that some days you just have to "pay your dues". Today we paid!


Comments

rwl
4/10/2011 9:46:00 AM
It was slow for me yesterday. 2 bites in 3 hours of fishing in the afternoon both on a perch colored husky jerk. Hit a lot of spots that normally produce, was better thursday, maybe too many boats on the water Saturday. Water temp was 42.
Anglinarcher
4/10/2011 6:16:00 PM
Saturday was a good day for me. But I think the problems for most are multi-fold.

First off, the water looks bad, with the inlet darker then the outlet, but the water is muddy to very stained everywhere.

Next, I was convinced that the water could not get higher in Rock: I was wrong. The water outflowing is crazy and the levels are crazy high.,

Third, the water is cold, very cold compared to the temperatures on Rock for this time of year compared to the last 5 years. As a result, the fish are not feeding like normal. My thermometer gave readings as high as 43 degrees at the downwind side and inlet, but the outlet which was the upwind side was only 38 degrees. That has been the temperature of Rock for months now.

Still, the fish are moving if you are there at the right time and in the right location. One hint I will give is that to the South of the boat launch, the water is over the shallow shelf. At the edge of that shelf fish were rising everywhere just before sun rise. After sun rise, they stopped. When I left the lake later in the day no one from shore had any fish. I was also unable to find a single fish on my locater in that area. It appears that the fish are feeding then sitting on the bottom with lock jaw. Catch it right and you may do well, miss the feeding spree and you will waste your day.
rwl
4/11/2011 6:49:00 AM
I saw a lot of fish rising late morning last week right next to the shore but they didn't seem to be interested in rapalas. Anglinarcher any hints on what works with the off color water? I didn't mention that one of the hits Saturday resulted in a hawg that I C&Rd.
Anglinarcher
4/11/2011 8:21:00 AM
Two of us hit several hogs, and helped one guy land a hog as well: all C&Rd. With the color of the water, I it is really a trial and error thing. We found that color, action, and size changed every few minutes, as the light changed and as the mud changed.

Still, those risers I mentioned are the bows, some quite nice. I would suggest that it is strange the pontoon navy is not out there just before sun-up, tossing leach patterns on intermediate fly lines. They seem to be taking moss off the top, but also small bugs that are hatching as well. A large, dark, slow leach always works for me when I do that in that area.
tomnordman
4/18/2011 8:05:00 PM
I am new to fishing at Rock Lake but have had very good sucess until lately. I am very interested in the large number of fish I mark at 100 ft deep (give or take) do yo have any suggestions as how to get to these fish, I have a downriggger but am reluctant to use it as the bottom changes so fast. I need advice from you guys, should I just drop it down and troll or what. Thanks, I always release what I catch as the fun for me is catching.
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service

Phone: (509) 687-0709