Lake Profile: Red Rock Lake

[Don Wittenberger]

This small irrigation runoff impoundment a few miles south of Potholes was stocked with tiger muskies, but after reading this report you'll probably conclude it's not worth fishing (for muskies, anyway) as it's extremely unlikely there are still any tiger muskies here.

Red Rock Lake is a natural corral that traps water entering from two irrigation canals. A "lake" of sorts has existed in this little canyon since 1966, and the Bureau of Reclamation built a dike in 1982 to prevent flash flooding of the railroad track below. The dike was constructed of rock fill and designed to allow slow seepage, but has sealed and now acts as a dam. The outflow is a concrete culvert, and the water level can fluctuate, at times making boat access difficult.

Access is via a dirt road ending at the boat landing, which is nothing but a mud bank. The road loops here, so you have good turnaround, with parking along the side of the road. The boat landing looks like it won't support a trailer, and I was very nervous about putting my boat in there, but it's better than it looks; people launch big bass boats here all the time. However, the landing is very shallow and you'll do some wading to get your boat in and out.

Although the setting is treeless scrub land typical of eastern Washington coulee country, it's a pretty little lake with charming solitude and two picturesque waterfalls. Red Rock Lake is surrounded by public land owned by WDFW, the state Department of Natural Resources, and the Bureau of Reclamation. WDFW manages it for mixed-species fishing.

The lake lies at an elevation of 681 feet and covers 217 surface acres. It is long and narrow, enclosed by basalt cliffs on three sides, and much of it is fairly shallow although it's over 10 feet deep in places. I don't know what the maximum depth is, and in any case, this varies depending on the water level. The lake sports a copious amount of weeds, including pad fields and reeds. Even if there are no muskies, you have a chance of finding a few decent largemouth in here. The lake is not well known and isn't fished much.

WDFW planted 1,500 6-to-8 inch tiger musky fingerlings and 144 15-inch juvenile tiger muskies in 1997, and 400 12-inch tiger musky fingerlings in 1999. WDFW discontinued tiger musky stocking in this lake after the 1999 plant because the Quincy Irrigation District removed the outflow standpipe that kept the tiger muskies from escaping into the irrigation canals because it was a boating hazard and therefore a potential legal liability. Here's why I think Red Rock Lake has no tiger muskies left in it:

1. A lake of this size can't support more than 50 to 100 adult tiger muskies to begin with.
2. After the standpipe was removed, the tiger muskies could escape through the culvert.
3. The poor migrant workers living in the area who fish this lake probably eat anything they catch.
4. The bass fishermen who come here also may have harvested some tiger muskies.
5. Tiger muskies typically live 6 to 8 years, and as it has been 8 years since the last stocking, we are now at the end of the normal life span of the tiger muskies that were stocked here.
6. A 2005 WDFW electroshocking survey turned up no tiger muskies.
7. When I fished Red Rock Lake a couple years ago, I didn't see any tiger muskies.

If you want to do some exploratory fishing there anyway, here's how you get there. If you're coming from Spokane, turn south at Moses Lake on Highway 17 as if you were going to Potholes, but continue south to Othello, then turn west on Highway 26 and drive most of the way to Royal City (about 20 miles). From Seattle, after crossing the I-90 bridge over the Columbia River at Vantage, turn south on Highway 26 which veers eastward in about a mile and drive through Royal City (about 20 miles). From either direction, look for County Road E S.W. about a mile east of Royal City. There is a Texaco gas station here called Brownie's Corner. Turn south, go across the railroad tracks, and drop down a fairly steep downgrade for about a mile. Look for a "Public Fishing" sign to your left and turn onto the dirt road. Follow it about 3/4 mile to where it ends at the boat landing.

Nobody will care if you camp overnight, but there's no amenities whatsoever, and you'll have to bring your own drinking water. And given the isolation of this spot, I'd be nervous about being alone overnight here. This is the kind of place where rough people might come to drink or worse. I tried to convince myself I was packing the gun only for rattlesnakes. Do look and listen before wandering around in the grass.