Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Fishermen try their luck trolling on opening day of the lowland lake season, Saturday, April 23.
COLFAX – The state lowland fishing season opened Saturday, April 23, kicked off with a statewide trout fishing derby.
The season kickoff ignited excitement in the fishing community as well as introduced new statistics for fish biologists.
State Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Staci Lehman in Spokane Valley reported water temperatures in Eastern Washington lakes Saturday ranged from the low- to mid-40s.
Fishing should be picking up, she said.
"It generally needs to hit 50 degrees before fishing really turns on," Lehman said. "Once we get consistently good weather, people should get some good luck once the water warms up."
Locally, people lined the shoreline at Rock Lake water-borne fishermen headed out in a boat.
Locals reported fish biting on Powerbait, nightcrawlers and more.
About 847 trout species were released in lakes statewide prior to Saturday.
Those species included "tagged" fish for the statewide derby.
"Roughly 80 tagged fish were caught on opening day," Lehman said. "Over 90% of the tagged fish are still out there."
Tagged fish caught can earn an individual a variety of prizes. People that catch a tagged fish can see a range of prizes from gift cards, kayaks, to fishing gear, she said.
At least one tagged fish was released in Garfield Pond, a juvenile-only fishery.
State fish biologist Danny Garret of Spokane recommends fishermen use lures instead of still-fishing with bait to have better odds at catching tagged fish.
He said fishermen trolling slowly do better, on average, compared to those shore-fishing.
Some lakes have special fishing rules.
"Check regulations before you go out. Especially if you haven't gone to a place before," Lehman said. " There is an app called 'FishWa' where people can type the lake and it tells everyone everything they need to know in the area.
"We are expecting a good year and we want people to go out and enjoy that."
The recent bipolar weather pattern shouldn't worry fishermen, Lehman said, noting she thinks a good fishing season is in the cards.
"This year's fishing season should be good. Everything was stocked," she said. "Water temperatures were, across the board, pretty cold, which slows things down.
If you don't catch one day, go out the next day. Don't give up. Just keep going out."
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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