Rock Lake is a few miles west of Pilot Mound, Manitoba. It was made by damming the Pembina River.

Coincidentally, you can also fish at the dam. The dam is not big, but it is a beautiful little place. Most of the fish caught there are catfish, but they can provide some fun. Rock Lake itself has two public releases. One can be found at the east end of the lake and the other at the west end of the lake. The launch at the east end is quite shallow. There is no dock – you back your boat into the water. The area around this launch is also pretty good for shore fishing. Most of what is caught from the shore is pike, and the lake boasts some pretty big, fighting ones. Because the lake is surrounded by large rocks, it is possible to walk along the shore to find a good spot to fish. The other launch is at the west end of the lake. The west end has a summer cottage community, but it’s quite small. The pitch itself goes deep faster than the one on the east end, but the pullback is pretty steep too. Practically in front of the launch on the west end is a camp. There’s an actual jetty there, but you have to endure many miles of gravel road to get there, and for those of us trying to maintain paint on our boats, this isn’t the best place to go with a boat you value. .

Fishing from a boat gives you the best chance of catching walleye at Rock Lake. Trolling close to shore, particularly on the south side, can be rewarding. Of course, every day is different. You can go out one day and reach your limit, and the next day all you will get is frustration. For those of us who enjoy fishing, this is par for the course. Fishing is as much about relaxing and being outdoors as it is about fishing. The disadvantage of Rock Lake is that it is not a deep lake. What this means is that from the end of June to September/October, there is a lot of algae in the water. This material gets caught on the outboard motor and sticks to its hook. With patience, there are places that have a minimum of algae and the fishing can still be quite good even when the water reaches a temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. There are also a lot of dead trees in the water, so it’s not uncommon to get caught on a branch. We have broken very few lines even when caught in a tree or branch. It is usually possible to free the line without breaking it. Right now there is not a lot of development on the lake as far as cabins go, but this is changing.

When we fish Rock Lake, we usually take a few salty minnows with us, mostly out of habit. What works best in this lake, at least for us, are plastics. Yellow and black, green, or a combination of orange/yellow/green seem to produce the most success. We’ve never caught large walleye or walleye in this lake, but an 18- to 21-inch walleye is a good fish to eat, and the lake abounds at this size.

Rock Lake has recreational boat traffic: water skiers, jet skis, etc. Most of these people stay more in the middle of the lake and for the most part fellow boaters try to respect each other when it comes to speed and wake.