Rock Lake’s Media – Social And Otherwise – Proof Trophy Trout

Remote, deep, large, dangerous northern Palouse water hosts good late winter fishing for big ’bows, browns.

By Jeff Holmes

Irecently read some guys on a Facebook page complaining about how the predecessor publication to Northwest Sportsman, the defunct Fishing and Hunting News, had ruined Rock Lake sometime in the late 1990s/ early 2000s through overexposure. Huh, I hadn’t noticed –at all. While it’s true that this beautiful, partly timbered, 7-mile-long, 365-foot-deep lake can receive periods of busyness, challenging the capacity of the largely undeveloped Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife public access, the lake is decidedly one of the least crowded in the Evergreen State and the only lake in Whitman County. No publication nor the internet has ruined it. And Rock fishes great in February and March, with the lake’s biggest rainbows and browns both feeding regularly.

WDFW stocks a shocking number of rainbows, which grow fat and heavy-shouldered by gorging on daphnia, crayfish, minnows and other trout. They also stock robust numbers of brown trout, which can grow to double-digit-pound sizes. I try to retain five big rainbows pretty much every time I visit, but I release 99 percent of my browns because they taste very poor and are more valuable left to grow big for another angler. The lake’s rainbows are delicious and can top 20 inches, with my boat’s biggest being 24 inches, but the lake’s browns grow much larger. I have landed them to 27.5 inches, have seen and hooked them much longer, and can verify a 34.5-incher that was landed.

Rock isn’t solely comprised of big trout, but the lake has more than its fair share, including plenty of 15- to 20-plus-inch rainbows for the smoker. Here follows some good general advice and three tried-andtrue approaches for this February and March at Rock Lake that will put smoked trout in your dip.

February Findings

Rock is famously a winter fishery, and the lake’s biggest fish often get quite active and shallow in this lake that never freezes due to the insulating warmth of its great depth. Rainbows will be found in the top 20 feet of the surface in late winter, and browns can be found shallow along shorelines. Browns can also be found deeper than 20 feet during periods of intense brightness, but generally the fish are up top.

Rock Lake is famous for its browns, but far more rainbows live in the lake and some really tasty ones at that. Wyatt Wireman holds one of many in this class that we caught on a particularly productive day. (JEFF HOLMES)

In general, Rock is a trolling fishery for most, and following shorelines is a popular approach. Many fish orient in close proximity to shorelines, but I have done well trolling open water too. Although most troll, casting big lures and flies at shoreline structure in the early morning and evening –and all day on overcast days –results in a lot of the lake’s biggest browns. Big rainbows also show themselves by biting lures and flies intended for trophy browns.

Definitely dress warm in February at Rock, and avoid the lake altogether when it’s windy, but most days in February are calm and great candidates for some of Washington’s best trout fishing.

TROLLING A FLY: One reason I’ve yet to catch a 30-inch brown at Rock is because of the two decades of obsessively fly fishing the lake. In my core arsenal at Rock, I still include fast, full-sink fly lines on my 5-, 6- and 7-weight rods. I run 3X and 4X tippets, and to them I tie a wide variety of streamers for different purposes. When I want to limit on holdover rainbows or bring beginner to intermediate anglers to Rock, best believe they will be handed a flyrod and that they will have action and will be able to brag about how they went fly fishing.

Whether sticking with dull brown and olive Mohair Leeches, Bunny Leeches or Crystal Flash Woolly Buggers, or upsizing to giant leeches and streamers of 4 to 8 inches, we will catch fish, just bigger ones and more browns with the huge flies. Troll slowly (.8 to 1.5 mph), but vary speed and incorporate turns as you explore the many miles of trollable shoreline.

TROLLING LURES: Back in those good old days of the ’90s before F&H News ruined Rock Lake, a lot of anglers just trolled around with steelhead plugs and other favorite lures in the top of the water column. Lots still do, and probably most Rock Lake anglers troll some variety of lure. It is the most popular and tried-and-true approach

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