Bayley Lake Spawning Channel Cleanup September 25

Background

Many years ago the IEFFC put in weirs (low dams) and laid down gravel in the ponds formed by the weirs to create spawning beds in the short, channel-like stream that flows out of Potters Pond into Bayley Lake.  The idea was to enable rainbow trout to come up in the channel in early spring and spawn with the females getting rid of their eggs enabling them to live a year or two longer than the normal three years.  This of course, meant more large fish in Bayley that we could fish for.  Normally, the water temperature in the channel gets too high for the fertilized eggs to hatch so there isn’t much if any natural reproduction.

Present

During the summer the grass along the channel grows almost chest-high and then droops into the channel tending to restrict the flow.  Also, the gravel gets moved around and is sometimes covered with sand.

Just about every year a group of eight to ten members from the IEFFC has gone up in September or October to cut the grass and clean it out of the channel.  We also renew the gravel as required.  Most years the channel is dry so it is fairly easy to do the work and usually takes about two hours.  The Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge provides the gravel. 

September 25, 2021 

Members of the IEFFC are going to go up on the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge northeast of Chewelah on Saturday, September 25, 2021 to clean up the Bayley Lake spawning channel.  We will have five “veterans” who have done this work before that have boats paired up with five other members.  The other members will meet up with the “veterans” and ride up to Bayley with them.  Once we have completed the work which usually takes about two hours we will go fishing in Bayley Lake which can be very good in the fall.  The pairs will meet up at Zips in Chewelah at 8 am with the IEFFC buying our breakfast.

For those of you that have never fished Bayley this is a great opportunity to fish it with someone who knows the lake and how to fish it.

Fin Clipping at WDFW Hatchery September 27 and 28, 2021

Again this year the IEFFC will join other groups at the WDFW Spokane fish hatchery to clip adipose fins from fish that will be planted in Lake Spokane.  This project takes two days.  The IEFFC has committed to furnish six people each day.  At this point it is not clear what if any Covid-19 restrictions will apply.  In past years WDFW has furnished lunch to all of the participants.  Volunteers need to show up at the hatchery before 8 am.