Large Rainbows Pose Problem

You may not be able to catch a limit of five rainbows at Fourth of July Lake the first week or so of the winter fishing season.

The problem isn’t because there are only a few trout in the popular lake, which will open Dec. 1. It’s because there are too many rainbows nearly as long as your arm.

Where else in the Northwest can you have such a wonderful problem?

Let’s explain. The limit is five trout a day, no more than two of which can be over 14 inches. The first two fish you catch and kill probably will be more than 14 inches long. Then you’ll be done fishing for the day.

The first five rainbow trout that fishery biologist Bob Peck caught when he test-fished Fourth of July Monday were 20 to 22 inches long. Nearly all of the other trout he hooked were more than 14 inches long.

Peck also test-fished Hog Canyon recently and concluded that anglers likely will take limits of rainbows ranging from nearly nearly 9 inches to some in the 17-inch class.

Two other Spokane region lakes, Williams and Hatch, also will open Dec. 1. However, biologist Curt Vail of Colville reported that Williams Lake, long a popular Stevens County winter lake, will be a bust this winter. So will Hatch, a tiny lake east of Colville.

The rainbows that Peck caught at Fourth of July were in excellent condition. Even most of the 16-inch-plus trout were bright and healthy.

Surprisingly, the catchable-size rainbows released this year are 12 to 13 inches long. But they’re apparently not nearly as plentiful as the 1994 fish, now 14 to 16 inches long, and the 1993 rainbows, which average 20 inches.

Consequently, Peck said, most anglers will go home with two big rainbows, not the five they may expect to catch.

Fourth of July didn’t fill up during the wet spring and summer months. However, it’s now about three feet below normal, not the seven feet of last year.

Peck said that anglers still won’t be able to launch boats off trailers. The water is several yards off the makeshift road at the public access area; therefore, determined anglers will be able, if they’re willing to walk in mud or carry their boats several yards, launch car-toppers, rafts and other flotation devices.

Fourth of July, like other winter fishing lakes in the Spokane region, usually freezes over in early December. If the weather continues relatively mild, both Fourth of July and Hog Canyon may be ice-free for the opener.

Peck said he expects a high percentage of anglers to catch limits at Hog Canyon the first few weeks of this winter’s season. Rainbows released as fry last spring now are about 8 inches long. The 1994 trout are 10 to 13 inches. In addition, he said, there are some large rainbows to 17 inches.

Hog Canyon’s level is high enough to launch boats from trailers. Anglers can use gas-powered engines at Hog Canyon, but only electric motors at Fourth of July.

The road into Hog Canyon is slightly better than it’s been the last few years, Peck said. It’s not so good, however, that anglers can drive much faster than 15 miles per hour.

For the first time in several years, fishing will be poor at Williams Lake, about 18 miles north of Colville. Biologist Vail said a person or persons released largemouth bass and carp into the lake a few years ago and the bass are now large enough to eat small trout.

He said 20,000 rainbow fry were released into Williams last year. Bass ate nearly all of them. The bass apparently ate most of the fry released last spring.

“Whoever released bass in the lake had to know that they wouldn’t get a chance to fish for them,” Vail said. “They would have know that we would rehabilitate the lake before the bass grew large enough to be worth fishing for.

“The carp they released in the lake now are 14 to 16 inches long. They’ve spawned and there are carp fry in the lake. The people who released carp in the lake had no good reason to do that. They just wanted to screw up the fishing at Williams.”

Little Hatch is full of perch, most of which are stunted. The trout population is small.

Clear, Silver, Newman, Sprague and Roosevelt lakes will provide some winter fishing opportunities in the Spokane region. Clear and Silver have fair populations of good-sized brown trout. Newman holds small perch and bluegills. And Roosevelt will give up some good-sized rainbows and kokanee, as well as some walleyes.

It’s unlikely that anglers will catch many bluegills through the ice at Sprague Lake this winter. The bluegill population has dropped dramatically the last two years. Most of the fish anglers will catch through the ice will be perch. A few walleyes probably will be caught.

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Fenton Roskelley The Spokesman-Review