I had a great time last week. I traveled to the town of Colville for two special experiences. I learned a lot about how the northern pike suppression effort is going on Lake Roosevelt, and even tried catching a pike on rod and reel.

Wednesday of last week I joined the All Hands northern pike suppression effort on Lake Roosevelt. This effort was stalled by COVID 19 but is back in business. This is a combined effort by the tribes, Chelan PUD and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Agency staffs meet at the Kettle Falls boat ramp and spend a week catching as many northern pike as possible.

I was invited to go aboard the Colville tribal boat and watch and video the process of pulling gillnets and resetting them. We left the Kettle Falls marina and headed down river to the area known as French Rocks. Here nets were scattered along the shore and in among the islands. I watched the crew work very efficiently, pulling the nets with the assistance of a hydraulic drum and pull fish, identify, and measure them and log the location. Holly McLellan, Principal Biologist with the Colville Tribe, explained to me that through experimentation they had reduced the bycatch of walleye by 80 percent through using braided nylon nets rather than monofilament nets.

So far the combined effort of the tribes, Chelan PUD and the WDFW, over 16,000 northern pike have been removed from Lake Roosevelt. Sport anglers are also making a significant contribution through the Colville Tribe’s Rewards Program. Last year sport anglers turned in over 1,100 northern pike heads at the stations on Lake Roosevelt. They were paid $10.00 for each head through the program.

Last Thursday James Lebow and I met Kevin Witte, of B&K Fishing Adventures, at the Kettle Falls boat launch to try to catch some northern pike. Kevin is an old hand at pike fishing, and he ran us down to the bay at the mouth of the Colville River. This is one of his favorite spots to find pike.

We put out two big Bandit plugs on side planers and two flatlined out the back of the boat. After a while I saw one of the side rod planers start lunging backwards and when I pulled the rod from the holder it was clear we had a big fish on the line. Convinced it was a northern pike we watched the fish make heavy head shakes and had to tighten the drag to make any progress. It took a while to get the fish to the boat, and when we did we were astonished to see it was a walleye—a very big walleye. Kevin managed to fit it into the net, and when we weighed the fish it was right at 12 pounds! I had never landed a walleye even close to that weight. I finally beat my daughter, who landed a 10-pound walleye a few years ago on Banks Lake.

After releasing the whopper, we trolled for pike a while longer and then ran down to a beach above French Rocks and fished for walleye. We put 13 walleye in boat, all on spinners on Slow Death Hook rigs. No pike, but I wasn’t disappointed. I may never get a bigger walleye. This week’s photo is of the monster walleye.

Walleye are just shaking off the effects of spawning on Lake Roosevelt, and the action should really take off very soon. I sure want to get back up there. Kevin and I are making plans for a combo trip for sturgeon and walleye sometime in late June. The folks at Benny’s Colville Inn took great care of us, and I found a couple of local restaurants that I want to work my way through their menus. The scenery and wildlife are an added bonus to a trip to this part of the Columbia River.

Another important effort to suppress a species that threatens our salmon and steelhead is the Quincy Chamber’s Pike Minnow Derby that is scheduled for Friday, May 21st through Sunday, May 23rd at Crescent Bar. Top prize this year will be a Polaris Huntsman 4-wheeler and flatbed trailer. The angler who turns in the largest single fish will earn $500.00. There will be other rewards for the longest fish, cumulative weight and consolation prizes. I was astonished at the number and value of the prizes handed out at the last derby, so I wouldn’t miss the chance to get in on this one. To get all the details and even register on-line, go to my website at fishingmagician.com and click on the “Something Fishy” logo on the Home Page.

If you haven’t heard there will be a white sturgeon fishery opened again on Lake Roosevelt, starting on June 12th. The open area is from Grand Coulee Dam to the China Bend boat ramp. The daily limit is one sturgeon, with an annual limit of two. It is legal to retain sturgeon from between 50 inches and 63 inches fork length, measured from the tip of the snout to the middle of the fork in the tail. All harvested sturgeon must be recorded on a Catch Record Card—Catch Code 549. Two pole fishing is allowed, and night fishing is not allowed. Anglers may continue to catch and release after obtaining the daily limit but cease after the annual limit has been taken. All other statewide rules for sturgeon must be observed. Please read the WDFW news release announcing this fishery. There are many details anglers should know before fishing for sturgeon on Lake Roosevelt.

Only five months into the year WDFW aquatic invasive watercraft inspection stations staff have already inspected over 5,500 watercraft and found 11 were fouled with invasive zebra and or quagga mussels. Out of the 11 mussel fouled watercraft, nine had been previously intercepted at check stations in other states and cleaned. It is often hard to see and remove every mussel, so staff did a second inspection and found additional mussels. The other two fouled watercraft had not been checked or inspected prior to being intercepted in Washington.

These inspections are critically important to prevent the spread of these invasive species. Without this program could result in spending over 100 million dollars to keep Washington’s power and irrigation systems cleared.
My next fishing adventure is going to be on Moses Lake. I will let you know how I do!