04_2025_REELLIFE_digital - Flipbook - Page 15
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Spring Ahead to Roses Lake By Jason Brooks
Looking back across the lake to the floating dock and small boat launch, it
appeared much farther away than it was.
Roses Lake, near the small
orchard community of
Manson, WA, is 130 acres
and surrounded by foothills
leading to the Cascade
mountains. Roses Lake
is not small, but also not
nearly as large as the
nearby 55-mile-long Lake
Chelan which is the main
reason why most visit
the farming valley. But
on this springtime day,
the afternoon winds had
come up, blowing down
the rolling hills and across
Roses Lake. Between me
and the newly redesigned
boat ramp stretched
a choppy expanse of
wind-driven waves and
whitecaps. In my small
12-foot rowboat, the real
challenge wasn’t just the
distance, it was the fact
that I’d be rowing straight
into the wind and crashing
waves.
It had been a good day of
fishing with several trout on
the stringer and even more
released as I rowed across
the lake. Towing a green
Mack’s Smile Blade fly in
olive green with two small
split shot a couple of feet
before the fly meant catch
and release was an option.
If you choose to use bait
then all fish caught must
be counted towards the
daily limit, even if released.
Once I got to the far shore
which is lined with cattails,
I opted to switch over to a
lightweight rod and a small
jig with a curly tail grub
under a float.
This provided non-stop
action with bluegills and
small largemouth bass.
Roses Lake offers anglers a
lot of options all year long.
I grew up fishing this lake
back when it was a winteronly fishery, opening on
December 1st and closing
on March 31st; it was very
popular with the locals.
Every weekend, dozens
of people sat on buckets
huddled around holes in
the ice. But by the time the
ice was gone, so were the
locals. It seems they had
their fill by March.
Then several years ago
the lake became a yearround season, now there
is no rush of fishermen on
December 1st.
