Northwest Fishing Reports

Ive been trying to hunt down some walleye in the spokane area with no sucess. Is there any walleye in the area that are catchable to a low budget fisherman? Everything I read always pushes expensive electronics which just are not in my budget. I know when it comes to walleye you are basicly blind without some electronics but I havent even heard and lakes or rivers in the area that people are catching walleye. If any body has any ideas on lakes or rivers to hit please let me know. Thanks for any information you can give me.

Sincerely,
Ben

Ben, The closest water to Spokane with Walleye is Roosevelt. Fishing for old marble eyes can be had in all of the very long reservoir, but I suggest the San Poil arm, the Spokane Arm, Seven Bays area, and upstream all the way to the border with Canada. I don't consider Walleye a fish you can consistently catch from shore, so a boat is a must. You don't need expensive electronics, but indeed your catch rate will go up if you can track bottom depth.

There are walleye in Moses Lake and Potholes, and some are caught off the docks, but not consistently. There are walleye in all of the Columbia, but some areas are better then others. There are walleye in the lower Snake river, but I don't know how far up stream they go.

Sprague had walleye, but they were killed out a couple of years ago and if Jay Donnelson has his way they will NEVER be put back in. At one time, fishing from shore just west of the state launch site, you could catch walleye from shore drifting worms below a float at night.

There are suppose to be some Walleye and Saugar in Liberty Lake, but I have never ever talked to anyone who has caught one. I keep threatening to fish it at night and see what I get, but ..................... With the launch closing at 10:00 pm and not opening up again until 6:00 am, and with vehicles getting ticketed being there at night, it will take some planing to do it. Again, unless you know something I don't, it would be a boat trip for sure.

Thanks for the information I appreciate it. I have use of a lil 10ft flat bottom boat and a couple trolling motors so I would deffanatly be fishing from that. As far as a night trip to liberty...my boat is very light and I would not be against a carry in launch or carry out after the gate is closed if thats something anyone is interested in. Ive heard there is walleye in liberty but also have never caught one or talked with anyone who has either. A buddy said he thought he saw some on the sand bar at the north east side of the lake but wasnt sure if they were (having never seen one before). Maybe it be worth checking out one of these summer nights. Does any one happen to know if there is walleye in long lake? Well thanks again for the info.

Sincerely,
Ben

Hello Ben and welcome to walakes.com.
There have been rumors of Walleye in Long for many years.
Most turn out to be Pike minnows.
I would concider heading down to Hawk creek camp ground.
I have caught a lot of Walleyes from the bank there and its a good place to use a small boat.

I know it is a little way off, but scootney in May and June are almost a sure thing for walleye, but they seem to disappear in the hot months. It is a great place for a beginner to learn any technique for walleye

anywhere in roosevelt will get you some walleye. You don't need electronics or a cool guy boat out there. In fact fishing off the bank with a worm will fill your freezer.

Anglinarcher wrote:Ben, The closest water to Spokane with Walleye is Roosevelt. Fishing for old marble eyes can be had in all of the very long reservoir, but I suggest the San Poil arm, the Spokane Arm, Seven Bays area, and upstream all the way to the border with Canada. I don't consider Walleye a fish you can consistently catch from shore, so a boat is a must. You don't need expensive electronics, but indeed your catch rate will go up if you can track bottom depth.

I can tell you that you can catch walleye from the shore at Seven Bays as effectively as from a boat, I've done it. After fishing all over the area in a boat, our host and I walked down to the bank after dinner and I tossed a #7 Shad Rap crank while my host tossed a jig and worm. We caught 8 or 9 walleye in 45 minutes, more than my wife and I had caught in two days on the water.

We were fishing the shoreline near the net pens closest to the Seven Bays launch. Important to fish as the sun goes down and after it's gone. 'Ol marble eyes sees just fine then.

Hey Ben. From my point of view, The closest, most consistant fishing for walleye near Spokane is at Hawk Creek on Lake Roosevelt. If you do have a boat you can also put in up at Fort Spokane and head up river due East, and fish with Chartruse or brass coloured double whammy spinners and crawlers with bottom boucer weights from 1.5 oz to 3 oz. I'd stick to about forty to fifty yards off of that south east shore line. There are several Islands in midchannel that produce off colored water, that mixes with the clear water. I have caught walleye 1/8th oz to 1/4 yellow and white, chartruse/silver glitter, and or smoke grey skirt jigs tipped with half of a worm. I also keep an assortment of heavier jigs 3/8 to 5/8 oz. to cast up to the rocks on the deeper inlet bays that start at the narrows about a mile upstream of the fort Spokane boat launch. If you don't have a fish finder, you can use a 50 ft. white colored cotton rope with about a 6 oz. weight to check your appox depth. Just use colored electricians tape to mark 5 foot increments. like red for the first 10 ft, blue for the next ten, yellow for the next, then black and so on to about 50 feet. By dropping down that heavy weight , you can usually tell if you are over a rock, sand or mud bottom. Typically on the lower Spokane River I find my walleye from 12 feet to as deep as 50 ft. The best walleye spots are where there is a transition between rock, sand, muck and weeds.. Or where theres a mudline visible between clear and muddy water, the walleye will sit just inside the muddy water edge to ambush minnows swimming in the clear water. If there are small bait fish present, predators will be close by. At Hawk creek, a guy on the bank can catch walleye by tosssing 3" to 5"pearl white skirt jigs up into the channel. I will also use pumpkin grubs with a 1/4 oz. orange and chartruse jighead, or a motor oil 4" double tail jig with a 1/2 worm trailer. Cast out, let it sink to the bottom ,and jig it, twitch or swim it back. Another trick is to throw Clown-/silver/red/chartruse or chartruse/white Rapala #9 Countdown minnows up in Hawk creek just before dark. Walleyes move up shallow as the daylight wains and will readily hit a slender rapala jerked back to shore. One last secret, sometimes a 1/8th or 1/4 oz. plain jighead with half a night crawler threaded on to the jig collar with the tail dangling will catch more waleye than everything else COMBINED on Lake Roosevelt. Good luck, The nJigmiester

I'm going to Hawk Creek night fishing this weekend. Will start in the afternoon and fish through the night. I have an outboard as well as electric trolling motor, any tips to catch them at night. I have seen people use lantern while night fishing, is that supposed to attract fish. Thanks for any tips.

A few walleyes have been pulled from Silver Lake but its few and far between. I'm guessing that its a very low population
and probably not really worth targeting them in there.

I hear that jig fishing with a night crawler has been paying off in Lake Roosevelt up by Kettle Falls. Cast, reel in slow bouncing off the bottom, and when you feel a snag.....set the hook.