Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Monitoring Program. 1993 Annual report

The first three years of this study were used to collect pre-hatchery baseline data on the fishery. The Spokane Tribal Hatchery began stocking kokanee and rainbow trout in 1991 and Sherman Creek Hatchery began stocking by 1992. The estimated number of kokanee (13,986) harvested in 1993 was similar to harvest numbers in the previous years, but the number of rainbow trout (403,277) and walleye (337,413) harvested doubled from estimates made in past years. The stocking of yearling kokanee began in1992, totaling approximately 140,000 yearlings. The yearlings were not expected to begin entering the creel until 1993 with the main harvest in 1994. As a result, it was too early to speculate on the effect of stocking yearlings instead of fry on the creel. The 1993 rainbow trout harvest escalated. The increased number of walleye harvested was believed to be from the increased angler pressure. Kokanee salmon and rainbow trout growth appeared to be similar to previous years. The growth of walleye was less than in year past, but the average size of walleye in the creel increased. The feeding habits of kokanee, rainbow trout and walleye in 1993 were similar to previous years