I joined Allan and his son-in-law at Northport for 3 days of fishing. There were 3 of us in the boat on Monday and we caught 20 walleyes. On Tuesday and Wednesday, it was just Allan and I, and we boated 14 walleyes on a rainy and windy Tuesday, and 15 walleyes on Wednesday. Roosevelt above China Bend is a fast flowing river this time of year, so we concentrated on back eddies and current seams. Water temperature ranged from 51 to 54 degrees. Water visibility was 8 feet. Lake elevation at Grand Coulee was around 1270 feet and rising.

More info for club members: There are a handful of sites for RVs in the parking lot at the Northport boat launch and park. Allan is camping there for a couple of weeks. The Northport launch provides the closest access to China Bend until the river approaches full pool. On Monday and Tuesday, we fished spots downstream of Northport to China Bend including the big eddy near the Little Dalles. Walleyes were scattered in the Big Eddy so bottom bouncing was productive there. We also trolled bouncers around China Bend and picked up a couple. Elsewhere, we tossed jigs and blade baits in to various smaller seams in the 15 to 25 ft range. On Wednesday, we fished well upriver near the Canadian border where the average size of the fish was larger (18 to 20 inches), but there were very few spots that held fish. Color preference varied from place to place. Some fish had crawdads in their bellies, others sculpin, and others small walleye. Most fish had nothing in their stomach. Males still had milt sacks. One 18 inch female had not dropped her eggs, yet.

Allan, Greg, and Andrew: Roosevelt - May 19-21, 2025