![]() The strain was stocked in 1968 and was opened to non-member fishing in 1975. Lahontan cutthroats are the region’s only sportfish that can survive in the lake’s clear alkaline waters. On Wednesday, tribal fisheries staff measured a 36-inch male at the broodstock capture site in Mission Bay. Omak Lake, a story in itself, is an 8-mile-long special-regulations fishery that holds Lahontan cutthroats averaging 3-4 pounds with lunkers to at least 8. McGinnis Lake is the top water for catching brook trout, Nine said. “If I were to go anywhere looking for an 8-pound bass, it would be Twin Lakes. Twin Lakes also are stocked with 148,000 rainbows plus brook trout for a good fishery that’s open most of the year. “It’s a good winter kokanee fishery through the ice,” he said. While anglers catch mostly rainbows in spring, the kokanee fishery kicks in during summer. “We’ve reduced the rainbow plants at Buffalo because it’s such an excellent kokanee fishery,” Nine said. ![]() More rainbows will be stocked through the year. Before the April 12 season opener, Buffalo was stocked with about 200 fish in the 4-pound range and 3,000 catchable-size rainbows. Rainbow stocking at Buffalo and the other lakes with resorts is beefier than at other lakes. In addition to Rufus Woods, Nine highlighted several other lakes among the best fisheries on the reservation:īuffalo Lake has rainbows, kokanee and largemouth bass. The only fishing waters with camping, other than the resorts, are Omak, Rufus Woods, the reservation side of Lake Roosevelt and the Sanpoil Arm.Ī map is helpful in navigating to reservation lakes signage is not consistent. Other lakes are sparsely developed with access sites and vault toilets. Three lakes have resorts: Reynolds Resort on Buffalo Lake and Rainbow Beach and Log Cabin resorts at Twin Lakes. So far this year, 98,000 rainbows, 7,700 brookies and 103,000 Lahontan cutts have been stocked. Thousands of trout are raised at the Colville Tribal Resident Fish Hatchery downstream from Bridgeport to stock in other reservation lakes. On Lake Roosevelt, anglers with a state fishing license can fish almost anywhere from a boat, but a tribal license is required for fishing from the reservation’s shoreline. Youths under age 16 can fish free in the company of an adult with a tribal license. Costs are $10 for a one-day permit, $20 for three days, $30 for seven days or $40 for a season. The tribe has an agreement with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife that allows anglers to fish with either a state fishing license or a tribal fishing license at designated areas along the reservoir shoreline.Įlsewhere on the reservation, non-tribal members must have a tribal fishing license. The tribal fishing license requirement may deter some anglers from visiting the reservation. Our last release will typically occur in July because temperatures are too high to keep them in the pens.” “Another release will occur next week or the week after. ![]() “To date we have released 69,996 triploid rainbows into Rufus Woods,” he said Thursday. Most of the fish weigh 1 pound when released, but some from the net pens are released at around 4 pounds, he said. “We raise about 100,000 rainbows a year for release, with some going out every month the water temperatures aren’t too high,” Nine said. While the commercial operators have cut down on the number of fish escaping the net pens in recent years, the tribe has been stocking the lake regularly. Rufus Woods is well known for the commercial trout-growing operations where many of the reservoir’s free-roaming trout hang out and bulk up on feed that filters through the net pens. “The tribe puts a ton of money into the fishery at Lake Rufus Woods,” he said, referring to the Columbia River reservoir, stretching from Chief Joseph Dam upstream to Grand Coulee. “A lot of people don’t know how much effort we put into our fisheries,” said Bret Nine, tribal resident fish program manager in Nespelem. This lack of pressure helps explain the excellent kokanee fishing at Buffalo Lake, the nice rainbows and trophy-size bass at Twin Lakes, the chance to catch 15-inch brook trout at McGinnis and perhaps the state’s best fishery for 2-foot-long Lahontan cutthroats at Omak Lake. A few of them range from good to outstanding. Scattered about the million-acre reservation, two dozen of about 35 fishable lakes are open to non-tribal anglers. The Colville Indian Reservation may be the best fishing destination in the state where most Washington anglers have never wet a line.
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