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Rock Lake Report
Whitman County, WA

Details

12/31/2007
Trolling
Rainbow Trout
None
Other
Spoons
All Day
01/01/2008
3
523

Slow day on Rock until 2 pm. Then from 2-2:30 hooked up 6 trout:: 5 browns and 1 rainbow (which I really believe was a Kokonee----are there Kokonee in Rock?). 2 colors of leaded line with a small Needlefish perch pattern---- orange/green/gold,----just knocked them dead for 30 minutes. Lots of other bites throughout the day, but hook-ups were few until that 30 minute window. Is that typical for Rock? I'm a newby to the lake and still trying to figure it out. By the way, the rainbow/kokonee and one of the browns were very nice: 18+ inches and fat. 4 of the browns were skinny, about 12-13 inches long. Beautiful setting for a lake, though and aptley named.


Comments

crappie007
1/1/2008 11:58:00 PM
I've heard yes and no on the kokonee. I caught a trout there that looked like a cross between a rainbow and a brown.
I have best luck there in the late afternoon hours, I'll troll rapala's on mono line about 150 ft out and at speeds from
1-3 mph. I also troll a hot pink apex which works really well. I dont think the 30 minute window is typical. I've seen
people take limits in a hour and i've seen others take all day, I've also seen catch and release guys catching 1 every
10-20 minutes all day on a fly rod.
Anglinarcher
1/2/2008 12:46:00 PM
Browns are a lot thinner than Rainbows, simply the genetics, and at 12" or 13", they have not changed over to the Crayfish and Bullheads that will fatten them up later in life.

The thirty minute window is not unheard of at Rock, but usually if you look for the shadows, or for the sun, you can find out what they are looking for there. Also, 10 feet deep (two colors of lead) is usually kind of shallow for trolling there. Did you try deeper, perhaps 4 or 5 colors?

Kokanees? Perhaps. Chapman lake, two lakes upstream in the Rock Creek System, is planted heavily with Kokanees. It is possible, however unlikely, that some have made it from Chapman to Bonnie and now to Rock.

Crappie007, I am sure that the F & W did not plant a cross in the lake, and I doubt that any spawning takes place in the inlet stream. Browns usually spawn in the fall and rainbows spawn in the spring. I suspect that what you caught was a brown that had been spending a lot of time over deep water. They change colors to a light body with lighter black spots. Could this explain your fish????

troutguy, how was the launch, was there snow and/or ice that made launching difficult?
crappie007
1/2/2008 2:17:00 PM
Anglinarcher, yeah I think that could explain the fish I caught. Really light colored body, I remember that well.
troutguy
1/2/2008 6:10:00 PM
Anglinarcher: Boat launch is pure ice. I got out today and boated 20 in 5 hours. Must have missed 50+. Only 3 bows today---both 18+ inches and fat. Browns again were 12-14", but when you hit as many as I did it is still fun. I only do catch and release, so there are at least 20 trout still in the lake. Ran into some deer high up on the rocky hillside. What a great area.
PhilSoucy
1/7/2008 2:25:00 PM
It wouldn't suprise to catch a Koke in Rock Lake. I caught two in Liberty Lake last sumer, of all places. Strange.
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Available Guide

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

Phone: (509) 687-0709