Fishin' Reports

Fishing for triploid rainbow trout on Lake Roosevelt is outstanding, and it will continue to be that way—thanks to the joint effort by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, and the Lake Roosevelt Net Pen Project. Hundreds of thousands of trout will be released from net pens and fish hatcheries in northeast Washington over the next two weeks. These fish come from three sources: WDFW’s Sherman Creek Hatchery, the Spokane Tribal Hatchery and the Lake Roosevelt Volunteer Net Pens. This program has been going on for over 25 years to create a terrific fishery. Over 475,000 will be released from the Sherman Creek Net Pens and the Lake Roosevelt Volunteer Net Pens. The fish will average 8 to 12 inches. These fish will grow to be 18 inches or greater over the coming months. The Spokane Tribe, with support from the WDFW staff and tanker trucks will also be releasing 10,000 triploid rainbow into the lower third of the lake. These will average about a pound. Although most of the trout fishing occurs in the fall and winter, abundant numbers of rainbow of exceptional quality are available year-round in Lake Roosevelt.