2021 Lake Roosevelt Fishery Highlights

Details

Published: Thursday, 01 July 2021 17:18

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Colville Confederated Tribes and the Spokane Tribe of Indians cooperatively manage the Lake Roosevelt Fishery. In addition, the Volunteer Net Pen project provides critical support to maintaining 45 of 63 net pens distributed throughout Lake Roosevelt.

As Figure A shows, angler catch for all species varies between 113,000 and 204,000 fish annually. And the estimated number of hours anglers spent fishing varies between 246,000 and 390,000 hours per year. Rainbow Trout, White Sturgeon, Walleye and Smallmouth Bass are the most targeted species by recreational enthusiasts. The fight to suppress Northern Pike, a voracious predator that devastates other fish populations, provides additional angling opportunities.

Check the WDFW fishing pamphlet for the latest rules and regulations.

Rainbow Trout

In May, over 526,000 triploid (meaning they are sterile) Rainbow Trout were released from 63 net pens located between Keller Ferry and Kettle Falls. About 8 inches when released, they grow to 12 inches by mid-July and 18 inches by September. In addition, the Spokane Tribal Hatchery raised 30,000 1 to 2 pound rainbows for release in the Spokane Arm and Spring Canyon/Keller Ferry.

All hatchery/net pen Rainbow Trout are marked by removal of the adipose fin to ensure anglers can tell hatchery from wild trout. The harvest regulation is five hatchery Rainbow Trout per angler per day. All wild trout with an intact adipose fin must be released.

White Sturgeon

In June, the White Sturgeon fishery was opened from Grand Coulee Dam to China Bend Boat Ramp. There is a daily limit of 1 sturgeon and annual limit of 2 sturgeon. Those harvested must be between 50 inches and 63 inches fork length.  Fork length is measured from the tip of the snout to middle of the fork in the caudal fin (tail).  How long the fishery will remain open has not been determined, making it critical to regularly check WDFW rule changes.

This fishery is available due to White Sturgeon hatchery programs that began in 2001 in British Columbia (BC) and 2004 in Washington.  Efforts from Canadian and U.S. governments and tribes seek to reverse a decades-long decline of White Sturgeon in the Upper Columbia, including restoring natural recruitment.

With survival of hatchery-produced juvenile sturgeon higher than anticipated, the surplus became available for Lake Roosevelt harvest beginning in 2017.

Northern Pike

Anglers should kill ALL Northern Pike caught.

This non-native invasive species is a voracious predator that devastates other resident fish populations. Importantly, if they move down the Columbia, they will devastate salmon and steelhead populations. They also foul the ecosystem by introducing parasites and diseases, and competing with other species for food resources.

To meet the challenge, over $1 million is spent annually to suppress Northern Pike in Lake Roosevelt. Funding comes from BPA, tribes, utilities, and others.

In 2020, over 3,400 pike were removed from the system.  This brings the total of pike removed since 2015 to over 16,000. This spring, managers used gillnets as the focus of suppression efforts. For the summer, electro fishing will also be used to target juveniles.

Pike were first captured in Lake Roosevelt in 2007 and are now routinely captured in fisheries surveys throughout the northern section of Lake Roosevelt and the lower section of the Kettle River.

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Catch a Northern Pike, Make $10

The Colville Confederated Tribes are again offering rewards for catching Northern Pike.

Participants receive $10 for every Northern Pike caught and properly deposited at a drop off location. Go to www.cct-fnw.com/northern-pike for reward program rules and drop off locations. Over $11,000 was paid out last year!!

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Want to Know What’s Biting Where?

Visit www.spokanetribalfisheries.com/current-fishing-trends

Creel clerks from the Spokane Tribal Fisheries, the Colville Reservation and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are regularly uploading data to servers to provide near real-time access to catch information.