I had a call from a guy on the coast wondering if he could still launch his boat on Lake Roosevelt this weekend if he brought his son over for a little winter fishing.
The answer: an emphatic yes, with footnotes.
Here’s the lake level situation and more.
Right now (about 3 pm, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014), the lake level is predicted to “stabilize” at around 1,271 feet above sea level, or about 19 feet below the completely full mark.
That leaves most launches open, including Crescent Bay and Spring Canyon.
That said, you might find your favorite cove iced over. Even Crescent Bay is solid, which hasn’t happened in years.
I’ve talked to guys catching rainbow at what we like to call Geezer Beach, and one fellow told me his group caught two limits on the shore at Swawilla Basin last week.
You can find current lake level in this chart under “Midnight Elevation Level.”
And here’s our list of boat launch elevations.
MINIMUM BOAT LAUNCH ELEVATIONS
Crescent Bay 1265′
Spring Canyon 1222′
Keller Ferry 1229′
Hansen Harbor 1253′
Jones Bay 1266′
Lincoln Mill 1245′
Hawk Creek 1281′
Seven Bays 1227′
Fort Spokane 1247′
Porcupine Bay 1243′
Hunters Camp 1230′
Gifford 1249′
Daisy 1265′
Bradbury Beach 1251′
Kettle Falls 1234′
Marcus Island 1281′
Evans 1280′
North Gorge 1280′
Snag Cove 1277′
French Rocks 1265′
Napoleon Bridge 1280′
China Bend 1277′
Tag Archives: fishing
How to fish Lake Roosevelt in the winter
Watch this great little video by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife with great tips on fishing Lake Roosevelt in the winter.
Here’s how to fish Banks Lake right now
Here’s a free copy (OK, it’s digital, but still…) of our guide to fishing Banks Lake in early spring.
It’s full of great tips for anglers, even those foolish enough to pass up on the opportunity to get into this weekend’s (April 6-7, 2013) “Are You Tough Enough — Triple Fish Challenge” fishing derby.
Check it out here:
Fishing is great, despite it all
“The most beautiful place in the world.”
That’s the way a man from the western part of Washington state last weekend described to me the place where I live. The avid bass fisherman said that twice a year, he makes his pilgrimage to Coulee Playland to go bass fishing. And he’s so “ansty” to get going, he can’t wait until Friday mornging to leave.
Instead, my new acquaintance, met at a newspaper industry conference in Everett, said he gets home from work Thursday evening, packs up and heads to the Grand Coulee. He drives through the night, launches his boat at first light, fishes all morning, then comes back and sets up his campsite.
“My wife never could understand why I would get so antsy to leave,” he told me, “until she came along. … Now she understands.”
I asked if he planned to fish Banks Lake while it was drawn down this winter. He said he hoped to make it over, if for no other reason than to see and map the underlying structure of the lake now exposed because of the drawdown of the lake for maintenance purposes, a very rare event.
Bass angling friends, he said, report that fishing has been good during the drawdown, but the regular winter strategies are out the window. The fish are confused and sometimes huddle together, their favorite places now high and dry.
Two weekends ago, organizers of an annual bass tournament at Coulee Playland were glad they decided not to cancel their event. They had a blast in the lowered lake with more concentrated fishing, according to Coulee Playland’s Hal Rauch.
A confession: I am not a fisherman, but I still think this is the most beautiful place in the world.
Watch out for sneaky water levels
Camping or boating on Lake Roosevelt?
Watch yourself and the lake, which will continue to rise at a couple feet a day, even on the Fourth of July.
That means you shouldn’t pitch your tent too close, or you might be floating before you wake up.
And your boat, anchored out very far, could lift its anchor as the water rises. Good luck finding it the next morning. Better to tie it off at shore with a long rope.
Lake Roosevelt likely won’t be full until about July 10 or 11 this year, a good week later than most years due to the late spring runoff.