Every fall since 2002, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) work together to conduct Fall Walleye Index Netting (FWIN) to monitor the walleye population in Lake Roosevelt. Monitoring enables managers from each agency to track long-term trends in abundance, age, growth, condition, sex ratio, and age at maturity.
After completing this year’s effort in late October, WDFW reports that the walleye fishery has remained stable and resilient over time. Abundance of walleye decreased slightly in 2025 but was above the 20-year average. There were two large year classes detected for the 2025 fishery: age-3 fish that will be 14-16 inches and age-5 fish that will be 17-19 inches. Given the higher abundance of age-3 fish compared to the previous year, anglers can expect their catch in 2026 to be comprised of larger fish.
