Sprauge Lake Fall "kill-Off"

[bad esox]

I heard that Sprauge lake is scheduled to be "killed-off" this fall and then sometime later it will be restocked. The lake I am told is out of balance and many of the fish have become stunted. I was also told that this is largely due to "low" fishing pressure of all things. I guess more people, especially, from the west of the Cascades only go as far as Potholes any more to fish Walleyes...with gas going up this will also play in factoring in how much people are willing to travel.

[raffensg64]

I've heard that, too. It's generating a lot of anguish with some folks. How in the world do you successfully kill off a lake of that size? Just curious.......

[littleriver]

Yes this is very interesting....

I've never fished sprague lake but it's been on my list of places to go for quite a while.. (you know the problem.. too many lakes, not enough time)...

a bit unusual to rotenone a multi-species lake like this (they do it from time to time to the multi-species seep lakes but that is to remove carp) and I think it would be a mistake to switch this one to a put and take trout fishery.........

stunted fish usually means that the sporties are catching and consuming the big guys and letting the small ones go....


in my way of thinking the way to resolve a stunted fish problem is to change the rules to cnr for any bass over 15" and then maybe plant a bunch of those tiger muskies..............

I probably shouldn't mention this, but there's a lake in the Quincy wildlife area named "Stan Coffin" and it's managed for bluegill and bass though a bunch of perch seem to have snuck in............

been a couple of years since I fished it but man there were a lot of nice bass in that lake and the perch I retained were some of the biggest I've ever caught in this state... I mean when you have a 3 pound class bass grab your plastic bait on the first cast you make in the morning you know it's going to be a good day of fishing......

there was only one other boat fishing the lake on that warm june day and it hit the launch about the same time in the afternoon that I was heading out.... These guys were regulars on the lake and they told me that it's the only catch and release bass lake in the state (checked the regs and as far as I could figure out I think he was right) and because of that the WDFW electroshock crews like to dump big healthy bass that they pick up in other lakes into this one.....

one of the nice things about catch and release regs is that lakes managed that way will tend to build a regular following and these regulars will do some of the policing of the rules.... when I told these guys about all the big bass I had caught they made sure that I added that they were released as well.... I ultimately opened my cooler to show them the only fish retained were a few big perch... I've watched the same scenario play out on selective fishery trout lakes like Dry Falls and Lenice....


now, obviously, I'm not a fish biologist but I never hesitate to proffer my opinion on any subject that interests me so that's what this is... an opinion based on limited knowledge of the subject..........

WDFW fisheries managers there must have some other information that I'm not privy to (my guess being that the carp population needs thinning) that has caused them to make this decision and these guys are pretty good.. they generally do the right thing unless some political forces are at work to push things in another direction.......... it would be interesting to get the rest of the story on this one.....

[bad esox]

Littleriver, you are pretty much right on the money. The WDFW will use rotenone to get the job done. The dead fish will be left in the lake to act as a fertilizer from what I understand. The affect of rotenone soon goes away, being degraded rapidly by sunlight and air. The lake then will be restocked with Bass, Panfish, Trout..., and yes possibly even Tiger Muskies. It is my understanding that Walleye will not be restocked in this lake at this time. So I guess if you want to go Walleye fishing in Sprauge this is the summer to do it.

[hewesfisher]

I've heard this rumor as well, and the last time I read something about was on the old version of this website. Someone had posted that WDFW was interested in making Sprague a prime trout fishery IIRC. Sprague is no more than 18' at it's deepest most times of the year. IMNSHO, we don't need another "prime trout lake" in the Spokane area, there are already plenty here.

I'm not afraid to say this, I fish to eat, not catch and release. That's a big reason why I prefer not to fish for trout in most Spokane area lakes, I don't care for the taste of hatchery raised trout. Due to its shallow depth, Sprague gets warm early in the season and that doesn't bode well for "tasty trout".

WDFW would do better, IMO, to manage the lake for it's current warm water multi-species appeal and let the trout in Sprague either die off or survive on their own. There are HUGE carp in Sprague, and they are becoming a fun sport fishery in their own right. There are also some very large catfish in Sprague, and they have a following too. Of course, there are some downright huge perch, plus nice walleye, crappie, and bluegill in Sprague that will all be lost if WDFW "rehabilitates" the lake.

There are many people who believe the Sprague fishery was ruined following the first rotenone treatment back in the 80s (I'm not certain about the time frame, someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I never had a chance to fish Sprague back then, but I have fished it several times in the past couple of years and it hasn't been unproductive. Frankly, I don't see how making the lake into something it isn't will attract more anglers. There aren't really any decent places to bank fish, so if you don't have a boat, there isn't much you can do. If the idea is to attract more anglers, then WDFW needs to do more than just dispnese rotenone, they also need to improve the only public launch, which is a bit dicey when the water levels drop late summer into early fall.

I don't see any reasonable logic in killing the lake off, and if it's because the fish are stunted, then maybe folks should take more home. Reminds me of the bass in Medical Lake about 16 years ago. I could literally catch and release 70 a day, and they would be carbon copies of each other at 8 - 9" apiece. Same held true for the Brown trout back then, they were a consistent 11 - 13" day in, day out. Once I learned I could retain the state limit for bass, I brought home a full limit every time I went out.

