The Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt Recreation area offers some world class fishing for Rainbow Trout, Kokanee, Walleye and Smallmouth Bass, and many of the creeks and small rivers in the area offer fantastic trout fishing
General bear and cougar licenses are available with season dates that overlap the moose hunt
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This unit is located in the northeastern portion of the state, with a western border that follows the Columbia River (specifically the Lake Roosevelt Recreation Area), and an eastern border that follows Aladdin Road. This unit has lots of private property, but as limited as it is, there is more public land than many of the other moose units offered in Washington. Access can be found on large tracts of state and forest land scattered across the unit, as well as timber company property. Most timber companies provide access with their own set of rules and regulations that must be adhered to while you are on their property; these rules can be accessed on their website or can be provided to you over the phone. Expect mild terrain with rolling hills over much of the unit, and hillsides with scattered trees making glassing possible in these locations. There are areas of the unit with large tracts of dense timber, but even these areas offer some opportunity with clear cuts scattered throughout them.
There was an unusual, large scale outbreak of Bluetongue in the late summer of 2015. Although this outbreak seemed short lived as there were no reports in 2016 or 2017, this along with a large amount of predator activity continues to have an impact on all ungulate herds in this region of the state.
With elevations starting at less than 1,300 feet on the banks of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area climbing to over 5,700 feet on the Gillette Mountain Peak, you can expect lots of very broken country as you leave the river and continue to gradually gain elevation as you head east and southeast into the largest segments of the Colville National Forest and state land in the east and southeast corners of the unit. The majority of the unit is covered in sparse hills leading into large tracts of conifer timber. The majority of the public land is in higher elevations in this unit.
The vegetation mostly consists of different species of pine ranging from ponderosa pine and douglas fir on drier sites, to western red cedar, western hemlock, and western white pine. The forest also has a large amount of lodgepole pine and the incredible western larch. There are many areas with little to no ground cover, and what is there is often very low profile, creating some great opportunities to locate game. Creek beds and river bottoms are lined with willows and varieties of grass.
Access is good in the larger sections of state and forest land in the east and southeast areas of the unit. Aladdin Road serves as the eastern boundary of the unit and has many access points as you head north out of the town of Colville. Both Joe Creek Road and Kolle Creek Road will get you deeper into the unit and have many less maintained roads branching off of each of them. The top end of Kolle Creek Road will lead into Rocky Creek Branch Road, eventually putting you at the north end of the Gillette Ridge Trail, a major trail system running north and south keeping you at the highest elevations this area has to offer, including Gillette Mountain, the tallest point in the unit. If you are looking for some more remote areas to hunt, the state land around Old Douglas has a very limited amount of roads and access. Using old logging roads will allow quick access in many parts of the unit and keeps the level of physical effort lower.
Colville is the largest town in the area with a population of approximately 5,000 people. Considering it is the main hub for the surrounding areas, it serves closer to 30,000 people and has all the amenities you would expect of a town serving this many people. There are multiple hotels available year round as well as a Walmart and a sporting goods store if you need any last minute gear or supplies. Aladdin Road heads north out of this town and puts you approximately 10 miles from some of the main access roads into the forest. There are no National Forest camping sites along the Aladdin Road, but camping is allowed in the forest; check with the USFS for fire restrictions and closures before your trip.