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Pend Oreille
Kamloops & Kokanee

"Time and history have a habit of being divided into eras over the years.  Thus, in the Sandpoint-Lake Pend Oreille area, one of the divisions might be: BK (Before Kamloops) and AK (After Kamloops)."

Jim Parsons, "Lake Pend Oreille Kamloops."

Ross Hall. Earl Pedersen, Jim Weaver, and Laurin Pietsch display their catch during a 1942
research trip to British Columbia.  Photo by Ross Hall, courtesy of Dann Hall.

    In the past, Pend Oreille Lake was known nationwide for its fishing nationwide thanks to the hard work of many Sandpoint residents.  During the 1930s, a committee from the Bonner County Sportsmen's Association concluded that the lake needed a trophy-sized fish to attract tourists to the area.  The committee conducted several "research" trips to Kootney Lake in British Columbia to fish for the large rainbow trout known as Kamloops.  Working in conjunction with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the local committee introduced Kamloops to Lake Pend Oreille in the early 1940s.