Fishing Northeast Washington: Big Trout, Walleye, Bass and a Few Fish With a Price on Their Heads

When we moved to Northeast Washington, I figured fishing was fishing.

• Find water.
• Throw in a line.
• Catch fish.

Nope.

Fishing here was different from what I grew up with.

The lakes were different. The rivers were different. The fish behaved differently. And Lake Roosevelt, which is the Columbia River backed up behind Grand Coulee Dam, is an enormous body of water.

You can have the best lure in the world dangling beneath your boat, but if there aren’t any fish underneath you, you’re basically feeding water.

It took me a few years, and quite a bit of help from local fishermen, to begin figuring things out.

So if you’re new to Northeast Washington and love to fish, here is one of the best pieces of advice I can give you:

Find somebody local who knows how to fish these waters. Better yet, go out with them a few times.

There are also professional fishing guides in our area. Hiring one for a day can shorten the learning curve dramatically. Instead of spending three years trying to figure out where the walleye are hiding, you can spend a day with somebody who already knows where the fish tend to be, what depth they are running and what is working.

You’ll probably start hooking into lunkers a lot faster.

Learn the Fish, Not Just the Lure

I’ve been fortunate to become friends with some very successful anglers.

One thing I’ve learned from them is that serious fishermen study their target species.

They don’t just study lures.

They study fish.

• Where does it spawn?
• What temperature does it prefer?
• What does it eat?
• When does it feed?
• How deep does it go during the summer?
• Does it prefer bright water or low-light conditions?
• Does it stay near the bottom or suspend in open water?

Learning those things can make the difference between a great day of fishing and spending six hours casting expensive tackle into empty water.

Trout: Usually the Cooperative Ones

For me, trout are probably among the easiest fish to understand.

Water temperature affects their behavior, of course, but trout tend to be fairly predictable. Depending on the water, they can be caught with spinners, flies, worms, salmon eggs, PowerBait and a variety of other traditional offerings.

And Northeast Washington has some very good trout fishing.

One fish we definitely shouldn’t overlook is the large rainbow trout in Lake Roosevelt.

These are an important fish for local anglers, particularly during the cooler months. As the water cools, trout become easier to reach, and salmon eggs and PowerBait can be very effective. Trolling spinners, spoons and other rigs is also popular.

There are some genuinely impressive trout swimming around in that Columbia River water.

Walleye: Now Things Get Interesting

Walleye are another story.

Walleye can be wonderfully frustrating.

• Water temperature affects their appetite.
• Light affects them.
• Their depth changes.
• Their feeding areas change.

Sometimes you find them and fishing is fantastic.

Other times you can be using exactly the right bait in exactly the wrong place.

That is one reason a good fish finder becomes so valuable on Lake Roosevelt.

The river is huge.

You can cast for hours over empty water without knowing it.

Walleye often hold near the bottom, and anglers use everything from nightcrawlers and jigs to sophisticated trolling rigs.

And because walleye are considered excellent eating fish, they have developed a very loyal following here.

The Governor’s Cup

In fact, walleye fishing is serious enough around here that Kettle Falls hosts the Washington State Governor’s Cup Walleye Tournament on Lake Roosevelt.

The Lake Roosevelt Walleye Club calls itself the home of the annual tournament, and the event is held at Kettle Falls Marina.

That probably tells you something about how seriously some folks around here take their walleye.

For some anglers fishing is recreation.

For others it is apparently closer to competitive combat conducted from a boat.

Smallmouth Bass: The Fighters

We also have smallmouth bass in Lake Roosevelt and the Columbia River.

They don’t seem to receive quite as much attention locally as trout and walleye, but they’re here.

And they’re fun.

Smallmouth bass have an attitude.

Hook one and you may suddenly discover that the fish on the other end of the line has decided it weighs 40 pounds.

They like rocky shorelines, structure, points and drop-offs, and they can be caught with jigs, crankbaits, soft plastics, spinners and other bass tackle.

Kokanee

Then there are kokanee, which are landlocked sockeye salmon.

Kokanee can provide terrific fishing, particularly during spring and early summer.

As the water warms they generally move deeper, which again makes electronics helpful.

Brightly colored spinners, spoons and trolling rigs are popular. Many anglers troll behind dodgers or blades.

Kokanee also have another important characteristic:

They taste really good.

Sometimes that is reason enough to go fishing.

The Giant in the River: White Sturgeon

Lake Roosevelt also contains white sturgeon.

These are extraordinary fish.

They look prehistoric because, frankly, they pretty much are.

A large sturgeon can make the trout you were bragging about last week seem slightly less impressive.

Sturgeon fishing is carefully regulated, however, and legal harvest seasons, size ranges and limits can change.

So this is one species where you absolutely want to check the current Washington fishing regulations before heading out.

Twin Lakes Near Inchelium

One of the real gems in our area is Twin Lakes, west of Inchelium on the Colville Indian Reservation.

