Washington is a beautiful area of the United States and on top of that, they have good places to go ice fishing. Spokane has plenty of lakes surrounding it that you could ice fish at. Let’s talk about some.
- Hog Canyon Lake
- Potholes Reservoir
- Long Lake
- Fish Lake
- Roses Lake
- Moses Lake
- Bead Lake
- Sullivan Lake
Being from the Pacific Northwest, I am a little biased but this area is beautiful and such a wonderful place to go enjoy nature in the winter. I highly recommend going to these places that I am sharing with you. Ice fishing here at these different lakes will give you a feel of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer.
Hog Canyon Lake
Types of Fish: Rainbow trout
Hog lake actually opens up early for fishers. It opens up on Black Friday which I love because Black Friday is one of my least favorite things in existence. Instead of doing that, you could be out ice fishing. What a great trade-off.
The regulation for how many fish you can keep is 5 currently. These can be of any size and this is in effect throughout the season. That is a pretty good amount and 5 rainbow trout is not a bad haul for a day.
December and January are your best months to ice fish. Late November is also prime time to ice fish. February is a good month to ice fish as well. It is not as successful as January and December historically but it is still worth your time.
Access is safe. There are some parts that are not safe because of drop-offs but there is an access site near the north end of the lake that gets you to the lake safely.
Potholes Reservoir
Types of Fish: Walleye, black crappie, common carp, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, lake whitefish, yellow perch, bluegill
Even though the name sounds offputting and funny, Potholes Reservoir is a great place to ice fish and has a wide variety of fish. You will not get bored here. There are lakes near here like Moses Lake if you want to try out other areas too.
Potholes Reservoir is open all year round and the fishing here is good all year round. They have some big fish here. Some of the rainbow trout reach up to 20 inches. Most of the rainbow trout are only 12 inches. Either way, the fish here are winners.
The most popular fish here are rainbow trout, walleye, and bass in both variations. During the winter when it freezes over the yellow perch, walleye, and rainbow trout are available.
Long Lake
Types of Fish: Largemouth bass, yellow perch, rainbow trout, rock bass
Long Lake is a big lake. It definitely earns the name of long lake. It is a pretty lake and plenty of people spend time there. Long Lake is surrounded by plenty of other lakes that you can have access too.
The access is really good. They have plenty of areas for you to get down to the lake. There are some boat launches there for access. It has plenty of fish varieties to fish for. Yellow perch are the kind of fish you will find more in the winter.
I remember fishing up there and having a good time. I have not been back in a while. But when I was there the area was beautiful and peaceful. I highly recommend checking it out.
Fish Lake
Types of Fish: Rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, German brown trout, yellow perch, redside shiner, northern pikeminnow, largescale sucker
Near Lake Wenatchee is Fish Lake and Fish Lake has tons of fish. With a name like that, it has to. The fishing here is good year-round. January and February are prime months of ice fishing. I would recommend going out early in the morning to this place during this time of year.
Fish Lake has some good structures around the south side of the lake. These make for great feeding areas for bigger fish. Use that knowledge to your advantage. There are two spots in particular that almost are like a plateau. Underwater plateaus are popular areas for trout to catch small fish.
You can catch a variety of fish as you can see from my list up there. There are plenty of trout in these lakes around and fish you do not see very often like the largescale sucker.
Roses Lake
Types of Fish: Tiger trout, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, brown trout, channel catfish, largemouth bass, brown bullhead black crappie, rainbow trout, yellow perch
Roses Lake is a fairly simple lake that just gets deeper as you go in. This is nice sometimes because it is predictable. You know that the fish are gonna be closer to the top in the early season and closer to the bottom in the late season.
The shore access is really good around the south side of the lake near the bottom. You are going to head right into the water about 9 feet deep and it steadily gets deeper.
Off to the northeast, there is a mountain that has some nice scenery to look at while ice fishing. I am telling you. The Pacific Northwest is so pretty. It is a beautiful area that you have to experience.
There is a huge variety of fish here for you to check out. Some of them are extremely uncommon ones that I have never heard of before going there but you have your classics as well.
Moses Lake
Types of Fish: Rainbow trout, common carp, bluegill, black crappie, channel catfish, lake whitefish, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye, yellow perch
Moses lake is a really cool area. I have a couple of friends who live here. They have big fish here. Some of the popular ones are walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and rainbow trout. Some of their rainbow trout have reached 20 inches or more.
The fall and winter have been really good to fishers. Both of those times the fishing is prime and there is plenty to catch. There are large schools of fish that are found and fished throughout this time. Yellow perch fishing is popular during this time.
Moses Lake is a pretty popular place for people to visit. It is not the quietest or out of the way place. I highly suggest not going here too much if you are looking for solitude while you ice fish. Otherwise, I would say come here, it is a really neat place in Washington.
Bead Lake
Types of Fish: Northern pike, minnow, lake trout, kokanee, burbot
North of Newport, Washington is Bead Lake. It has a jagged like look to it. It spreads out in three different directions. It is one of the coolest lake formations I have ever seen in my life.
You can find a few different kinds of fish here. Fun fact: The Department of Fish and Wildlife do not stock this lake with fish. For whatever reason, the fish reproduce enough to keep the lake stocked themselves. All of the fish stated above do this for themselves. Pretty cool, huh? That plus the unique formation of the lake will make for an experience not soon forgotten.
Since the formation is really unique, it can be difficult to get down to the lake. You would have to use the boat ramp. Fortunately, during the winter it is easier than in the summertime.
Sullivan Lake
Types of Fish: Pygmy whitefish, redside shiner, westslope cuttthroat trout, rainbow trout, kokanee, burbot, brown trout, tench, mountain whitefish
Located in the Colville National Forest is Sullivan Lake. This lake is really deep. Deeper than most of the other lakes on this list. It sits in a valley between two mountains. Off to the west is Sand Creek Mountain and east has Hall Mountain.
The best thing to fish for in the winter is burbot. Most of the other fish are terrible to fish for during the winter. Even the brown trout and rainbow trout. This place is probably better to go to during the spring or summer. In the winter burbot is your best choice.
The shoreline is hard to access, especially in a vehicle because of the steep sides to the east and west. The lake is a long strip between the two mountains with small access points on the north and south. You can get there but it is limited in where you can access it from.