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Rock Lake Report
Whitman County, WA

Details

06/01/2009
Rainbow Trout
Morning
06/04/2009
3
978

I fished Rock on May 30th in the afternoon, then again on June 1st in the morning, and the Trout have gone deep. The water temperature was in the middle 60s. We did hit some outsized Browns, a few of them, and a couple of undersized rainbows, but again, the finder showed fish deep.

Now, the Bass are another thing. Rock is so much colder then the other lakes that the Bass are just not starting to make beds. I expect that the Bass will be bedding soon, so please practice C&R if you are going to target them.

The bluegills are starting to show up as well, but I was not lucky enough to find the crappie yet.

Oh ya, technique(s) used, everything. Color - everything. Location was more important then color. Also, the water is super clear right now. I was shocked at how fast the water cleared up. The creek is still muddy, but a lot lower. Suckers are now spawing in the main lake. The carp are still spawning near the outlet, just south of the launch.


Comments

Larsoncanal
6/15/2009 7:40:00 PM
Anglinarcher,
Thanks for the reports on Rock. This is truly an amazing lake to fish, but I don't get to fish it much as I live out on Long Lake and it is hard to pull myself away to fish another lake. Are you sure the bass haven't started to spawn. On Long Lake the bass always spawn around 60 degrees and prior to the carp by about 3 weeks. I would be shocked if they weren't spawning with the water in the mid 60 degree temps and the carp now spawning. I haven't fished the spawn on Rock so they may be different. As you said, catch and release is critical for bass as they are easy to target during the spawn, especially with clear water.
Anglinarcher
6/16/2009 2:22:00 PM
Larsoncanal, no, the Bass were not spawning yet. Keep in mind that most of Rock is deep, very deep, and the water is always behind in warming up. Also, the outlet area where the Carp were spawning is a shallow ledge, with only a couple of feet of water over it at this time, so the water temperature is several degrees warmer, perhaps up to 15 degrees warmer. I went back out there and caught a couple of 17+ Bass after this trip, and one took a Senko way to deep, so I kept her. It turns out that she confirmed for me that at least not all of the bass had spawned yet, she was full of eggs. By now, June 16, I expect the Bass to have started if not completed the compressed spawn that they do out there. A friend will be back today so perhaps he will report on this.

PS, I can understand not wanting to leave Long Lake. I posted a report just a little later on Long, and even the SMB had not spawned out, and they spawn earlier then the LMB, so perhaps it is just this year. I suppose that if all you do is C&R, there is no way to know for sure, but when you keep a hurt bass, the insides often speak volumns.
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Available Guide

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

Phone: (509) 687-0709