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Home › Waters › Washington › Moses Lake
Lake · Grant County in the Columbia Basin of central Washington · Washington

Moses Lake Fishing Guides

A sprawling, shallow desert lake in the Columbia Basin with three long arms, a strong walleye population and some of the best warmwater fishing in Washington.

Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Moses Lake

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About the Moses Lake

Moses Lake is the largest natural body of fresh water in Grant County and the centerpiece of the Columbia Basin’s warmwater fishing. It covers roughly sixty-eight hundred acres across three long, irregular arms, and it is shallow, averaging under twenty feet, with extensive weed growth, sand and mud bottom and a great deal of shoreline structure. Irrigation water from the Columbia Basin Project has kept its level far more stable than it was historically, which is a large part of why the fishery is as productive as it is.

Walleye are the main guided target and the population is genuinely strong, supported by an enormous forage base of perch and other panfish. The fishery works differently from the deep reservoir walleye fishing elsewhere in the West: fish here relate to weed edges, sand flats and the channel breaks between the arms rather than to deep rock. Trolling spinner rigs and bottom bouncers over the flats is the standard approach, and fish are often shallower than visitors expect.

The rest of the card is deep. Smallmouth bass hold on the rip-rap and rock along the causeways and the harder shorelines. Largemouth are abundant in the weed beds and among the docks of the town shoreline. Black crappie run to good sizes and are heavily fished in spring, yellow perch are everywhere, and channel catfish provide a warm-night fishery that almost nobody pursues. The setting is dry, open shrub-steppe country, so wind is the daily variable and the three-arm shape means a guide can nearly always find a lee somewhere on the lake. Water quality has been an ongoing management concern, with summer algae blooms in the shallower arms in some years, and guides plan around it by working the deeper channel water and the northern arm when the southern horns discolor.

Pool right now

1,046.67ft NGVD29
  • 24 hours0.00 ft → steady
  • For the dateLow for the date

Reading taken 47 min ago at USGS 12471000, MOSES LAKE AT MOSES LAKE, WA. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.

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Access

Cascade Park - the main public launch and campground on the west side, with parking and shore fishing.
Connelly Park - a south end ramp on Pelican Horn, protected in most winds.
Blue Heron Park - north end access, closest to the Rocky Ford and upper arm water.
The I-90 causeway and rip-rap - rock structure holding smallmouth bass through the summer.
Pelican Horn and Parker Horn - the two southern arms, weedy and productive for largemouth and crappie.
Potholes Reservoir, twenty minutes south - the standard alternative when wind shuts the lake down.
Moses Lake, the town - lodging, tackle, licenses and the base for local guides.

Seasons

Spring: crappie and perch move shallow and the walleye fishery turns on as the water warms through April and May.
Summer: walleye trolling over the flats and weed edges, with smallmouth on the rip-rap and largemouth in the docks.
Fall: the best big-walleye window of the year, with cooling water and much less recreational boat traffic.
Winter: ice fishing for perch and crappie in most years, though the ice is inconsistent and safety varies by arm.

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Questions

What species can you catch on the Moses Lake?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch on the Moses Lake in Washington.

Where can you access the Moses Lake?

Cascade Park - the main public launch and campground on the west side, with parking and shore fishing. Connelly Park - a south end ramp on Pelican Horn, protected in most winds. Blue Heron Park - north end access, closest to the Rocky Ford and upper arm water. The I-90 causeway and rip-rap - rock structure holding smallmouth bass through the summer. Pelican Horn and Parker Horn - the two southern arms, weedy and productive for largemouth and crappie. Potholes Reservoir, twenty minutes south - the standard alternative when wind shuts the lake down. Moses Lake, the town - lodging, tackle, licens...

When is the best time to fish the Moses Lake?

Spring: crappie and perch move shallow and the walleye fishery turns on as the water warms through April and May. Summer: walleye trolling over the flats and weed edges, with smallmouth on the rip-rap and largemouth in the docks. Fall: the best big-walleye window of the year, with cooling water and much less recreational boat traffic. Winter: ice fishing for perch and crappie in most years, though the ice is inconsistent and safety varies by arm.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Moses Lake?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Washington agency site: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations