![]() “Favorite spots are the mouth of the Sanpoil, Swawilla Basin, Goat Rocks and down past Spring Canyon to the dam.” “That’s still a lot of water between Whitestone and Grand Coulee,” Donley said. Studies show most fish in the reservoir have moved downstream by now below Whitestone, which is about halfway between Lincoln and Keller. In huge runoff years, the drawdown has been drastic – as low as 1,217 in 2011.ĭonley says the best trout “catching” period on the 150-mile reservoir is October through March, when, as he puts it, “they’ll bite just about anything.” In the past 10 years, good-for-fish drawdowns of 1,254-1,259 have occurred only in 2004, 20. Ditto for the 500,000 or so hatchery kokanee.īut ideal conditions are rare. Years when the reservoir is not drawn down so deep – no lower than about 1,260 feet – are the best for the 750,000 hatchery rainbow trout raised and released from net pens in the lake during late spring, she said. “When the reservoir is drawn down below 1,220 (deep drawdown), twice as many fish will likely entrain over the dam,” she explained. When the reservoir is lowered beyond average drawdown – below elevation 1,240 feet – the number of fish washed out of the reservoir substantially increases, according to research conducted through Eastern Washington University by Holly McLellan. The drawdown forecast indicates that many of the big carryover trout will soon be flushing out of Lake Roosevelt through the Grand Coulee Dam where they’ll become downstream chum for gulls, pikeminnows and sturgeon. An 18-incher easily feeds four people with meat as tasty as any trout on the planet. Rainbows are running 15-18 inches long and they’re beefed up like linebackers. Kokanee to 20 inches are occasionally caught. But anglers willing to gamble can win big. If you’re easily frustrated, this isn’t the best time to fish for Roosevelt trout. “But I’ve never cracked the code to be consistent in April. “It’s not for lack of fish,” Donley said, referring to the hit-or-miss success rates. With a heap of snow and runoff lingering in the Columbia River headwaters, the low point isn’t in sight, according to a Bureau of Reclamation forecast posted Wednesday. Recently the lake level has been dropping a foot a day. The annual reservoir drawdown has been underway since mid-March. “As the water gets lower, the fish just get moodier,” explained Chris Donley, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife inland fish program manager. ![]() “You have to keep trying different things.” “There isn’t a clear pattern,” Ross said, after investing 11 hours to catch a limit. Rapalas caught a few fish, so did an Apex lure and pink flies with spinners. On Sunday, they caught fish on the surface, down 60-feet deep and in-between. They had to explore the beach for hundreds of yards before getting into fish again. One or the other can be on fire, hooking trout after trout while trolling a pink hoochie, and then get blanked the next time out using the same rig.Ī reliable shore-fishing hot spot went dead suddenly. Spokane anglers Jim Kujala and Dave Ross kicked butt on Lake Roosevelt rainbows all winter, catching their five-fish daily limits in as little as 20 minutes occasionally with the help of the two-rod endorsement.īut the last two weeks have been humbling.
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