Fishing Lake Roosevelt

[FrostyAusty]

Hi everyone,

So myself and some of my friends are going up to Lake Roosevelt at the end of this month for a Bachelor party. A few of us like fishing so that's pretty much what we plan on doing all weekend. Was wondering if anyone has any pointers for fishing this body of water. It seems to be a pretty interesting lake to fish so i'm excited to get that underway. Is powerbait a viable option here? Probably going to bring powerbait/worms/assorted lures. Any help or advice is welcome. Hope everyone is having good luck in their angling adventures!

Austin

[hewesfisher]

It's a BIG lake, close to 45miles from the dam to Two Rivers, where will you be? Assume you'll be bank fishing, that's decent right now, and you've covered the normal bait options. FYI, any rainbow trout with an intact adipose fin must be released. Fishing from shore and depending where you may be, there's always the possibility of picking up a walleye or small mouth bass (probably not with powerbait).

[FrostyAusty]

Thanks for the tips hewesfisher! Yeah mostly bank fishing i think. As far as rules and regs go i'm a total stickler, so thanks for the heads up on the adipose fin wouldn't want to keep anything were not supposed to. Looks like we will be launching from Seven Bays Marina. I'm just really excited to be able to be out in nature and do nothing but relax and fish for a few days without interruptions! For Walleye/Bourbot i've read jigging is a standard technique to catch them? But we'd probably have to go out in slightly deeper water for that i'm assuming. We are renting a houseboat so we will be driving that to different locations on the lake. Is the lake pretty busy memorial day weekend?
Thanks again!

Austin

[hewesfisher]

Thanks for the tips hewesfisher! Yeah mostly bank fishing i think. As far as rules and regs go i'm a total stickler, so thanks for the heads up on the adipose fin wouldn't want to keep anything were not supposed to. Looks like we will be launching from Seven Bays Marina. I'm just really excited to be able to be out in nature and do nothing but relax and fish for a few days without interruptions! For Walleye/Bourbot i've read jigging is a standard technique to catch them? But we'd probably have to go out in slightly deeper water for that i'm assuming. We are renting a houseboat so we will be driving that to different locations on the lake. Is the lake pretty busy memorial day weekend?
Thanks again!

Austin

Now that I know where, I can be a little more helpful.

Reason I mentioned the adipose fin is this changed in December and a lot of folks missed it (WDFW could have done better IMO).

Jigging is a very common technique for both walleye and burbot. Burbot will be in deeper water and spread out. If you want to target them specifically, probably best chance would be late night.

Lots of good areas from Seven Bays downstream but your limitations will be mode of transport and where the boat is beached. Anywhere along the way would have potential.

Busiest days are Memorial Day and 4th of July weekends, Labor Day not as busy, but still busy. We typically do not launch on holiday weekends even though we have a place in Seven Bays. No fun fighting crowds at the ramp.

Hope you have a good time!

[FrostyAusty]

Thanks again Hewesfisher! Are there bass in the lake too? Worms & Crankbaits would those be suitable bait/gear options? Maybe I'll try to catch one of each species while i'm there, will be mostly C&R unless its a stocked trout! Lookin' forward to this trip.

[hewesfisher]

Smallmouth bass yes. Don't worry about keeping trout as long as it does not have an intact adipose fin. Any that don't are there for consumption. These are not typical stocker trout you're familiar with. The triploids released in Roosevelt are raised in net pens IN Lake Roosevelt. They have deep red/orange, firm flesh and are excellent eating. Hope you have a great experience!

[FrostyAusty]

Awesome! So much helpful info! Thanks again Hewesfisher! Good luck to ya next time you're out on the water!

[kodacachers]

Hi Hewsfisher,
I too am hitting Roosevelt for the first time on one of the busiest weekends of the year! We're staying at Seven Bays. Is there a decent kokanee fishery in that area or would we have to head downstream? I'm not overly picky in my species but would like to catch one of them.

Thanks
Gary

[hewesfisher]

Kokanee can be found from Two Rivers to the dam and up north. Best fishing seems to be downstream, but I've caught them near Two Rivers and close to Seven Bays too.

[FrostyAusty]

As each day goes by i'm getting more and more excited to fish Lake Roosevelt.
As my boating options are limited to Kayak/Canoe, do you think it's still possible to target Kokanee?
Not having a downrigger makes it difficult i'm sure, but I looked up a gear set up using a dipsy diver or jet diver to get down to target depth, then attaching a flasher/dodger with a hoochie at the end. Do you think that is doable or worth my time? Or should i just forget it and target the Rainbows from shore and Jig for Walleye/Bass/Bourbot.

Thanks again for all the tips Hewesfisher!!

[hewesfisher]

Only kokanee I''m hearing about being caught are quite a ways downstream of Seven Bays. Not to say you won't catch any, but odds aren't in your favor that far upstream right now. Have a great time!

[FrostyAusty]

Good to know! Will allow me to just focus on other stuff, save the Kokanee for another time!

[FrostyAusty]

Novice question here:
So when watching youtube videos regarding trout fishing on Lake Roosevelt it seems like almost every set up uses a dodger or flasher with hoochie/wedding ring set up at the end. Is it possible to A. Run this setup out of a Kayak/Canoe B. Possible to reach the necessary depths without a downrigger?
I have 10lb mainline setup on my spinning rod, i also purchased a deep six diver but don't know if it is necessary.
I've never really trolled before but this seems like a fun way to try if it is possible to land some fish this way!

Thanks again for all the help on this thread! I really appreciate it.

Austin