The way a fish counter at the landing at Keller said it, yes. And one F&W agent said even if you use scent on a lure, it's bait. I then asked if you had a lure next to a lure that had been treated, and it got some on it, would that count? He smiled and said yes, but that it mainly applied to "observed application." They weren't "going to go all CSI on it."

Still shallow, huh. Thanks for the report.

Good question. Here's how I look at it, the Special Rules section for Lake Roosevelt, page 93, states kokanee are NOT included in the TROUT daily limit at Roosevelt. Since both species are readily caught using the same tactics and gear presentations, and you are legitimately targeting kokanee, I would say no. You can legally keep 5 rainbow AND 6 kokanee as long as no more than 2 rainbow are over 20" and no more than 2 kokanee have intact adipose fins. My view is you are done after 11 TROUT because that is your combined legal limit on Roosevelt UNLESS you are specifically targeting rainbow, in which case it's 5 and done just like anywhere else. How anyone could prove you were attempting to catch rainbow vs kokanee is beyond me. Would be a great question to forward to WDFW for their official input. ;-)

Bait is clearly defined in the regs pamphlet, pg 10:
"Bait: Anything that attracts fish or shellfish by scent and/or flavor. This includes any device made of feathers, hair, fiber, wood, metal, glass,
cork, leather, rubber, or plastic, which uses scent and/or flavoring to attract fish or wildlife." Add scent to any unscented "device" and it becomes "bait".

Fish checkers are not enforcement authorities, at least none of those I have spoken with. I would defer to WDFW or tribal enforcement officials for any rules interpretations. :-)

I agree with what Hf says, that's why I mentioned the sources, not to take them as absolute truth. I think if you switched away from bait on the 4th trout, you could C&R till you got what you wanted, safely, till the official word comes down.

Thanks for your thoughts. I guess I will contact F&W to get the answer. I will post the answer if I get one.

I called the local Warden and he couldn't really give me an answer either. He will talk to his superiors and try to get an answer but he thinks once you have your 5 bow limit you would have to go bait less to continue to fish for Kokanee. He will let me know what he finds out. I hope this doesn't stir up a barbless rule.

I don't agree with the warden, but that's how he interprets the rule. If you aren't targeting rainbow, and catch them incidentally while fishing for kokanee, you should NOT be penalized as a result. Remember, the reason I view it this way is because kokanee are NOT included in the TROUT daily limit on Roosevelt unlike many other lakes where they are.

Using the warden's viewpoint walleye anglers would have to go "bait free" after catching 5 incidental trout while fishing with jigs and worms or trolling worm harnesses. How would WDFW ever enforce that viewpoint?

Think I'll email WDFW in Olympia for an official position. ;-)

While preparing an email for WDFW, I paused to re-read the statewide general rules for TROUT on pg 17. The more I thought about this, the more clear it became. They key word in the general rules is TROUT, which are defined on that page as being:

Brown Trout
Cutthroat Trout
Rainbow Trout
Lake Trout
Golden Trout
Kokanee
TIGER TROUT
Grayling
Landlocked Atlantic, Chinook, and Coho Salmon

The next key phrase is "daily limit" which, if not defined in the special rules section of the pamphlet, is 5 TROUT. However, the special rules section of the pamphlet for Lake Roosevelt DOES differ from the statewide general TROUT rules, and specifically states the legal daily TROUT limit is 11, of which five may be rainbow trout (no more than 2 over 20") and six may be kokanee (no more than 2 with intact adipose fins). Since kokanee and rainbow both fall under the definition of TROUT in the regs AND the special rules for lake Roosevelt on pg 93 state a daily limit is 11 TROUT combined, I stand by my original view that an angler fishing for BOTH species (rainbow and kokanee) has not met the "fishing with bait" limitation until 11 TROUT have been caught and/or released because that is the COMBINED daily TROUT limit on Lake Roosevelt.

The bait rule for TROUT on pg 17 of the pamphlet reads, "When fishing with bait, all TROUT (except STEELHEAD) equal to or greater than the minimum size are counted as part of the daily limit whether kept or released." It does not specify a specific TROUT species, just states all TROUT caught with bait count toward the daily limit whether kept or released.

I believe the warden is incorrect because he is implying the rule is species specific and it is not. If you're chasing kokanee using bait and catch 5 'bows you haven't met the TROUT daily limit for Roosevelt. I'd keep my bait in the water and troll on. :-)

Still have not heard back but I should make it clearer of what the Warden told me. He said" good question" and "I would think you could still fish for Kokanee and use bait" However he was going to ask his Sargent in Spokane to find out for sure. He was afraid the answer was going to be 5 bows and no more bait just to simplify the rule. He himself wouldn't think anything about it if someone had their 5 bows and still trying for Kok's however there are others out on the lake that can enforce the fishing laws that would not understand it. (NPS) Again he thought it was a good question and wants to get it clarified.

Will be interesting to see what comes back. I keep a copy of the regs pamphlet in my boat glove box and will gladly point out the specifics of the rules to any enforcement official should I ever be stopped. Then again, we target rainbow, so after 5 each with bait. we head for the dock.

Good discussion. :-)

Don't expect an official answer. This can of worms has been opened before with the Walleye and Trout guys, Walleye and Bass guys, etc., and I expect it would boil down to how well you argued your case in court.