The Upper Columbia River is rich in cultural and natural significance. For more than 9000 years, people have gathered along the banks of the river to fish and trade with each other. Missionaries and explorers for the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Trading Company mapped the area and developed relationships with the tribes, which lived here. In 1941, damming of the Columbia River as part of the Columbia River Basin project created a 130-mile long lake. Named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the lake is now the largest recreation feature in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Opportunities for boating, fishing, swimming, camping, canoeing and visiting historic Fort Spokane and St. Paul's Mission are highlights of visiting Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. <P>

Campgrounds:

Evans Campground : Open All YearWater not always availablePhone : 509-738-6266

First come- first serve basis. Thirty-four sites suitable for tents and RVs of all sizes. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Lots of shade, amphitheater and free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks.

Fort Spokane Campground

No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Lots of shade, amphitheater and free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. Comfort stations. Fort Spokane museum open in summer.

Gifford Campground, Open All Year Phone509-738-6266Details : First come-first serve basis. Forty-seven sites suitable for tents and RVs of all sizes. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Some shade, free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks.

Hunters Campground, Open All YearPhone 509-738-6266Details : First come- first serve basis. Thirty-nine sites are suitable for tents and most RVs. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Some shade. Free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks.

Keller Ferry Campground, Open All YearPhone 509-633-9188

Details : Reservations can be made for May 1 through September 30, otherwise it is a first come-First serve basis. Fifty-five sites. Some are suitable for tents and some for most RVs. Reservations may be made by contacting the National Recreation Reservation Service at (877) 444-6777. No more than two car units ands and 10 people per site. Some shade. Free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. This is a very busy and often full campground. Look for alternatives when planning.

Kettle Falls Campground : open All YearPhone 509-738-6266

Details : Reservations can be made for May 1 through September 30 other wise its first come- first serve basis. Eighty-nine sites suitable for tents and RVs of all sizes. Reservations may be made by contacting the National Recreation Reservation Service at www.ReserveUSA.com and through the call center at (877) 444-6777. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Lots of shade, amphitheater and free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks.

Porcupine Bay Campground : Oen All YearPhone 509-725-271

Details : First come-first serve basis. Thirty-one sites. Some are suitable for tents and some for most RVs. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Some shade. Free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. Comfort stations. Water availability is contingent on lake level. This is a very busy and often full campground. Look for alternatives when planning.

Spring Canyon Campground: Open All YearPhone: 509-633-9188

Details: Reservations can be made for May 1 through September 30 otherwise its first come- first serve basis. Eighty-seven sites. Some are suitable for tents and some for most RVs. Reservations may be made by contacting the National Recreation Reservation Service at www.ReserveUSA.com and through the call center at (877) 444-6777. No more than two units (one RV and one car for example) and 10 people per site. Some shade. Free scheduled activities during summer season. No hookups. Free dump station and water for RV tanks. Comfort stations. Water availability is contingent on lake level. Contact station is open on weekends June-August.

Fishing:

One of the most popular sport fish in the northern and central United states has developed a similar reputation in Washington, and specifically at Lake Roosevelt national Recreation Area, in the last couple of decades. Known for its exquisite flavor and large size, this newcomer called ?walleye? is providing additional excitement and opportunity in a state already rich with fishing resources.

The walleye is not a native Washington fish, and just how walleyes originally entered the state is unknown. The first verification of a walleye in Washington was in 1962, from Banks Lake in eastern Washington. Soon afterwards, populations began to show up in Franklin Roosevelt Lake (connected to Banks Lake through a huge pipe and pump). Since then they have spread from these original sites to the remainder of the mainstemColumbia river, from near the mouth to the Canadian border.

Walleyes continued to advance to other waters in the central Columbia Basin. Using irrigation canals as frontier highways, they have established populations in Moses Lake, Potholes Reservoir, Billy Clapp Lake, Long Lake, Crescent Lake and Soda Lake. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has also stocked walleyes insome of these lakes to supplement the populations, as well as to create a new fishery in Sprague Lake.

The walleye?s appeal is certainly not its lethargic fight, although fish get so big here they can generate intense interest and excitement. Rather, it is their performance at the dinner table that keeps anglers returning, trip after trip. Many people consider walleyes to be the best-flavored white-fleshed fish in freshwater.Aficionados of yellow perch (a close relative of the walleye) might disagree, but not vociferously. Both are superb in a number of recipes with the walleye?s larger size contributing bigger portions.

A good day?s fishing for walleyes will yield several two-to- three-pound fish, with an occasional fish up to ten pounds. The current state record, caught in the Columbia River below McNary Dam in April 1990, weighed 18 pounds and 12 ounces.

One characteristic that helps identify the walleye is its large, opaque-white eyes.This feature is an adaptation to the fish?s habits and preferences, and a clue forte perceptive angler. The large eyes have extremely fine light receptivity to see prey in dimly lit waters. Walleyes evolved in turbid waters and in deep lakes andthis ability to ?see in the dark? has provided the necessary edge to survive.

Astute anglers know that this also means walleyes stay away from bright, sonneteers. When they have to come up to the surface or to shallow shore areas tiffed or spawn, walleyes look for muddy waters or they wait and move in from dusk to dawn. This is the best time to fish for them.

When walleyes reach maturity, they become highly migratory. As soon as the lakes and rivers begin to warm and thaw in early spring, walleyes make spawning journeys from their winter holding areas. Some of these migrations will cover dozens of miles to headwater tributaries. Other spawning may occur along shallowrocky lake shores, but in either instance, spawning areas are less than five feet deep. The only proven natural reproduction of walleyes in Washington is in Roosevelt Lake and intermittently in Lake Umatilla (John Day Pool).

During spring spawning runs, walleyes stack up in headwater streams and below dams and are easy prey for anglers-in-the-know. Most of the famous walleye holes throughout the country are these types of waters.

After spawning, walleyes will return to the main lake or river, staying in the shallows throughout the spring and early summer until the waters warm, then moving to deep, cooler water during the day, returning to feed at dusk. During winter, it is generally thought that walleyes hold up in deep waters until the spawning urge strikes again, but little is actually known about the winter habits of this fish.