Sports Fishing


(the following is from the Fisheries Evaluation Program, Lake Roosevelt Forum.  For more, click here.)


Over 45,000 anglers a year catch an estimated 100,000 fish, bringing millions of dollars to Lake Roosevelt communities. The most common sport fishing is for rainbow trout, kokanee and walleye.

Rainbow Trout:


Artificial production that began in the 1980s dramatically increased harvest. Fishing for rainbow trout is common throughout the lake. Floy tags provide valuable biological information to monitor the condition of, and assess future management for, fish populations. So please help the program out by returning tags !!!

Walleye:


This non-native species spawns in the spring and grows rapidly by preying on native and non-native fish. Walleye fishing is best in the Spokane Arm and northern part of the lake from Kettle Falls to Northport.

Kokanee:


Kokanee are targeted by more than 18% of anglers, primarily in the lower reservoir where prime kokanee habitat exists. Anglers catch both hatchery reared and wild kokanee in Lake Roosevelt.



Hawk Creek: Fisheries Corey Rogers Hawk Creek, a tributary to Lake Roosevelt Reservoir, has been targeted as a potential dam site in a recent appraisal evaluation by the Department of Ecology and the Bureau of Reclamation. While Hawk Creek is not recommended as the most viable site in the report, it is still considered as one of three final site options. The Ecology report states that few environmental resources are present at the Hawk Creek site according to current literature, but it also notes that the site has not yet been well-studied. The lack of environmental data available for the Hawk Creek site could lead to an inaccurate assessment of the full ecological impact of the potential dam. Particularly, Hawk Creek may serve an important role in the Lake Roosevelt fishery. No federally-listed threatened or endangered species are known to occur within the creek at the potential reservoir site. However, the section of Hawk Creek between Lake Roosevelt and the potential dam does contain threatened bull trout. The fish are present in a three-mile stretch of Hawk Creek beginning at its intersection with Lake Roosevelt and ending roughly 0.8 miles downstream from the potential dam at a thirty-foot natural waterfall. There is evidence that this section of Hawk Creek may serve as important habitat for other fish species as well. [Image of the upper end of Hawk Creek just below the waterfalls.] CELP has learned that the area below the falls serves as a breeding site for kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. According to scientists from the Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Evaluation Program, high water levels in Lake Roosevelt during parts of the year inundate this section of Hawk Creek. This allows the fish to migrate into the creek from Lake Roosevelt. The plunge pool just below the waterfalls is used as a breeding site by kokanee in the fall and rainbow trout in the spring. [Image of Kokanee salmon.] Both populations are believed to be wild based on visual distinctions between hatchery and wild fish. However, no studies have been carried out to determine the genetic origins these populations. While it is unlikely that these fish are native to the creek, both species were native to the upper Columbia River. Therefore, their presence is important in restoring the historic fishery at Lake Roosevelt. Data is also lacking on the abundance and reproductive success of the fish. Each year, wild kokanee adults are captured and wild rainbow trout adults are observed in Hawk Creek. This suggests that successful reproduction may be occurring at the site. The limited information available on the fish species in Hawk Creek highlights the larger problem with the environmental assessment of the site in the Appraisal Evaluation. Without adequate ecological data, it is impossible to fully assess the environmental impact of the proposed dam. Corey Rogers served as a legal intern at CELP in 2007. His undergraduate studies were in biology and international studies, and he is currently a student at the University of Washington School of Law. To learn more about CELP’s legal intern program, click here. http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cwp/cr_storage.htmlhttp://www.celp.org/water/celpabout/Internships.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1
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Our Native Fishery (the following is from the Fisheries Evaluation Program, Lake Roosevelt Forum. For more, click here.) For nine thousand years, fisheries in the upper Columbia (Lake Roosevelt) and its tributaries were subsistence and cultural focal points for the upper Columbia tribes. An estimated 650,000 salmon and steelhead a year were harvested. Although these salmon runs were lost with the building of Grand Coulee Dam, restoring and protecting a robust native fishery is as important as ever. Today, there are 32 species of native and nonnative fish in Lake Roosevelt. Native species of highest interest to fishery managers are redband trout, kokanee and white sturgeon. These species provide the genetic and cultural links to the Upper Columbia River's nine thousand year history. Restoring the native fishery has specific challenges. Non-native predators like walleye and smallmouth bass are greatly valued by many anglers, but their high abundance and large appetites negatively impact native fish. Also, the number of white sturgeon has declined to dangerously low levels, leading to a ban on sturgeon fishing in Lake Roosevelt and the free flowing Columbia River above the lake. Currently, we are partnering with agencies and stakeholders in Canada on a white sturgeon recovery program. www.columbiasturgeon.org http://www.lrf.org/Env/Env-FisheriesEval.htmlhttp://www.columbiasturgeon.orgshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1

Images:  left,

Spokane Tribe;

center and right,

Lake Roosevelt

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