Northwest Fishing Reports

Hello everyone, I am in the military and just found out I will be moving out to Spokane this summer. I am currently in southern Minnesota and love open water and ice fishing.(to much sometimes, according to my wife) I have a canoe with trolling motor mount and a 14 ft lund w/15 hp Johnson motor and trolling motor. Will these be o.k. for fishing the lakes on the eastern side of the state. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Will miss fishing MN, but am very excited about the move. Thanks Much:d/

Hello Rozman,
There are all sorts of places you can fish with either rig.
When you get out here,drop me line and I will be more than happy to help you out.

You can fish just about any lake in the state with those rigs. Lake Chelan for mackinaw and smallies, Banks Lake/Lake Roosevelt for smallies and walleyes, the Columbia river for walleye/trout/steelhead/salmon.... Just like anywhere it's reqired to have floatation devices onboard and keep an eye on the weather. This state LOVES trout lakes but there are plenty of warm water lakes around too. My brother lives in Harris MN and tells me the fishing is great back there. Welcome to Washington and thanks for your service in the military.

Thanks much. Your brother is definetly in a good location. I have the Lowrance H20c, any lake chips you recommend for Washington. Thanks again.

Might try the Hotmaps "Premium Lake Maps". Covers all the western states but it seems to have a nice selection of lakes. Went to the Hotmaps website and found them at "Lakesports" or "Reel Fishing and Tackle" in Madison Lake MN. Ain't the internet great?

Not many people out here go hard water fishing because of the relatively mild winters but you might be able to find some lakes next winter that freezehard enough on the east side.

Hey Rozman-

When I moved to Pullman, which is 75 miles south of Spokane, I found out the hard way that good fishing means driving north. There are plenty of lakes near Spokane, although, not nearly as many as in MN.

Here are some lakes to try when you move to Spokane: Williams, Badger, Amber, Bonnie, Chapman, and Rock. These lakes are all accessible with the boat you listed. Rock is by far my favorite with lots of rainbows, browns, and bass.

As for ice fishing, I know there are lakes north of Spokane that people go to, also, Fishtrap Lake out near Sprague has a winter only season and people ice-fish there.

Good luck and welcome to Washington.

GJorgy, how ironic, I live in Madison Lake. Gods honest truth I live right across the street from Reel Fishing and Tackle. I guess they will be getting some more of my money!! Thanks for the info.

Julbright thanks for the info, I will add those lakes to my list.

Hello Rozman, and welcome (in advance) to Spokane! You are probably Air Force, like my wife, who is a Tech Sergeant stationed at Fairchild AFB. I'm retired Army and am trying my hardest to keep her from doing something stupid like PCSing to England or Italy! Why? Because this area has THE BEST trout fishing I've seen anywhere, including Colorado! It also has some great bass, walleye and panfish too, and we have two winter-only lakes for ice fishing (providing they freeze, which is an iffy proposition). Sounds like you're set up boat wise. If you've ever had any desire to begin fly fishing, this is the place to do it. If not, doesn't matter, you are coming to the Pacific Northwest, quite possibly the best fishing region in the lower 48. Anyways....are you Air Force?

raffensg64, go Army!! No I am not Airforce, I am in the Army. Talked to the housing office today on Fairchild, looks like it only takes about a month or so to get in, which is great. You mentioned CO, when I was stationed at Fort Carson(5 years) the housing waiting list was 2 years. Thanks for the info and hope to meet up with you when I get out there.

Hey Rozman,

Welcome to Washington.

I to moved here from Minnesota some years ago. I actually went to college at Mankato State!!! not to far from your home town. I still have many friends that live in the area.

Your boat will be fine in most of the waters over near Spokane. In that area you should be able to find some good Walleye, Bass, Northern Pike and even some Tiger Muskie fishing. These are comforting for us Mid-West transplants who really do not know much about Trout or Salmon. If you do get a chance though I would highly recommend learning how to fish these species also. I am getting better at "Steelhead" fishing but I still have a long way to go. Just floating a river in a "Drift" boat is a great experience in itself. Idaho will also offer you some beautiful places to escape too. Good fishing my friend!!!! Thanks for serving.

