Curlew Lake is a reservoir in Washington, near Ferry County.
Stocking records show that the following fish or strains were stocked here. A historical stocking does not by itself prove that a self-sustaining population remains today.
Curlew Lake is a reservoir in Ferry County, Washington and covers about 861.4 acres.
There is enough room for fish to move at Curlew Lake, so compare a protected side with a windblown bank before settling on one depth.
Curlew Lake is a long Ferry County lake known for rainbow trout, tiger muskie, largemouth bass, and yellow perch. Islands, weeds, docks, and a narrow north end create many shallow targets.
Troll small flies or spinners for rainbow trout, work plastics around weeds for largemouth, use worms or tiny jigs for perch, and reserve stout tackle for tiger muskie.
The 2014 Washington tiger muskie record came from Curlew. Perch schools often gather near weeds, while trout can be spread across more open water.
After the first bite on Curlew Lake, note whether it came from moving water, rock, weeds, wood, or open water because that one detail is more useful than a broad report from another end of the lake and tells you what kind of feature to repeat nearby.
Keep Curlew Lake's open-water fish and shoreline fish on separate passes because the main targets here include rainbow trout, tiger muskie, largemouth bass and yellow perch, and those fish do not all use the same cover, depth, or lure speed even when they are feeding in the same part of the lake.
Before leaving Curlew Lake, compare the best feature at two nearby depths and change lure speed once so that short check shows whether the problem is the location or the presentation without turning the rest of the trip into random casting.
Fish listed for Curlew Lake include Rainbow Trout, Tiger Muskie, Largemouth Bass, and Yellow Perch.
During a quick scouting pass near scattered wood in stained water, keep a small jig tipped with a worm or minnow close to bottom on a shelf for yellow perch.
During a check of nearby water near a firm-bottom flat under flat light, work a soft plastic, jig, or spinnerbait around weeds and protected cover for largemouth bass.
For tiger muskie, cover weed edges and point tips with a bucktail or sturdy jerkbait on a strong leader.
During the first hour near a protected point near visible bait, cast a small spoon, inline spinner, light jig, or fly through cool water for rainbow trout.
During a slow shoreline pass near a rocky edge before changing depth, Make one shallow pass and one deeper pass on the same shoreline; that shows whether fish are tight to cover or using the first break.
While using a shallow-to-deep search near the downwind side where food is present, early in the year, protected water and the first warm afternoon can be the best clues; as the water heats up, check deeper edges without assuming every fish is on the bottom; cooling fall water often makes points and firm banks useful again.
A medium spinning rod with 8- to 10-pound line handles most jigs and small casting baits; add a stronger outfit and a proper leader when tiger muskie are the target.
During a slow shoreline pass near a narrow cove beside useful cover, record the wind, water color, lure depth that worked, and cover after a bite; those four notes are more useful on the next trip than a long list of spots that did not produce.
During a check of nearby water near the first break before changing depth, keep the first hour simple: use one moving bait to find active fish, slow down with a jig or natural bait on the best edge, and repeat the same setup when two bites come from matching depth and bottom during that part of the trip.
The main difference is easy to see: Curlew Lake is a long Ferry County lake known for rainbow trout, tiger muskie, largemouth bass, and yellow perch.
Start simply: Troll small flies or spinners for rainbow trout, work plastics around weeds for largemouth, use worms or tiny jigs for perch, and reserve stout tackle for tiger muskie.
Watch this closely: The 2014 Washington tiger muskie record came from Curlew.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.