Franklin D. Roosevelt

[arniejl]

I was looking for a Memorial Day getaway for the wifey and me. Steamboat Rock State Park does not really have anything available that weekend because I am too slow. Sunbanks is $71 a night to pitch a tent with a minimum of 3 nights , so yeah, $213 for three nights of tent action, of which I can only do two Coulee Playland is reserved for a bass tournament (Damn bass fishermen, who do they think they are?).

So, I got to thinking and I have a friend who owns like a 1,800 sq.ft. "cabin" just outside of Lincoln. I can stay there as long as nobody has beat me too it. Problem is is that I know absolutely nothing about Lake Roosevelt.

Does anyone here want to share some info? I know Roosevelt has Smallies, what could I expect fishing them there that weekend? Good fish? Smaller fish but lot's of them? Not many fish? Only certain areas have fish? Largemouth? Launches near Lincoln?

I hate being a beggar but this is where I am at at this point.

Thanks for any info

[arniejl]

And one more thing, why can I not find Roosevelt lake in the lake index? I feel dumb but, seriously, I have looked many times.

EDIT: Never mind, found it:)

[Amx]

Lake Roosevelt is now in the river section, should be put back in the lake section and EVERYONE knows it as a lake.

I have no idea where Lincolin is.

So, lets start with - where is Lincolin? Do you have a boat? What launch are you going to be using? What size is your boat and what size motor?

Go to Auburn Sports and Marine and get a map by 'Fish-n-Map co.'. Then you can look on the map as people tell you by name where to fish.

[arniejl]

Lake Roosevelt is now in the river section, should be put back in the lake section and EVERYONE knows it as a lake.

I have no idea where Lincolin is.

So, lets start with - where is Lincolin? Do you have a boat? What launch are you going to be using? What size is your boat and what size motor?

Go to Auburn Sports and Marine and get a map by 'Fish-n-Map co.'.

Well, looking at Google Earth, Lincoln is just down stream of the Spokane River mouth, right on the bend where the main river turns north.

I have a 17' Basstracker.

I do not know the launches but will find one near Lincoln no doubt but have the alternative to drive to wherever I want or need to.

Just a 40h.p., top speed a whopping 31mph.

Thanks AMX. It helped me some once I finally found the Lake/river report on this body of water. Your the guy that I chatted about crankbaits with a while back. I am not good at fishing them and find myself getting bored with them even though others have tried to help me, lol. Any help in that regard on this lake would be cool.

I need a soft plastics abuser's group that I can attend a meeting or two with to get it out of my mind that they are not the only thing out there to fish with

[Amx]

Ya need to come to the clinics at BassPro's/Russ's business, Limit Out Performance and Marine, the 3rd Wed. of each month. There is going to be another clinic on a Sat. sometime. He'll start a thread when that is schedualed. This month it's about flippin.

I came close to winning a qualifier tourney on a crankbait on Roosevelt back in the '90s. Got third place. I forget how far back I was, but not much.

Ya want to try some crankbaiting on Sawyer Sat. I'll be there, don't know what time tho.

[Amx]

My second boat was a 17 foot Bass Tracker. It'll work just fine to great on that lake. I think the top speed was in the 42 range. But you know how inaccurate those speedos can be. lol

[Amx]

Where did you find the map? It's not anywhere I've looked, in the Columbia River or lake areas.

[arniejl]

Oh, sorry, did not mean to confuse, I did not find a map, I was only happy that I had, finally, found the reports for that place. I was looking under lakes and the name Roosevelt, Lake Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt. I never once thought that it would not be in the lakes section. So, imagine my joy when I finally found it:)

[Augwen]

Lincoln has a nice launch but will be busy over a Holiday. You will need to launch early. Depending how far you are willing to travel...you have 7 bays, Hawk Creek and the Spokane Arm (which reopens for walleye on the 26th) all uplake from Lincoln. Downlake you can go all the way to the Dam (long ways) but the San Poil is that way and it can be good fishing as well. Because of the amount of Lake traffic that you will encounter (starting about 11 in the morning) I would fish early and play late. A lot of people will be there, launch their boats and go find a beach to play from. If you got the boat and can afford the gas, you have 350 miles of shore. Google Lake Roosevelt and you will see. Remember this is owned by the Feds and your Discover Pass will not work here.

[AJ's Dad]

My input on fish in roosevelt.

Smallmouth. Lots of them but a lot of smaller fish. There are however some decent ones mixed in. We usually knock em dead with a 2" pumpkin seed tube jig.

Walleyes. You guess is as good as mine on size. One trip they're nice, the next they're small but there are some dandys in there for sure. Jig and soft plastic tipped with crawlers, jig with gulp minnows, blade baits, bottom walkers, drop shot. Whatever you like they all seem to work on one day or another. If I had to pick one I would say drop shot the 2 1/2" gulp minnows. That will catch anything that swims out there.

Trout. Most folks troll for them or cast bait from the bank. I knocked em dead one day last year when I was drop shotting for walleyes. We found a gravel bar just down from Linocln that ran out toward the middle of the channel. We drop shotted chartreuse 2 1/2" berkley gulp minnows about 18" up from the bottom. Every time we came over that bar and got into about 10 feet of water, the trout or silvers or kokanee, whatever they were would have a hay day with those gulp minnows. 18-20'ers. Tons of fun to catch.

Pray for good weather.

"Catch and release baby"
"Whether they like it or not"

[Eoso]

I'm going to be up there on July 7th. Just remember that the water level will fluctuate a ton and can make planning a little difficult if you are basing it off of a map. Definitely get one, but keep an open mind when you arrive.

[arniejl]

Alright, must get a map. Thanks for the input, I am looking forward to going if it all works out for me in my lodging.

[basspro]

Lake Roosevelt can be awesome in May - bass will be in spawn,pre-spawn, and post spawn modes depending on what part of the lake your fishing. You can find more detailed information by down loading Google Earth and entering Lake Roosevelt in the search bar.

I find medium diving crank baits in crawfish patterns, jerk baits, and swim baits work best at this time of year, but don't hesitate to throw tubes and grubs as well.

Roosevelt kicks out some nice fish at this time from 2-4 lbs.

Places to camp - Spring Canyon, Keller Ferry Campground, a private campground just above Keller Ferry, Coulee city campground at the dam at Banks Lake.

Russ

[ThinkPink]

The smallmouth fishing should be fair, likely smaller ones. If your going to target them start with reaction type bait, best bet being a jerk bait. If that doesn't produce try a slower presentation like a lead head and a grub or a tube. Look to fish the 1st drop off from the bank, and continue to fish the next ledges into about 30 feet of water. Points and creel channels should produce.
Walleye. They will be just packing up from spawning and searching for food sources in packs. Likely not the best area for these fish. look for moving water, current. I will be fishing China Bend for Walleye this time of year.
You could put those plastics to work and fish the many bays and coves in that area for Rainbows, dandy Rainbows too.
Hawk Creek is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Lincoln. That would be a good first stop IMO. You can buy a sweet map of the lake at White Elephant. Good luck...