Northwest Fishing Reports

Just wondering people's opinion of the long term affect of pike in Roosevelt (see report from 4 Mar) on the walleye population. It will also be interesting to see if they caught any in the fall walleye survey and what Mike thinks the overall impact will be when the start showing up. My two cents is another viable population of spinney rays, life is good .

Roosevelt will produce some nice Pike, they will continue to spread, eventually becoming another major hurdle for the salmon. they are some of the best eating fish there is IMHO, but the whole invasive species thing leaves a bad taste in ones mouth once we get the full feel of their effect.

I don't have much time to comment on this subject right now, but I will soon. I can't wait to watch the fireworks that will certainly be created by this thread, on both sides of the story.
AHHH it brings back memories of the debates on the gill netting genocide that took place on the POR.

Let the games begin!!

Thank you walleye4ever for getting this ball rolling. I love a good debate.

 They will have a harder time reproducing in the Columbia because the fluctuations in water will kill some spawns, and some fish. But if a few fish have a good spawn every year, or more fish have a successful spawn every 3rd or 4th year it would keep the population lower so we dont have the overcrowding issue like Box Canyon. This would allow the fish that are there to really grow to maximum potential. They are there to stay, but I dont really ever see it exploding like Box Canyon.

AJ's Dad wrote:I don't have much time to comment on this subject right now, but I will soon. I can't wait to watch the fireworks that will certainly be created by this thread, on both sides of the story.
AHHH it brings back memories of the debates on the gill netting genocide that took place on the POR.

Let the games begin!!

Thank you walleye4ever for getting this ball rolling. I love a good debate.

Gill netting is still TAKING place in POR, not just took place. Here is an article from Spokesman for this week: http://www.spokesman.com/outdoors/stori ... newsletter

Looks like it will be possible to catch fishing for Walleye and Pike in the same body of water.

Walleye4ever wrote:Just wondering people's opinion of the long term affect of pike in Roosevelt (see report from 4 Mar) on the walleye population. It will also be interesting to see if they caught any in the fall walleye survey and what Mike thinks the overall impact will be when the start showing up. My two cents is another viable population of spinney rays, life is good .

I just got home from work and now have a chance to chime in on this one.
My opinion is: The long term effect of pike in lake Roosevelt will ultimately result in more happy fishermen. How you might ask. Well, lets first address my opinion on pike multiplying in the river.

I believe that given the drastic fluctuation in water level at Roosevelt during the spring pike spawning season, many pike will sufffer the same fate as those pictured in the post you mentioned. They will head to prime spawning habitat and many of them will end up high and dry, and dead. Those that don't may actually get the opportunity to complete their spawn, only to see those eggs end up high and dry before any of the fry have the opportunity to hatch or make their way to safe water. Those fry that do hatch and make it to safe water, will then have to survive against the walleye, trout, small mouth bass, and other pike that will be laying in wait to snack on them. Therefore, the reproduction of pike would be very slight in the Columbia. Those that made it to the river as adults, will find plenty to eat and will achieve long lengths and heavy weights. (Man that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!)

As for the happy fishermen. They will come in the way of those of us that seriously desire to have a substantial pike fishery here in Washington. Heck, we would actually spend more of our recreational dollar right here in our own state, instead of having to travel to Idaho or Canada to catch the fish we obsess over. Yes obsess. Ask the wife of any avid pike fisherman and she will tell you that her husband is obsessed with catching them. Not to say that there aren't women who love to catch them as well.

