Each year, anglers spend thousands of hours of time catching over 150,000 fish. 

fishing in the fog

Rainbow trout, white sturgeon, walleye, kokanee, and smallmouth bass are the most targeted species. The fight to suppress northern pike, a voracious predator that devastates other fish populations, provides additional angling opportunities. Other fish available to catch are Burbot, Lake Whitefish, and Yellow Perch. 

Co-managers include the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and Colville Confederated Tribes. Annually, they invest over $9 million dollars to develop and maintain the fishery. The Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Evaluation Program monitors the success and needs of the fishery. 

Visit our Lake Guide to learn more about fishing regulations, boat launches and other information. Visit the fish consumption advisory to safely consume specific species.

Visit Salmon Reintroduction to learn about the multi-year, multi-million-dollar effort to restore this fishery, which was lost when Grand Coulee Dam was built and Lake Roosevelt created in 1942. 

Visit the Forum’s Annual Fisheries Report and news stories for updates. 

Learn About Popular Fisheries Anglers Target

The co-managers goal is the release of up to 750,000 rainbow trout annually. All rainbows released are triploids, meaning they are sterile and will not interbreed with wild trout. In addition, their adipose fin is clipped. Wild fish with an intact adipose fin should be released to assure only catching hatchery fish in Lake Roosevelt.

Supporting this effort are the WDFW Sherman Creek and Ford Hatcheries, the Spokane Tribal Hatchery and 63 net pens located between Keller Ferry and Kettle Falls. Volunteers support maintenance of net pens and feeding needs from October through their release in May.

The Spokane Tribal Hatchery also supplements traditional net pen releases of triploid rainbow trout by releasing fish in the Spokane Arm.  This adds fishing opportunities in a part of the reservoir where net pens are not operated.  

The fishery is available from Grand Coulee Dam to the Canadian border during the angling season. Check fishing regulations for when the angling season is open, the harvest slot (size of sturgeon that can be retained) allowed, and other information. 

Beginning in 2017, a recreational fishery for white sturgeon in Lake Roosevelt was reopened after more than 20 years of closure for conservation purposes.  The fishery was made possible due to surplus sturgeon from U.S. and Canadian conservation hatchery programs to help stem a decades-long population decline.

Ongoing WDFW monitoring shows this popular sport fish has remained stable and resilient over time. Depending on the year class, 12-to-22-inch fish are available. Check fishing regulations for angling season, catch limits and other information.  

This non-native fish was first illegally stocked in the 1950’s, establishing themselves by preying on other fish and successfully spawning in the spring when the reservoir is refilling.

Wild kokanee are available for anglers to seek.

For several years, up to 500,000 kokanee were raised for release into the lake. In 2020, however, this program was suspended because the minimal target of 5% annual return to creel, the estimated amount caught by anglers based on survey data collected by co-managers, could not be reached.


The presence of this non-native fish has increased dramatically over time. Smaller sizes (6-8”) are popular targets during the summer months near creek mouths in the Spokane Arm or below.  The larger fish tend to be captured in the lower reservoir along the steep cliffs.

A northern pike can be over 50 inches long and weigh around 45 pounds. A female northern pike can produce up to 250,000 eggs. This non-native fish is a voracious predator of other fish that co-managers, since 2015, are trying to eliminate or greatly reduce in Lake Roosevelt. 

Anglers are encouraged to participate in the Northern Pike Reward Program at Lake Roosevelt to help reduce the spread of the non-native invasive northern pike.