I only saw one day last week when I could plan a fishing trip and not risk getting blown off. Thursday was that day, so I got a couple of fishing buddies to try lakes that are east of Ritzville.

I met Mike McKee and Joe Moriarty at the Schrag Rest Area on I-90 on Thursday morning. After loading my gear into Mike’s truck, we headed east. All of us admitted that we had hardly slept at all the night before. We were all excited about the day ahead of us. We were going to be fishing Sprague Lake. Mike for the first time, I had not for at least seven years and Joe over 12 years ago. Sprague has a reputation for producing good catches of large rainbow trout, and we had boxes and boxes full of crank baits to try out. We launched on the south shore, just below the island, and headed down the lake.

It took a while before we found water over 12 feet deep, and we began testing a variety of plugs. In spite of our enthusiasm about our choices, the trout pretty much ignored our offerings. We really weren’t marking many fishing and the water was colored a dark brown. Visibility was maybe a foot, and that didn’t help. We did get several hits without hooking up until Mike finally landed a trout of maybe a foot long. Oh well, so much for our Sprague Lake adventure, but the day wasn’t over. We pulled the boat and headed south for Rock Lake with high hopes for better luck.

I want to try Sprague Lake again, when the water conditions improve, and the water warms up. This is a shallow lake so it shouldn’t take long. When it gets too warm for good trout fishing I can always fish for crappie and bluegill, which are abundant in Sprague.
Although the three of us had a disappointing morning on Sprague Lake, We had the weather window we wanted and had the moon in our favor. The water conditions weren’t so favorable, but we stuck with it until about 2 o’clock and then left to try Rock Lake. None of us had ever been to Rock Lake but had heard of the very good fishing for rainbow and particularly brown trout. Some say the next state record for brown trout could come from this lake. Rock Lake is the biggest natural lake in Eastern Washington, but access is limited. We found a good number of anglers fishing from shore at the launch area. One angler showed us a rainbow of about 18 inches, and another landed a 15 inch rainbow while we prepared to launch.

Mike had brought his drift boat knowing that he wouldn’t be able to launch his large Hughes Craft at Rock Lake. The launch is on a rock shelf that drops off sharply. I had inspected this launch a couple of years ago and decided I didn’t want to try and put my 20 foot Smoker Craft into the water here. I could imagine that my boat tires would fall off the end and I would be in trouble. I had been warned that there are hazards to watch for, and we saw depths of over 80 feet abruptly change to less than 10 feet. This occurred while trolling up the north and south shores of the lake. It will take a while to learn this lake. The best action was had by anglers that fished the very top end of the lake, and we didn’t get that far. We tried a variety of crank baits and got several good hits, but once again we only had one fish to show for our efforts. I will plan another trip to Rock Lake. It may take a little time to get this one dialed in. I expect that both Sprague and Rock lakes will fish better in the fall. This week’s photo is of Mike at the helm of his drift boat.

The weather has really warmed up and there are lots of sunny days in the forecast. There are also some windy days, which is typical in the spring in our region. You have to carefully check the weather sites to choose a day that will allow you to fish and not get blown off the water. The month of April is here and there are some events you will want to plan for.
The first one is the Triple Fish Challenge on Banks Lake. It is scheduled for April 14th through the 16th. New this year, on Friday the 14th organizers are inviting families to come to Coulee Playland where the kids can catch a fish at a trout pond and test their skill at a casting contest. Those who want to learn more about the Triple Fish Challenge can log onto www.reelrecreation.com to get all the details. On Saturday April 22nd the Kids Fishing Day at the Pit Pond in Rock Island will be happening. For over 20 years families have gathered at this Juveniles only fishing pond for a morning of fishing and enjoy hot dogs and other treats provided by volunteers from the City of Rock Island.

I got a couple of postcards in the mail this week from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The cards were a reminder that catch record cards need to be sent to the department by the end of this month. The information these cards provide are used to help manage anadromous fisheries throughout the state, and it is important to send them in. If you didn’t get a reminder card and have a catch record card you can send it to: WDFW CRC Unit, P.O. Box 43142, Olympia, WA 98504-3142. Be sure you include all the catch record cards that you have logged catches on, even if you didn’t catch anything.

I have been looking at webcams where I can find them that show the conditions at different lakes around the region. There are some lakes I like to fish in the early spring and many of them are still covered with ice. Fish Lake near Lake Wenatchee is a good example. I have lots of photos of fishing this lake in March, but it still looks like winter there. Anglers are getting out on Billy Clapp for trout and there are even some walleye being caught on Banks and Potholes Reservoir.