Additional happy fishermen will come from those that accidentally catch these hard fighting fish. Take the fellow that spends a majority of his time fishing for walleye. A nice big pike will come along and snack on that cute little jig and night crawler, and said fisherman will have the fight of his life on his hands. Or, picture this. He feels the slight nibble nibble nibble of a walleye. He sets the hook, the battle is on. Do I have a fish? Did it come off? Is it just a small one? Then it happens. He looks over the side of the boat and sees that he has in fact caught a scrappy little 14" walleye. In his excitement he calls for his fishing partner to "GET THE NET!!!" "It's a walleye!!" Just as his partner reaches to dip the net under his future filleted little friend, BAM A majestic 15 pound Northern Pike appears out of nowhere and inhales that cute little wally. As the jig is Yanked from the Jaw (you get the pun Craig?) of the walleye, it's hook sticks firmly in the upper lip of the pike. As the pike turns and heads for parts unknown, the walleye fishermans drag lets out a scream like he has never experienced before. WAAAAAA ZIIIIIIING BRRRRRRR and the fight he has never before experienced has begun. The 8 lb test line is begging for forgiveness as the pike has it's way with the 6' medium action rod. Finally the pike tires slightly and turns back toward the fisherman. "Holy crap" he says, that thing damn near spooled me. He gets the fish near the boat, only to have it make 2 more runs. Shortening each time, until the pike is finally laying on it's side next to the boat. The fisherman partner says, "Now I have a new problem. How do I get this BIG BEAUTIFUL fish in this dinky little net?" To which the fisherman that just experienced the fight of his life says. "You think that's a problem?" I only brought the pants I have on, and I Shat myself when that monster ate my prize walleye". They finally manage to get the pike in the boat, take it to the fish cleaning station, and fillet it. There they find enough fillets to feed ten people instead of having to catch 10 fish to feed 2 people.
The next day the two head to the local sporting goods store to buy a bigger net, and some bigger lures, because let me tell you. Once you experience a nice big pike attacking a lure right in front of your own eyes. You to will be one of those happy fishermen, and you to will become "Obsessed", and irritated when others from your state do all they can do distroy these magnificent fish.

Man, I need a cold shower after all that.
Don't get me wrong. I love catching walleyes. I just do it when the water warms or cools down to the point that the pike are not actively biting.

That's my 2 cents worth.

Very nicely put my brother...Long live the Pike Mel says....

I hear what you are saying AJ's dad......but there are more fish in the sea (PUN intended) some of us are trout and salmon guys some walleye guys ect. I think we are headed for a political battle that won't be won by any side. I do agree about one thing, like the wolf the pike are here to stay.

The biggest grip pike anglers have is how many waters have pike in them compared to all the other species? Now don't take that the wrong way, pike can cause problems and most pike anglers know this and don't want pike to be a problem to the other fisheries. However pike get vilified way to quickly for problems when they probably shouldn't be. Either way it comes done to how to handle the situation which is the hard part. Studying similar waters ecosystem makeup and habitats I think will be key to determining if this will be a problem or not.

Here's my two cents, and for once in my life, I don't have to be all that P.C. about how I feel.

Let me tell you this; I've boycotted fishing Washington State (my home state) twice in my life, the first time some 15 years ago for getting ticketed for fishing bass out of season (yes, my fault, but I'm used to Idaho. Regulating all fish species, including ones that aren't aggressively managed through stocking, with a completely closed season on lakes that happen to have worthless stocker trout, is utterly ridiculous, and in my opinion, a violation of our individual rights to enjoy our public water resources). Now, I've boycotted fishing in Washington State again since they first began their idiotic wasting of taxpayer and other dollars to gill net pike (and lots of other by-catch) in the PO river system.

Guess what? I'm not the only one. When I first fished the PO at Cusick four or five years back, the place was packed. I launched my boat after waiting in line on a really warm day in early May at the boat launch by the skatepark. There was hardly a place to park. The fishing was decent, and my buddy and I boated 12 pike, though mostly 23-25 inches in length, and had a really enjoyable day. Boats were everywhere. People were there for the pike and bass, and reports were generally good for both.

I went back to Cusick a year ago, about the same time, on an equally warm and beautiful day during the weekend. This time I went to use the skatepark. And the only people we saw were there to hang around the park. No trailers were at the launch. No boats went by. It was absolutely pathetic.

I'm telling you this; people were driving a heck of a long ways to come to the PO River to fish pike. And with them came dollars spent on gas and food in the little towns nearby. Maybe it's still getting fished more than I realize from only being there on one day during the past several years, but I'm willing to bet they've lost money on the deal locally, as few if any pike anglers want to bother with the effort to compete with gill nets to find their quarry.