Despite opinions to the contrary, largemouth and smallmouth bass are very good eating!

[bustin]

Sprague is also on my list of must visit. Is there an area that would be nice to take an entire family for bank angling? We really enjoy catching the smaller species for my daughter they are easy to catch, such as blue fill and perch. We release them all, but they always bite easy she is 4.

[Smalma]

Here is the post I made on the other forum -

Mossygo -
How much do you know about Sprague lake and its management?

In the mid-1980s the lake was "rehabed" to rid it of a stunted carp population. The program was wildly successful though the expected benefits were expected to last roughly 20 years. It appears that estimate was pretty much on track.

Following that "rehab" both trout and warm water speceis were planted - the trout provided a fishery (from all reports very successfully so) while the warm water species populations matured. From the folks that I have talked with the quality of the warm water fish is now in decline and expected to get worst thus the idea of going back in with a "rehab". While "rehabs" had been mostly used in this state for lowland lake trout management (single species) Sprague is an example of where this tool was used to enhance the warm water fishing opportunities.

However if you wish to commment there should be several opportunities. WDFW will likely hold one or more pulbic meetings and the slate of proposed rehabs will go before the Wildlife commision - watch WDFW's site for dates. In addition you may be able to pass your concerns on the local county as well as Department of ecology.

I encourage you to pass on your concerns though taking the time to study the issue first may add creditability to your comments. I remember prior to the first "rehab" many in the warm water community were opposed to the treatment though I venture to say nearly all were more than pleased with the fishery the developed - it dwarfed what had existed in terms of species diveristy, quantity and quality.

Tight lines
Curt

PS -
I think the proposal is not to make the lake a trout only water but rather to use the trout to support a fishery while the warm water populations develop; just like the last time. I don't know if you of you fished the lake in the late 1980s or early 1990s but from all reports fishing was very good and fishing pressure/interest was much higher than it is today. Unfortunately once the warm warm populations get out of balance - too many small fish and fish of the wrong species it is virtually impossible to correct that situation with anglers. The managers are left with choosing between hoping things get better or take pro-active steps and try to re-establish a desireable population

[littleriver]

good info esox...

but I am trully surprised that they aren't going to restock walleye...

most of the fishing reports I've read about this lake focused on targeting walleye....


I've attended some WDFW seminars regarding rules and management issues and there seemed to be a serious prejudice against walleyes amongst the professionals making those presentations, but it was more to the tune of "we don't have them on the westside except in the columbia river and we want to keep it that way" (an exact quote as I recall)....

it really surprises me that they would leave walleye out of the mix in Sprague lake...but, I strongly suspect that even if this is true it won't hold up for long........ there are lots of largemouth bass swimming around in Chopaka Lake and no matter what they plant in Sprague Lake following the kill there is no doubt in my mind that there will be walleye to catch before too many years pass....

[YellowBear]

Back in the 80s when they rehabed Sprague,there was a huge population of Carp.
There where so many of them that the water stayed muddy year around.Nothing could spawn as the silt was terrible.The WDFW rehabed it and the fishing was good.100 Smallmouth a day was common.Walleyes of 2 and 3 lbs where the norm.You had to work pretty hard not to catch a fish.They stocked the lake with Lahotions,Rainbows,Smallmouth,Bluegill,Channelcats and Walleye.I am not sure where the Crappie and Perch came from.
Now in My personal observation,the Lahotions went first.Then the Smallmouth started to thin out.I was told that there was a problem with local land owners and the WDFW about some issues and that caussed the WDFW to stop stocking the Rainbows.The Bluegill where starting to get a foot hold until the word got out.They where dessimated in a couple of years.Over fishing in the winter and the lack of infourcement seems to be the downfall.The Walleye became king.Then a few years back the WDFW started gill netting Walleye for a study.They where killing 400 or so a year.The fish that where being used for this study where the prime spawners.2 to 3 pounders.The Walleye fishing in Sprague was great until this study started.I think it has been going on for 5 or 6 years now.We where told by the WDFW that this size of fish was needed for the project.It seems they where trying to figure out what they where eating.
We have been told that there are 60,000 Walleyes in Sprague.The game dept says we should be able to catch them on a bare hook.We took a group of 6 boats to Sprague last spring.Out of 12 rods there where 6 Walleyes caught.This year there was a group that went to Sprague and fished it for 2 days.They caught 0 Walleyes.

[gpc]

Last summer when I fished Sprague it was during that big hot spell that lasted a week or so and hit the entire state, but anyway we only got to fish until 9am and about midnight till 4am. So in about 6 hours of relaxed fishing we managed to catch 12 fish just off the dock at one of the resorts 8 of the fish were crappie and the smallest was 10", 2 rainbow trout 14" each a bluegill 11" (one of the biggest Ive ever seen) and a carp 10". Out of all our fish the carp was the smallest one we only used a micro jig and a worm. Not one small fish and when I say relaxed I mean RELAXED, we drove from spokane in that hot weather so just getting out the car and drinking a cold one was all we were worried about and the fish kind of came to us to the point where we postponed our plans and booked a spot for the night