Roche Harbor Lake Fishing near Friday Harbor, Washington

• Overview

  The San Juan County end of Washington holds Roche Harbor Lake. The coast is 1.5 miles away. Around 30 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. A shoreline of some 1.2 miles keeps the choices simple. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Washington listings. Some 6.1 miles away sits Friday Harbor, the nearest settlement. After that come Gordon Head at 11 miles and Saanich at 12 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Roche Harbor Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Work the tide here — moving water feeds, slack water rests. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Roche Harbor Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 61°F for August and 40°F for January. Mild ends to the year keep the season long. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. It holds true on Roche Harbor Lake more years than not. Fish feed harder before a change in weather than after it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Parking sits half a mile out, which makes for a walk with tackle. Walleye come to jigs worked slow near bottom, and to trolled crankbaits along the drops at dusk. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Three Corner Lake, 1.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat Roche Harbor Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.