Peaceful Fishing Spots and Picnic-Ready Eats

With so much nature around, it’s easy to plan the perfect day. One way is to pick up delicious local food and go fishing in the scenic waters of Stevens, Pend Oreille and Ferry Counties with a waterside picnic. 

We matched some of our favorite fishing spots with local restaurants that serve to-go food, so you can reel in dinner while you eat lunch. Each combo keeps your day easy, giving you the food stops that are about a 20-minute drive from your fishing spots.

Remember to get a Washington state fishing license before throwing out your lines and check for seasonal regulations and limits for the type of fish you can catch and keep. 

Near Republic, WA

Fishing: Curlew Lake, Ferry Lake, Long Lake

Local eats: Knotty Pine Restaurant, Steve-O’s Restaurant

Northeast of Republic, Curlew Lake offers rainbow trout, large-mouth bass, and tiger muskie, with the best fishing in spring and early summer and ice fishing opportunities in winter. Yellow perch also reside here and are especially plentiful, which means you are encouraged to catch them and there is no limit. South of Republic, Ferry Lake is stocked with rainbow trout each year, making spring and early summer great times to fish, though there are some tackle restrictions for the protection of breeding loons. Less than two miles south of Ferry Lake is Long Lake, which is limited to fly-fishing only. There you’ll find fry-planted westslope cutthroat trout. 

Grab a sandwich to go from the Knotty Pine Restaurant or a triple-decker club sandwich from Steve-O’s Restaurant in Republic. 

Near Kettle Falls, WA and Colville, WA

Fishing: Rocky Lake, Kettle River (via  the Napoleon Bridge Boat Launch Day Use Area), Lake Ellen, Bayley Lake

Local eats: Rancho Grande, Crandall Coffee, Mr. Sub, Milk House Market

As a tributary to the massive Columbia River (and ultimately a part of Lake Roosevelt), you’ll find lots of different fish throughout the year in the Kettle River including walleye, bass, rainbow trout, salmon and sturgeon. To the southwest, Lake Ellen provides plenty of shoreline access with bass and sunfish populations along with a spring supplement of catchable rainbow trout. Just south of Colville, Rocky Lake offers great rainbow trout fishing (stocked annually) from April to October and has plenty of shoreline access, just remember your Discover Pass for this spot. For fly-fishing, you’ll find Bayley Lake southeast of Colville on the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge, filled with rainbow trout and eastern brook trout.

Grab sandwiches at Mr. Sub or a panini at the Milk House Market in Colville, or pick up a “Don Corleone” wrap at Crandall Coffee or a burrito at Rancho Grande in Kettle Falls.

Near Newport, WA

Fishing: Brown’s Lake, Bead Lake, Pend Oreille River (via Pioneer Park Campground)

Local eats: Mellany’s Bakery, My Sidewalk Cafe

Bead Lake is open year round and is known for good ice fishing along with its self-sustaining populations of kokanee, lake trout, burbot, and northern pikeminnow. It has a boat launch, with shoreline access limited to the surrounding area. Northeast of Usk, high-elevation Brown’s Lake is fly-fishing only, and all motors are prohibited.  The 87-acre lake receives annual plants of westslope cutthroat trout fry, and offers cutthroat from 8 – 16+ inches. 

The Pend Oreille River offers a laundry list of catch possibilities: smallmouth and largemouth bass, walleye, yellow perch, different types of trout and plenty more. While there are several public boat launches along the river, there are also many bank angling opportunities. The Pioneer Park Campground offers boat and bank access to the river in a beautiful location with day-use options. (Note the Kalispel Reservation is along the river in the Cusick area and fishing is not allowed by non-tribal members on Tribal land. Please be respectful of Tribal restrictions).

Get sammies and salads at Mellany’s Bakery in Usk or a delicious flatbread (and a cookie) at My Sidewalk Cafe in Newport.