Rufus Woods Lake

Heckler · 07-22-2009, 08:06 PM

Ok, this is my first post ever since joining ifish, I suppose I was waiting til I had something subsantial to say and if you have never been to Rufus Woods, now is a good time to go. I spent last weekend on the Grand Coulee dam side of the reservoir on the Colville reservation. I purchased a yearly permit for $35 at Banks Lake Tackle Shop and headed out. The fishing seemed to be the best in early morning right at daylight and at dusk. At these times the reservoir seemed to have less current and not nearly as much wind and one can see fish rising everywhere. I was fishing with 2 other friends, we fished from pontoon boats dragging around just about everything we could find in our tackle selection. The winners seemed to be, a black Rooster Tail with gold blade, and a copper Kastmaster. The heat during the day was almost unbearable (over 100 degrees). I saw several other people catch fish on bait, the rule is, you may catch and release all day with artificials, but must keep the first 2 leagal size fish caught on bait. I came home with a 7 Lb 5 Lb and 3.5 Lb trout. These were the largest trout I have caught in my lifetime that werent steelhead.

trollin4trout · 07-23-2009, 07:34 AM

Welcome to Ifish! That sounds like a pretty "substantial" trout report to me! Never hear anything but big fish stories from that place. Thanks for the report.

Jim

Grantspastor · 07-23-2009, 02:22 PM

Nice fish! And thanks for the report. Welcome to ifish

Cannon · 07-23-2009, 02:44 PM

A friend from Washington has been trying to entice me up to that lake. He claims (and now I might believe him) That the trout are huge there. My understanding is that you are only allowed two a day. Is that the case?

Heckler · 07-23-2009, 06:52 PM

Yes, you are allowed 2 per day, and a total of 4 for a posession limit, if you spend one night, you can likely go home with 4 trout in the 5-7 pound range, very well worth the drive. The last 4 state record rainbow trout have come from this lake, all over 30 lbs and I believe the current record is 35ish lbs, there are also kokanee and nice sized walleye to be taken. I did not fish for any other species while there but I plan to experiment a little on my next trip. Good luck if you happen to head that way

Cannon · 07-24-2009, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heckler

Yes, you are allowed 2 per day, and a total of 4 for a posession limit, if you spend one night, you can likely go home with 4 trout in the 5-7 pound range, very well worth the drive. The last 4 state record rainbow trout have come from this lake, all over 30 lbs and I believe the current record is 35ish lbs, there are also kokanee and nice sized walleye to be taken. I did not fish for any other species while there but I plan to experiment a little on my next trip. Good luck if you happen to head that way

Thanks for the info! I will probably head up there in a couple of weeks.

I am headed for Port Townsend today for a little trolling on the sound. The jury is still out as I have never fished there before.

raptorschild · 07-27-2009, 04:50 PM

These trout are triploids. They are big, but catching them is about as much fun as catching carp....only they eat up a lot better. If your into catching....Rufus is a great place.....if your into fishing....you may look at it about the same as fishing a kids stocker pond.

Last year I caught a fish that was 25" long and 17.5 around......This last week I caught some of the most gorgeous 10" native cutthroat on hopper/dropper's and it was far more rewarding......

BridgeCatcher · 07-30-2009, 12:07 PM

Definitely a great place to catch. Nice and easy. Last summer I went up with my parents and caught a 19" Rainbow. I have been a few times now, and while it does seem that morning and early evening fishing is the best, I have never had a proble catching any time of the day. Just takes a little more sitting around in mid day.

codeman · 07-30-2009, 05:05 PM

i was up there in the middle of feb. I have family that live in spokane and they kept telling me to come up there and catch the big trips, as they call them. We fished for about 7 hours one day to fill our 4 limits from the bank. I like to throw lures in smaller creeks and rivers, and thats what i tried for the first 3 hours. I managed to catch one rainbow about 12 inches that i let go. When i made it back to my relatives they had 5 of their 6 fish limit using white power bait, so, I bit the bullet and dunked bait. Kind of boring, but i did catch a 4.5 lb and a 6lb triploid in less than 30 min. Good eating fish, so if you want to fill the freezer, i would recommend a trip at the end of winter, probably more pleasant than the heat of the summer. My cousin told me his buddies caught and released 33 triploids the next day from a boat. I'm sure that would be funner.