Well, after gearing up to fish for the first time since I was a kid only to strike out on Pine Lake, I spent Memorial Day Weekend at Lake Roosevelt and finally had some success.

We camped at Fort Spokane and I caught my first smallmouth bass (14 inches) and two Walleye (14 and 16 inches) bank fishing under the bridge where the Spokane River feeds into the lake. After losing some tackle to the current and rocky bottom, I used my brain and switched to a slip-bobber and worm set up that allowed me to change the depth as needed. I cast out and drifted the bobber around the bend under the bridge, walking down the bank alongside to keep the slack out of the line. It worked GREAT!

When they stopped biting around 10 a.m., I guessed the walleye had retreated to deeper, darker water. I changed to a lead jig and nightcrawler under the bobber so I could cast further out and BING! Caught another Walleye on the first cast. Very fun. Even more fun walking into camp carrying the fish where several "experts" in the family were still having their morning coffee and fooling with their boat after being skunked the night before.

I also had success out on the boat trolling a wedding ring and worm using a bottom bouncer--nabbed another decent walleye that way.

In both cases, the fish were in 30 to 40 feet of water so the trick was getting the bait down deep without hanging up on the bottom.

Others in the family fishing from a boat caught six large rainbows trolling the same gear outside the fish hatchery west of Seven Bays Marina.

Lake Roosevelt is hot. And the bonus: great weather!

Got pictures??

Hey Erin...next time you get to Lake Roosevelt,if you have a boat,try fishing straight across the lake from the Detillion campsites.There is a big rock face there and has always produced great walleye and smallie fishing. The bottom there is all gravel,so it's not very "grabby",real easy to fish. I always troll worm harnesses to find fish,then switch to jigs. And one last thing... I never have nearly the sucsess,during the day as the last hour or two before dark.

Thanks for the tips, HBP. And alas, Carl, I forgot my camera!