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Today was my first attempt at Rufus Woods Lake. I left Yakima and drove 170 miles through rain, wind, downpours and more rain. I had heard that the net pens were tricky to find, and that is true. Once I got onto BIA 10, I took two wrong turns before actually finding the fishing grounds. The second wrong turn I took actually led me dead in the center of the net pens, where they harvest/ feed, etc the trout. I was told by the wild life officer that was the wrong spot to park.

That said, I will not say that the net pens are bad by any means. I think the biggest problem is that you have to go through a lot of smaller fish in order to get to the larger ones. I started out with bait (pink power eggs to be exact) and instantly had my first fish, a 15 inch rainbow. Far from a lunker! I then switched over to my modified rooster tails. You now have to use single barbless if you catch and release. I had clipped two hooks off of my roosters and bent the barb in on the remaining hook, in order to catch and release. I figured hopefully this might be productive until I catch a fish worthy of keeping (aka a 5# plus rainbow). I casted time after time, to no avail. Finally I tied on a black jig (I heard black jigs work great). I modified this as well, bending the barb in. This produced nothing. Finally, I tied back on some power eggs, and instantly reeled in a fish the same size as the first. That is the problem with using bait at rufus. Regardless of weather you catch and release or keep your fish, if you are using bait, two fish caught means you are done. So, one hour into my 360 mile (round trip) journey, and I was done. The wild life was hanging around (not that I would have bent the rules). It just seemed like way too long of a journey to bring home two mediocre trout, in the pouring rain to boot. I guess my main problem was I got too hyped about the size of the fish, and expected every fish I caught to be a 3 or 4 pound trout or larger.

One interesting side note, is that the belly of one of my trout was full of gravel. I'm not talking fine grains of pebbles, but decent size gravel. The stomach was quite swollen, and when I pinched it, it felt gritty. I cut it open and there was a bunch of gravel. Hmmmmmm. I attached a picture of the gravel. The dark splotches are the gravel I removed.

Beerman

A9

4/23/2008 10:22:00 PM

The only two trout I've kept this year thus far have had interesting stomach contents. One had pine needles (this was out of Beaver lake) and a few bugs, but mostly pine needles and other weird little things that were not food)
The other came in with a bunch of dead aquatic plants in it's stomach, as if it was digging through the dead plants laying on the bottom of the lake to get to the bugs...

Awoods

4/23/2008 10:51:00 PM

The limit at rufus is only 2 fish?

Big Mike

4/23/2008 10:53:00 PM

great report beerman1981! I too have tossed and turned at night wondering if the five hour drive would be worth it, as there are some good choices near my home for 15 inch bows. Plus the limit here is 5 fish not two. I think I have an answer for you about the gravel. One of my fishing buddies toured a hatchery recently and the fish biologist showed him what they feed the triploids . its a pellet style fish food that matches the size and color of the gravel in your fish. wonder if the trout at Rufus Woods think its fish food pellets? anyway ,just a thought .hope it helps. I caught a 14 inch fish yesterday at Flowing lake in Snohomish county and it's stomach was empty.I had to work hard for it , so I assume the cold snap we've been having is causing the bite to be off...

Gonzipheris

4/24/2008 10:39:00 AM

Fellas-

You cannot compare the fishing in Western Washington to that of Rufus Woods. There is no place in W. Wash. where six guys can limit with 12 fish all over 4 pounds the biggest 8 pounds...in less than 2 hours. If you put in your time and follow the regs you should have no problem finding the big hawgs. Using bait will limit your odds given you have to keep them.

Adro

4/24/2008 10:58:00 AM

If I'm reading the Regs right I think you can catch and release as many fish as you'd like as long as you are NOT using bait. If you are using bait of any kind then you are limited to 2 fish. I've read other reports where guys have caught and released well over 2 fish using lures.....???

Adro

4/24/2008 11:07:00 AM

From the Statewide Freshwater Special Rules:

TROUT: The combined daily limit for an angler that fishes in both rivers and lakes on the same day is 5 TROUT. In the combined
daily limit, only 2 TROUT may be from rivers, except as provided for EASTERN BROOK TROUT.

BROWN TROUT CUTTHROAT TROUT
RAINBOW TROUT LAKE TROUT
GOLDEN TROUT KOKANEE
TIGER TROUT LANDLOCKED
GRAYLING ATLANTIC,
CHINOOK,
AND COHO SALMON
In rivers, streams, and beaver ponds: Min. size 8". Daily limit 2. When fishing with bait, all TROUT
(except STEELHEAD) equal to or greater than the minimum size are counted as part of the daily limit
whether kept or released.

In lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: No min. size. Daily limit 5. When fishing with bait, all TROUT
(except STEELHEAD) equal to or greater than the minimum size are counted as part of the daily limit
whether kept or released.

fishnislife

4/24/2008 12:25:00 PM

Awesome report beerman. Nice job on the trips. That's nutty about the gravel. Makes them weigh more though.

fishnislife

Gringo Pescador

4/24/2008 2:39:00 PM

That is bizarre about the rocks - I have heard that some animals eat gravel to help grind up the food in thier stomach - don't know if it is true or not and never heard it with trout. Wonder what WDFW would do if you had a record breaking bow out of there and when they cut it open it had 1# of rocks in it???

Awoods - Bare Lures (with no scents or, tipped with anything) are not considered bait - and you are correct, you can catch and release all day as long as you are using single barbless hooks, no bait, and the fish is not injured (bleeding/eyehooked). At least this is the way I understand it. Also the net pens are on the Colville Reservation, so you are subject to thier rules too.

Beerman - Rufus trout are the best I have ever eaten - enjoy em!

beerman1981

4/24/2008 6:24:00 PM

I will enjoy them, now that the gravel is out of the, crunch!

northfork

4/24/2008 7:45:00 PM

Great report. The middle pens can be tough to find the first time there.
I don't know how to get to them, but there is shore access to the mouth of the Nespelem above the upper net pens. Saw a few people fishing there when we were out in the boat.
The key to fishing the black jigs is that the fish don't HIT them. When your using the jig if for any reason it stalls or acts different set the hook. I found that the fish just pick it up as it goes by. Once in awhile you may actually feel the bite but most times not.
I will usually throw every kind of lure or jig I got at them and then when I'm ready to leave if I don't have any fish I will switch to bait so I have something for dinner.

eustace

4/24/2008 8:21:00 PM

Nice report, interesting topic about the gravel. I think Big Mike is right but I was also wondering sence these Trips have such a hi content of fat and flesh if they need the wieght for boyantcy, Just like a overwieght person can back float/tred water a lot eiser then a thin one. Just a thaught.

northfork

4/24/2008 9:07:00 PM

I wonder if the fish wasn't picking bugs out of the gravel and just got a little carried away.

kutthroatkilla

4/25/2008 11:04:00 AM

good report. that's too bad you couldn't have hooked two 8 pounders or something like that. maybe next time. thanks for sharing your experience.

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