Some northeast waters aren’t left behind

Considering that ice was still on lakes such as Curlew and the Little Pend Oreille chain on April 1, it’s no wonder that fishing in many Northeastern Washington lakes generally heats up a little later than Spokane-area fishing.

But there are notable exceptions.

Starvation and Rocky lakes in Stevens County routinely are among the state’s top opening-day trout waters. This year should be no exception, said Curt Vail, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department biologist.

Preseason sampling found Starvation’s trout pushing 12 inches with carryovers from last year longer than 15 inches. The trout in Rocky Lake were only slightly smaller.

Mudget and Yocum lakes also should be good opening-day bets, Vail said.

Ellen Lake, however, probably won’t live up to its reputation as an opening-day crowd pleaser this year.

“The bass and green sunfish are taking over, so I’m betting the trout fishing won’t be great,” Vail said.

Diamond Lake is a mixed-species fishery stocked with rainbow trout, with a boost from a net-pen project. It has good access with a public ramp and resorts.

Loon Lake has bass, mackinaw and net-pen-raised rainbows plus kokanee that are especially fun to catch later in summer.

Research indicates the small size of the kokanee (around 9 inches) stems from a shortage of zooplankton in the lake, Vail said. The state is exploring changes in stocking levels to make a difference.

Deer Lake, which is stocked with catchable-size rainbow trout, is experiencing an explosion of smallmouth bass that appears to be crimping the kokanee fishery. But the kokanee that survive grow large.

“The mackinaw are doing so well they’re overpopulated,” Vail said. “We’re asking people to keep all the mackinaw they can. The limit on trout used to be five fish, no more than two over 20 inches, but this year we upped that to 30 inches.”

Starting in 2008, people will be able to start fishing mackinaw a month earlier – on March 1 – to take advantage of the macks while they’re in shallower water.

The limit on smallmouth bass has been increased this year to 10 fish with one over 14 inches.

“There are some memorable bass in that lake,” Vail said.

Little Pend Oreille chain lakes have been stocked with tiger trout for three years and the fish are growing to substantial sizes by feeding on the perch and sunfish that showed up in the lake some years ago. The lakes, including Thomas and Gillette, also are stocked with rainbows.

Most anglers launch at Beaver Lodge or the Forest Service ramp at Lake Gillette. A channel leads to Lake Thomas. Leo Lake farther east has its own launch.

Sacheen Lake is stocked with rainbow and tiger trout plus a few brook trout.

Waitts Lake is a good place to catch nice brown trout plus the rainbows that locals raise in net pens and release into the lake. Perch fishing heats up later in the year. The season runs longer than most lakes, running through February.

Curlew Lake a year-round lake, also has net pen trout that provide a good complement to the lake’s bass fishing. The lake also holds a few tiger muskies.