Spokane Area Catfishing

[Florida_Native]

Has anyone ever done any winter catfishing in the Spokane area? Are there any good lakes?

I was thinking of Lake Roosevelt but that is a lot of lake and depth. 15-25 feet depth is what I hear is the best for winter. That is the only lake I know of open during the winter and not weedy, so I can use a Carolina rig.

Any help would be appreciated.

[huntnnw]

maybe sprague lk or snake river

[Da stump]

i have caught some on the snake, and be sure to get down to the Palouse in June for the catfish rendezvous. Check with Razbo for that

[KFhunter]

try for burbot 

[supagoose]

They're all gone from Sprague  we used to catch big bullhead and channel cats that weighed 5lbs to 30lbs the biggest(caught by my dad). I would say the snake is your best bet if your really gonna go after catfish. Coeur d'Alene is suppose to have channels but never heard of anyone catching them. Ive seen channel cats caught at River Front. Ive never heard of anyone catching catfish in the winter around here.

[huntnnw]

My uncle has caught them in sprague after the kill

[supagoose]

My uncle has caught them in sprague after the kill

REALLY! Can you please give more info more about this when, which part of the lake, what he caught and what he was using. You are the first person I've heard this from

[quadrafire]

Catfish was one of their goals for rehab in that lake from what I heard

[Ridgeratt]

They caught a batch of them before they rehabbed it and I thought they replanted them..

[huntnnw]

there was a hundred or more big cats put in a pond and then re relaesed along with plants

[supagoose]

thats what the DFW says but i dont trust them. havent heard of one being caught out there since the rehab. the only things ive caught there are rainbow trout and tiny LM bass.

[Florida_Native]

I read they were catching them in Sprague on the SW side of the lake behind the island. But this is the most shallow part of the lake which defies catfish logic. I had read that catfish were supposed to feed more actively in winter which is why I wanted to try. The last time I went to Sprague I didn't get a single bite but a windstorm did blow in and the water got a little ruff for my boat. So I hightailed it outa there.

KFHunter I googled burbot. I had no Idea these things even existed. They sound right up my alley. I've been reading the posts about them on the forum. Any additional help or point a in the direction of a good lake would be helpful.

Thanks

[supagoose]

I read they were catching them in Sprague on the SW side of the lake behind the island. But this is the most shallow part of the lake which defies catfish logic. I had read that catfish were supposed to feed more actively in winter which is why I wanted to try. The last time I went to Sprague I didn't get a single bite but a windstorm did blow in and the water got a little ruff for my boat. So I hightailed it outa there.

when and where did you hear about this? Sprague is a warm shallow lake but produce a lot of food for the fish that's why they get so big, fat, and usually never bite. Most of my catfish I catch them on the snake now and I don't fish deep for them. As for them feeding more in the winter I don't know about other parts of the country but ive never heard of one being caught in the winter here. The earliest Ive caught them is March. Best time for me is mid June to early July on the Snake. Before Sprague was rehabbed my best days fishing were on windy days and my worst days fishing were calm days. I don't know why but my guess is maybe pressure and wind stirring up the water has something to do with.

[rippinlips22]

I just got back from fishing the Snake last weekend, salmon fishing. I was one of two boats with 6 people that made the trip and we caught 17 catfish while salmon fishing, what a bonus. They were all in great shape, 5-8lbs. My guess is that they were trying to bulk up before winter. This is the latest I have caught catfish. PM me if you want the low down! These fish are great eats, as you already know.

[Florida_Native]

when and where did you hear about this?

I heard about this before they killed everything off in there.