Bayley Lake Spawning Channel Restoration 2022

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As always, the Bayley Lake Spawning Channel cleanup was a lot of work and a

        Before

lot of fun. The Channel was more constricted than in past years, but the IEFFC  crew was up to the task and created an easy path for the spawning trout.

Our crew of nine volunteers met at 8AM at Maverick’s Restaurant in Colville. Those working on this noteworthy project were Bob Schmitt, Mike Schmitt, Doug Brossoit, Jim Athearn, Lee Funkhouser, Phil Beck, Jake Nelson, Guy Gregory and Denny Carson. Breakfast was wonderful, after which we proceeded to the channel.

         After

The work entails clearing all the heavy grass and debris from the channel, followed by carrying loads of gravel for the spawning beds. There is a lot of heavy lifting involved. The work was steady and the project was done in about three hours.

Following the clearing of the channel we always head over to Bayley Lake to do a little fishing. The fishing was slow, but the fish that were caught were quite large.

A special thanks to Projects Chairman Jerry McBride, who did all the planning for this years cleanup.

Bob and Mike Schmitt

The Crew

Jim Athearn Hard at Work

Going for the block at the launch

Doug Brossoit on the Rake

Fin Clipping 2022

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Members of the region’s FFI clubs Spokane Fly Fishers and your
Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club volunteered at the Spokane Hatchery for a fin clipping extravaganza on September 27 and 28. Clipped adipose fins mark fish as hatchery raised, thus helping anglers and researchers identify hatchery raised fish for harvest and survey reasons.

Fresh fingerlings are put in the center trough. Each clipper has a net,
and grabs a few of the fish, transferring them to the outer troughs,
which contain an anesthetic. Once the fish settle down, the clipper
grabs one of the little fish, and clips off the adipose with a scissor.
Once clipped, the fish is put into fresh water in the small outside
trough, where flow transports the fish into a large hatchery pond.
They revive quickly.

The table style of the processing area promotes a great deal of story-
telling and sharing of experiences, along with sage angling ad-
vice…..most of it good!

All that, coffee, donuts, and pizza for lunch. Beautiful weather, good
work, and great companions.
IEFFC Volunteers for this years’ effort are: Bill Papesh, Jim Athearn,
Skip Cavanaugh, Bob Schmitt, Guy Gregory, Dan Lobb, Phil Beck,
Tim Davis, and Steve Boharski.

Jim and Skip win the Silver Snipper award for volunteering for 2 days! 2!