Anglers speed through learning curve to catch Lake Roosevelt sturgeon

Brandon Collier and Lorey Chillbeck were among a flotilla of anglers exploring the new opportunity to fish for white sturgeon in Lake Roosevelt last weekend.

“There was a bit of a learning curve, but we figured it out,” Collier said.

A portion of the Columbia River reservoir opened to sturgeon fishing on Saturday after decades of efforts to restore the fishery.

Collier said his boat was among more than 15 boats he could see in the Kettle Falls area plunking big baits for the big fish.

“We’d fished for sturgeon in the Snake but not in Lake Roosevelt and there was a difference,” Collier said. “The flow was moving pretty good, but it wasn’t quite as much current. In the Snake, I run a dropper, but at Lake Roosevelt it seems you have to have your bait smack on the bottom.”

They didn’t catch sturgeon the first day, but they caught several the next day. They’d find the fish on their sonar, anchor and plunk baits of herring or squid. “We found them in water anywhere from 50 feet to 130 feet deep,” he said.

Some anglers were catching and releasing numerous sturgeon, he said. “You can keep only two sturgeon a season, so we released our fish. We figure we have a long time to fish for them.”

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has seasons on two sections of Lake Roosevelt, with a shorter season upstream to protect spawning sturgeon:

Section A: From Grand Coulee Dam to China Bend Boat Ramp (including the Spokane River from Highway 25 Bridge upstream to 400 feet below Little Falls Dam, Colville River upstream to Meyers Falls and the Kettle River upstream to Barstow Bridge. Season: May 27-Sept. 17.

Section B (sturgeon spawning sanctuary): From China Bend Boat Ramp upstream to the international border. Season: Aug.1-Sept. 17.

The daily limit is one sturgeon with an annual limit of two, which must be 38-63 inches long fork length.

State fish managers request that anglers use heavy gear, 50-pound-test mainline and leader at a minimum. Hooks size 14/0 or smaller are recommended to avoid catching or injuring large wild adult sturgeon.

Chris Donley, department regional fisheries manager, said using heavier gear will enable anglers to play the fish more quickly so that any large, wild adult brood sturgeon that are hooked can be released as fast as possible without being removed from the water.

Although it’s only a recommendation and not a rule for sturgeon, Donley says the fish have a better chance of survival if they’re not lifted from the water.

State and tribal fisheries managers have estimated a surplus of 20,500 sturgeon that are available for harvest from Lake Roosevelt over the next decade. Of that, non-tribal licensed anglers could be allowed to take up to 10,250 sturgeon over 10 years.

Fishery dates, times, slot limits, daily limits and annual limits may be adjusted as the fishery develops, Donley said.