SPOKANE, Wash. — Anglers are encouraged to participate in the Northern Pike Reward Program at Lake Roosevelt in an effort to reduce the fish in the area.
The Lake Roosevelt co-managers (Colville Tribes, Spokane Tribe of Indians and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) have been working to remove the northern pike from the lake since 2015.
“The co-managers are particularly concerned with the negative impacts northern pike pose to tribal and state resources,” said Holly McLellan, the fish biologist for Colville Tribes Fish and Wildlife. "The co-managers of Lake Roosevelt invest $9 million annually into protecting and enhancing the fisheries of Lake Roosevelt through hatchery programs, native fish conservation programs for redband trout, white sturgeon, and burbot, as well as habitat restoration projects. Northern pike compromise the conservation and restoration of the current fisheries on Lake Roosevelt.”
A northern pike can be over 50 inches long and weigh around 45 pounds and a female northern pike can produce up to 250,000 eggs. The female pike is also known to be able to eat frogs, birds, trout, salmon and steelhead with their large teeth and mouth.
Anglers looking to participate in the reward program can drop off their pike heads at Noisy Waters Gas Station, Kettle Falls boat launch, Hunters boat launch, Fort Spokane boat launch, or the Inchelium Fish and Wildlife office.
Information regarding the Northern Pike Reward Program:
- Anglers must be 17 or older to participate
- Anglers must fill out all the tag information at the designated drop area
- Fish heads must be placed in a freezer bag with the label and dropped into the freezer or brought to the Inchelium Fish and Wildlife office
- Fish heads must be in quality condition and clearly identifiable. Unidentifiable heads will not be accepted or rewarded
- Northern Pike must be caught in main stem of Columbia River from Wells damn upstream to Canadian border, the Spokane River upstream to Little Falls, the Kettle River, or Okanogan River.
- No size restrictions on the northern pike
- Anglers must follow all applicable state and tribal fishing regulations for the area that they fish
- Allow two to three weeks to receive your reward
For more information on the Northern Pike Rewards Program, click here.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: Search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.
