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The Chronicle OnLine > Features >
Fishrapper 2004-05
Fishing should be great for opener and beyond
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By Al Camp
Chronicle staff
Fishing opportunities continue to abound in Okanogan County waters, with triploid trout being distributed in two lakes and only one lake unfishable due to rehabilitation.
Great opportunities abound for the general opener on April 30 at Big Twin Lake, Spectacle Lake, Alta Lake and the Conconully lakes, said Bob Jateff, who is completing his first year as regional fish biologist for the area.
Big Twin Lake, a selective fishery in the Methow Valley, received 611 triploid rainbows while Spectacle, open March 1 to July 31 and located near Loomis, received 1,590 of the triploids that averaged 1.5 pounds each.
Triploids, which are sterile, live longer and grow bigger than traditional rainbows. The fish can reach several pounds within a year or two.
Alta, one of the more popular lakes and located near Pateros, contains both tiger trout and brook trout. It also should contain some nice carryovers due to a mild winter, said Jateff.
The Conconully lakes, located northwest of Omak, remain angler-friendly with resorts and boat launches on both lakes along with a state park in town.
Each lake received 100 of the larger rainbows in the one-plus-pound range.
There’s good news and bad news for Rat Lake and nearby Mouse Lake out of Brewster.
The good news is that the state handed down an emergency regulation this spring that allows anglers to catch all the fish they want until May 5, when both lakes will close.
The lakes will be rehabbed May 10.
The bad news is that fingerlings to be planted later will not be of legal size until the spring of 2006.
County-wide, Jateff said plants were reduced because of several years of low water levels continue to make for larger fish in many lakes.
Water levels remained about the same at many favorite lakes, including Big Twin, Little Twin, Ell, Round, Long and Aeneas lakes.
Jateff manages 67 lowland lakes in Okanogan County that represent about 18 percent of the state’s lakes managed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The county also contains 110 alpine lakes that sit above 3,500 feet, where cutthroat, rainbows and brook trout often propagate naturally. They are not planted on a yearly basis.
Many of the lakes can be located on an Okanogan National Forest map, available at any Forest Service office.
Triploid fry will be planted at Aeneas, Ell and Chopaka, where the fish will take a while to get large enough to catch.
Since the state will be going through a regulation review in the next few months, some regulations could change on lakes for next year, including opening some a bit earlier to give anglers additional fishing opportunities, said Jateff.
He said a change may be coming on size and bag limits on some lakes, too.
One current regulation of which anglers should be aware is that bull trout is a threatened species that can’t be caught.
County lakes also contain tiger trout, eastern brook trout, bass, Lahontan cutthroat, perch, crappie, catfish and kokanee.
Forde, Conner and Washburn lakes, which received plants of brook trout in the past, continue to receive plants of tiger trout. Tiger trout, which are sterile, look good and are aggressive, are a cross between a brook and brown trout.
Tiger trout live up to their name in that they often prey on other fish in a lake.
Best success in the county comes by fishing lowland lakes early. As the weather warms, anglers can continue to higher-elevation lakes such as Chopaka, Bonaparte, Wannacut, Sidley, Beth and Molson.
Water levels at the Conconully lakes can be expected to rise as the season progresses.
The secret for trout is finding water temperature in the 50- to 60-degree range. Trout seem to bite best in that range, which normally occurs in the spring and fall.
As temperatures rise, warm water species such as bass, perch, crappie and catfish make good fishing targets.
June and July are the best months for kokanee, or land-locked sockeye salmon. Larger, deeper lakes can produce good catches the year around.
Kokanee can be found in the Conconully Reservoir, Bonaparte and Palmer lakes, and Lake Rufus Woods (Chief Joseph Dam reservoir).
The state’s free fishing weekend is June 11-12. No license is required of anyone — resident or non-resident — to fish in Washington state on those days. Other restrictions and rules do apply.
Jateff also manages lakes in Douglas County, including the popular Jameson Lake and selective fishery Grimes Lake south of Mansfield.
Jameson includes a boat launch, resorts on each end, campgrounds and a modified season — April 30 to July 4. The lake also is open for the month of October.
Jameson thrives during drought conditions. When it has high water, it flows into surrounding grasslands and shrubs, and the lake tends to suffer winter kill.
The lake can support only so many fish through winter, which is why it has an October fishery when water temperatures cool.
Grimes is located north of Jameson and about six miles south of Mansfield. (See selective fishery section for more on Grimes.)
The Okanogan River is closed to trout fishing, which includes steelhead, unless opened through emergency regulations in the fall. The fish fall under Endangered Species Act protection.
County rivers have been opened the last three years by emergency regulation for steelhead. There have been four such openers since 1997.
The Okanogan and Methow rivers opened for steelhead under emergency regulations Oct. 1, 2004. The Similkameen opened Nov. 15.
The Methow closed for fishing March 13. The Okanogan and Similkameen closed March 31.
Selective gear rules prevail, including single, barbless hooks and no bait.
A steelhead fishery is dependent upon run size that exceeds natural and hatchery broodstock requirements.
Otherwise the Okanogan River is open for smallmouth bass averaging 10 to 12 inches and up to three pounds, catfish and walleye.
A variety of fishing opportunities also exists at 19 lakes and five creeks or rivers on or adjacent to the Colville Indian Reservation, which straddles Okanogan and Ferry counties. (See separate story for reservation prospects.)
The tribe’s general fishing season runs April 9 to Oct. 31. Streams close Oct. 31 unless otherwise specified under special regulations.
Anglers fishing boundary waters while standing on reservation land must possess a tribal license. Those fishing boundary waters adjacent to the reservation while in a boat must possess a state license.
A tribal license is not required as long as the angler fishes from a boat.
Boundary waters include areas adjacent to the reservation and include portions of Crawfish Lake, Washburn Island Pond, Lake Roosevelt, Lake Rufus Woods, Lake Pateros (Wells Dam Reservoir) and the Okanogan River.
Most tribal fish limits are the same as state limits, though anglers would be wise to check regulations before fishing.
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