Awesome! It's nice to know that Uncle Sam is still sending some classy military types to the Spokane area! I was with the 4th Bde, 91st Div (AC/RC) out of Fort Lewis, with remote duty in Spokane. Five hours and 300-plus miles from the flag pole, can you imagine that?! My boss, a Major, was a fly fisherman so you can imagine... fishin was the mission!!! Anyways, I did four tours at Carson and can say that Colorado's fishing does not compare to Washington's. Colorado has more rivers, but not nearly as many lakes. Hey, when you get in and go to the Fairchild Housing Office for your quarters, take a minute and stop by the Fairchild Inn. Ask for Sergeant Raff (my crazy wife) and get my number. Who knows, maybe they'll set you up with a TLF. We'll hook up around your schedule and get started.

Bad Esox, thanks for the info!! If you went to MSU (my sis graduated from there) then you know right where I work, the army reserve center on the corner of Pohl Rd and Stadium. I live in Madison Lake and hope to do a number on it's eye population during next weekends opener!! Actually, I am a 90% catch and release guy so I just want to scare the walleyes a bit..

raffensg64, small world!! I will definetly look you up when I get out your way. I will be on leave at least the first 2 weeks I get there so hopefully we can wet some lines. My lab is ready for some duck hunting this fall also!!!! Thanks again..

hey rozman, welcome to WA! i have fished many of the area lakes with my grandfather's old 14' aluminum boat w/6HP outboard, so you'll be sitting pretty with your setup. for bigger lakes or exposed lakes (lakes like badger & chapman sit down in basins and are a little more protected, but rock lake can get pretty crazy if windy), i take my ski boat which has an extended swim platform and open bow for fishing both ends.

i forget the exact number, but the spokane area has something like 70 lakes in a 40-mile radius. i don't think it's the other way around, but i could be wrong. i grew up spending summers fishing around Mlps so i know how plentiful the lakes are in MN, but you'll be in heaven here too. and no humidity!

there sure are a lot of e. washington members, we'll all have to hook up on the water one day. would be fun to meet you guys so we can recognize each other if we run into each other on the other lakes in the area.

Welcome to the Inland Empire Rozman! You have dozens of lakes to choose from within an hours drive in any direction. For larger water in WA, Roosevelt is a good lake for larger rainbows and has some fairly good Walleye fishing. On another side note, the winters here aren't nearly as severe as the midwest. Out here it snows downward instead of sideways (I'm originally from South Dakota).
Enjoy yourself, it is really a great state.

What year Lund do you have?

I've got an '06 WC 12 and am picking up a Yamaha 15hp for it tomorrow!

Rozman,
Welcome to Washington, and THANKS FOR SERVING. If you go to the home page here and scroll down to the map, you can click on Spokane County and the surrounding counties and you'll find plenty of beautiful lakes to fish. I was born and raised in Spokane and have been fishing since before I can remember. Probably 55+ years now. My guess is that you won't live long enough to fish them all. I certainly haven't but I'm still trying. Northern Idaho has some beautiful rivers to fish if you're into fly fishing.
I'm now in the Liberty Lake area, about 10-15 miles east of Spokane. Get hold of me when you get here and I'll help all I can.
Thanks again for serving!

Thanks for all the great information guys!! I am more excited than ever now to get out to the Spokane area.

whew.. fortunately noone told roz about the potholes, sprague, coffeepot, Moses Lake, Rocky Ford, quincy wildlife area, seep lakes, winchester and frenchman wasteways, rufus Woods, Entiat, Grimes, Sun Lakes, Okanogan County lakes, or the Snake River reservoirs... those Minnesota fishermen are pretty good at the basics and I'm not sure if we are ready for that kind of competition for the resource...

Littleriver, I am clueless as to the techniques used for trout, salmon, etc. I will be reading up on the basics and using forums like these to pick the brains of all you seasoned WA fishermen. Was going to go out today and try and whack some crappies, but the winds in MN today were more than I cared to deal with.