Fishing season is open year-round, except for sturgeon, which are closed to fishing all year. Walleye, rainbow trout, and kokanee are the star attractions.
Smallmouth bass are plentiful. The bass daily limit is 10 fish, no minimum size, only one over 14 inches, and the walleye daily limit is eight fish with no minimum size and no more than one over 22 inches. With periodic drawdowns in the reservoir, trout reproduction is virtuallyimpossible, but cooperative net-pen rearing projects at numerous locations provide the trout fishery. The cooperative net-pen project plants approximately 750,000 catchable sized rainbow trout annually into Lake Roosevelt. Check the latest regulations pamphlet for special trout and kokanee rules and redefined San Poil and Hawk’s Creek boundaries. Other catchable fish are burbot, lake whitefish, and yellow perch.

Fishing for Walleye on Lake Roosevelt

One of the most popular sport fish in the northern and central United states has developed a similar reputation in Washington, and specifically at Lake Roosevelt national Recreation Area, in the last couple of decades. Known for its exquisite flavor and large size, this newcomer called “walleye” is providing additional excitement and opportunity in a state already rich with fishing resources.

Available species include walleye, rainbow trout, kokanee, yellow perch, lake whitefish, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black crappie, and white sturgeon.

The Washington Department of Health (DOH) has issued this fish consumption advisory for Lake Roosevelt due to mercury contamination: pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and children under six years of age should eat no more than two meals of walleye (8- ounce portion) a month. For more information, check the DOH website at www.doh.wa.gov/fish or with the DOH office of Environmental Health Assessment toll-free at (877) 485-7316.