Northwest Fishing Reports

I have been fishing long lake (in spokane wa) for many years now and it seems that more often then not any more I am hooking up with the nasty Squaw. My question is when does the fish and game dept. decided when to plant fish i.e. tiger musky, pike... that would take care of problem fish like the Squaw.

There are already pike in Long Lake for starters, so i doubt they would stock them. Pike are more or less considered a trash fish by the WDFW; there is no minimum size and no limit for them, so you would be asking the WDFW to stock a fish that they view about as favorably as squaw themselves. This is, of course, in spite of the fact that Long has produced the last 2 state record pike and could be the best pike water in the state with some management. Also with Long being a reservoir that connects directly to the Columbia and thus pretty much every major body of water in the state, there is zero chance of them ever putting tigers in there. personally I think this has been a good year for squaws, as in I haven't been catching as many, and earlier this year made history by not catching a single squaw in a full day of fishing. That will probably never happen again, but last year there was no chance of that happening and it was a weird day if you didn't go into double digits on them. Seriously though I think at least a part of it has to be contributed to fishermen's efforts. I don't know a single person that won't kill a squaw they catch out there, so probably thousands of them are leaving the lake every year. Now if we could do something about the millions of huge carp that are always jumping and annoying me out there.

beerbohm I'm with you I squawfish are a problem. Check and see if there is a bounty over there for them, I was reading a couple of reports and read that you can get a little change in your pocket for catching and them for thw WDFW to get rid of them.

What do you know Gesteppo? Is there a bounty on those squaws?

Here is a relative post:
Squawfish discussion

I think there was an earlier discussion about how the bounty only is acquired on the Snake river or something? I'm not sure, but I know a local guy was all excited to cash in, and I dont think that it applies to our local lakes.

There is no bounty on squaw on Long lake. The only reason for bounties on other bodies of water is because squaw eat salmon eggs, which happen to be among the few fish the WDFW actually cares about. If they're only eating bass eggs it's no big deal.

Nik wrote:There is no bounty on squaw on Long lake. The only reason for bounties on other bodies of water is because squaw eat salmon eggs, which happen to be among the few fish the WDFW actually cares about. If they're only eating bass eggs it's no big deal.

Heres the bounty information - http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regions/reg5/reg5-5.htm

Jared, you need to catch them downstream of Grand Coulee for the bucks. Stupid salmon smolt wont get over the dam, so we get no cash.

I have been out on a personal rampage, along with several other long lakers to kill them. We have actually gone out MANY times to target squallys when they are at their peaks (spring prespawn bass time, mid fall to late fall pre-winter weight gain), and absolutely decimate them.

They are a NATIVE fish to the region, so we can't eliminate them, but sport fishing keeps the other species in check while squaws don't get harvested. If all of us do our share to kill what we catch, we will reduce their numbers, reduce bycatch, and increase populations of other more desirable species. Predator wise, they are eaten just like everything else in the fry stage, but once over about a pound, only the largies will hit em. And a few pike, but the state doesn't exactly have enthusiasm for one of the most ideal sport fish for this water. Whatcha gonna do.

This year they have been a little lower in numbers as bycatch for some reason, but still are out there. They like crankbaits, so if you are fishing those, that might be part of it.

Moral of the story:

MANAGE SQUAWS WITH A BIG STICK. Good osprey and eagle food, so go to town!

Speakin of, when we goin fishin out here?

E

Oh yeah , I got one! Its big , its --its --its Oh Crud its another squaw fish.
Man thats irritating!

I had people tell me that Long Lake has Northen Pike, but other than the state record, I have yet to see any pictures.
I do not see this lake as a good N. Pike fishing lake, I feel the ones that have been caught may have been washed down the river or released in the lake.
I would love for my kids to Catch one (N. Pike) if anyone could please tell me where? We always Catch and Release unless it's a Squaw fish. (They go to the Birds.)
Who in their Bright mind named these Squaws, Northern Pike Minnows?

Thanks for anyones help with the N. Pike. We will do our part to keep the Squaw population down.

MattG wrote:I had people tell me that Long Lake has Northen Pike, but other than the state record, I have yet to see any pictures.
I do not see this lake as a good N. Pike fishing lake, I fell the ones that have been caught may have been washed down the river or released in the lake.
I would love for my kids to Catch one (N. Pike) if anyone could please tell me where? We always Catch and Release unless it's a Squaw fish. (They go to the Birds.)
Who in their Bright mind named these Squaws, Northern Pike Minnows?

Thanks for anyones help with the N. Pike. We will do our part to keep the Squaw population down.

The pike are in there but I have no clue as to overall population. Their numbers will eventually grow in here but they maybe having a hardtime getting established. For great pike fishing,I highly recommend the Pend Oreille River. I hear nothing but good things.
I'm not sure what genious came up with northern pike minnows but he should get beat

Good luck out there

Matt, we have a small but strong population in the lake of Pike. Your best bet is sight fishing them in the shallows from april to june. They like winterkill and they are voracious against spinnerbaits pulled within about 10 feet of them. Go into the normally shallow areas (where the lily pads usually are) and work the shorelines. Backwater bays in spring are typically your best chance, but they are year-round residents. Just tougher to target when it gets hot out.

I personally have watched one boat yard out 5 separate fish one May afternoon over about 6 hours. All fish caught were within 300 yards of my dock. He couldn't revive one after a particularly long fight, so rather than wasting the fish, we took the fish from him and ate it.

E

Thanks for the info Guy's.
I think we might head to the Pend Oreille River for now and try the Long Lake Pike in the Spring of 09.
See ya on the lake,
Good Fishing
Matt

MattG wrote:Thanks for the info Guy's.
I think we might head to the Pend Oreille River for now and try the Long Lake Pike in the Spring of 09.
See ya on the lake,
Good Fishing
Matt

If you wouldn't mind posting a report or sending me a message on how you did.
Good luck
Kevin

FYI, Squaw fish were renamed Pikeminnow because the Politically Correct felt that this was in insult to the Native Americans and the term Squaw.

Now, considering how I hate that fish, perhaps they were right.

Just for the record, the WDFW has nothing to do with the Bounty Program for the Pikie Minnow. Its cash cow comes from Bonneville Power. So you can check with them for alot of the information as to where on the Columbia River to fish for them and get paid. I think even they have had a booth at the Sportsman's Show. Quite a few retired folks fish for these terds and make a fistful of $$$$...