These lakes are known for excellent trout and bass fishing.

I’ve heard reports for years of anglers catching four- and five-pound bass there.

That’s a serious bass.

The trout can also get quite large.

Because Twin Lakes are on the Colville Indian Reservation, make sure you check the current Colville Tribal fishing permit requirements before fishing. Permit requirements and regulations can differ from Washington state-managed waters.

This is one of those places where you can spend a beautiful summer day surrounded by timber, mountains and water and suddenly remember why you moved to Northeast Washington in the first place.

Waitts Lake

Another favorite of mine is Waitts Lake, about four miles west of Valley.

I’ve caught some really nice trout there.

Waitts has both rainbow trout and brown trout, and WDFW reports that both species are stocked there. The lake also contains largemouth bass and yellow perch. It is currently open year-round, with public shoreline access near the boat launch and private resorts offering some dock fishing.

Spring can be particularly productive for the rainbows. As summer water temperatures increase, trout tend to move farther offshore and deeper, with fishing improving again as fall brings cooler water.

Fewer water skiers.

Cooler weather.

Hungry trout.

Hard to argue with that combination.

And Then There Are the Northern Pike

Now we come to the fish with a price on its head.

Northern pike are impressive.

• Long.
• Aggressive.
• Full of teeth.

And they don’t belong here.

Northern pike were introduced into Montana waters decades ago and later spread or were transported into additional waters of the Columbia Basin. The National Park Service identifies an introduction into Dry Fork Reservoir in Montana in 1953 and says the first documented northern pike in Lake Roosevelt appeared in 2010.

They are a serious concern because northern pike are aggressive predators capable of consuming trout, salmon and other fish.

Fisheries managers are especially concerned about preventing their spread farther through the Columbia River system.

So while anglers often hear the words “catch and release,” northern pike in this system get a considerably less sentimental reception.

Catch a Pike, Make $10

The Colville Confederated Tribes operate a northern pike reward program.

Currently, anglers can receive $10 for each qualifying northern pike head turned in.

The National Park Service confirms the $10-per-head reward as part of the ongoing effort to control pike in Lake Roosevelt.

That’s fishing with a side hustle.

But there is one important distinction:

Northern pike and northern pikeminnow are not the same fish.

Make sure you know what you have caught before you start collecting heads for grocery money.

A Few Other Local Lakes Worth Knowing

One of the wonderful things about Northeast Washington is that Lake Roosevelt isn’t your only option.

There are lakes scattered everywhere:

• Deer Lake (southeast of Chewelah): Offers trout, kokanee, bass, perch and other species.
• Loon Lake: Particularly well known for kokanee and also has bass, perch and trout.
• Deep Lake (near Northport): Offers trout, kokanee, bass and perch.
• Starvation Lake (near Colville): Popular with trout fishermen.
• Jumpoff Joe Lake (south of Chewelah): Has trout, bass and perch.
• Williams Lake (north of Colville): Known as a winter fishery and can offer good ice fishing when conditions are safe.

In other words, if the fish aren’t biting where you are, you probably don’t need to drive very far to try somewhere else.

When Should You Fish?

That is the million-dollar question.

The answer depends heavily on species, water temperature, weather and the particular body of water.

• Spring: Wonderful for trout, kokanee, walleye and increasingly active bass.
• Early Summer: Offers good opportunities for kokanee, bass, trout and walleye.
• Mid-Summer: Often pushes trout and kokanee into deeper water while bass and walleye remain active.
• Fall: Brings excellent trout, bass and walleye fishing as the water cools.
• Winter: Does not necessarily end the fishing. Lake Roosevelt remains an option, and several of our smaller lakes offer ice-fishing opportunities.

Always check the current Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife regulations, emergency rules and tribal regulations before heading out. Seasons, harvest limits and legal gear can vary dramatically from one body of water to another.

Don’t Just Learn the Lake. Learn the Fish.

If there is one lesson Northeast Washington fishing has taught me, it is this:

Don’t just learn where to fish. Learn the fish you’re fishing for.

Study its biology. Learn what it eats. Learn how water temperature affects it. Learn what depth it prefers during different seasons.

And then talk to local fishermen.

Fishermen love talking about fishing.

Well...

They love talking about the fish they caught.

Getting them to reveal exactly where they caught it may require considerably more negotiation.

Some fishing holes are apparently classified information.

Just Another Reason to Love Northeast Washington

Fishing is one of those things that makes living here special.

Within a relatively short drive you can chase big Lake Roosevelt rainbows, troll for walleye, hunt kokanee, battle bass, catch perch with the kids, fish for trout in a mountain lake or drill a hole through the ice in January.

And if you happen to catch the right invasive fish...

Someone may even pay you ten bucks for its head.

Not bad for a day at the office.

Of course, I still have one problem.

If I bring home a limit of fish, my mom isn’t around anymore to send me to bed and clean them.

Some parts of childhood were definitely better than adulthood.