I obviously have no problem with pike, as I have no problem with wolves. Nature's alpha predator, whether in the water or on land, has always been vilified. Humans naturally have always been at odds with any predator that might compete with them for food, and whether it be a sheep roaming free without a shepherd or a tasty little trout, walleye, perch, or crappie, the possibility of Canis lupus or Esox lucius stealing away our food just doesn't sit well with many. But come on, haven't we gotten past all this and progressed as a species? We have modern rifles that can easily kill any land-based creature, bass boats that can get us to the fish in a hurry, electronics that can mark structure and fish that are hidden from the human eye, and 40 pound braid on graphite rods that can set hooks into solid bone. We are now the alpha predator. What do we really have to fear?

While I'm not very interested in finding out what a Grey Wolf tastes like, I can tell you that the "water wolf" is delicious, and as an angler, I find it much more exciting to catch a fish with teeth long enough to hurt me severely than a perch or crappie that I can safely lip. As much as a walleye is heralded as excellent table fare, it's certainly no better than a pike, and an average eater sized walleye provides much less meat than an average eater sized pike. Both I find to be superior in flavor to bass, and the fact that all of these species exist together in trophy fisheries around much of North America indicates to me that management for the removal of pike is not only futile, it's not necessarily beneficial to trophy bass or walleye populations.

I'm not going to lie, I have become so zealous about catching pike that I now sneeze at my former favorite fish, the largemouth bass. If I hang an 18" bass while pike fishing, it's a disappointment. If I catch a five pounder when I'm getting skunked fishing pike, I'll openly curse a blue streak (ask AJ's Dad, he knows). It takes a follow from a 7-8 pound bass to even get me riled up about America's favorite sport fish. As for crappie, I enjoy a hot bite, but it takes about 20 fish to equal one 24" pike in terms of meat yield, unless you're into true slabs, which you shouldn't be keeping in numbers anyways. Perch are fun too, if you're catching them while watching tip up flags. Show me a stocker trout and I'll show you a fish that deserves to be eaten; a fish that for some reason we as Washingtonians have chosen to spend millions of dollars to breed, feed, then pump into rivers and lakes, even going so far as to poison entire lakes to remove all fish species to create a monoculture of these hatchery hot dogs.

So what's the moral of the story? As The King says, "why fish for silver, when you could catch gold?" Washington State can chose to manage their fisheries however they want; they can just do it without my support financially or vocally. I'll go across the border and shop in Idaho stores, buy non-resident licenses for $98.50, spend thousands of dollars on gas there for my boat and pickup, and catch the fish I want to catch. Don't worry, Washington anglers, you won't have to compete with me on your waters. You're probably glad I'm gone, and so are the fish. And I won't be back. That is, unless a pike fishery develops that's worth staying in state for.

"Monoculture of Hatchery Hotdogs" That is classic!!!! I will from this day forward refer to stocker trout as "Hatchery Hotdogs"

Now in terms of your observance of anglers fishing the POR post pike netting, your observation is correct and if you look at the POR river report, you will see other comments echoing yours. You could even gather the same conclusion based on the recent article from Spokane Review about the gill netting of pike and how there are plenty of other species doing very well in the POR now and even some species starting to make a comeback, they just need to be caught.....or something to that effect. Even during their studies of the pike they noted that before the pike were known to be there, there were only approximately 4200 angler hours per year on the POR, after the pike were known to be up there there were 76000 angler hours per year. I would imagine it is closer to the 4200 angler hours per year again. Either way, good writing Farmer-aa

There's gold in them thar waters of Idaho, but watch and see how long it is before that gold is assaulted much like the gold of the POR was. At this point, the program ongoing at Cda Lake says they are trap netting, tagging, and relocating pike to the north end of the lake so anglers can still catch them, all in the name of boosting a trout spawning creek that no one has heard of. Sure, they ask that anglers report tagged fish they catch so they can see how far they travel back towards that unknown creek. Sure they say it's a study. However, as I have said before. This sounds all to familiar and has a lot of the same look as the POR did before that fishery was destroyed. I STRONGLY encourage that all tagged fish in Cda Lake be released and not reported. I might even suggest that you hold those tagged fish up by the tag for your photos. If said tag happens to slide out of the fish. OOps!
Hatchery Hotdogs. LOL I love it. Maybe a Washington fishing license should come with weekly coupons for free hatchery hotdog buns at Walmart.