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Rufus Woods Lake Report
Douglas County, WA

Photos

Details

07/04/2009
Stationary Fly Fishing
Rainbow Trout
Other
Brown
Floating Fly Line
Morning
07/08/2009
5
2083

Ol' Rufus does it again.....gives up some nice trout. We had a special guest on the boat today from Idaho. Mark came over to see about the fishing at Rufus. He is now a tried and true believer!!

After catching and releasing some of the biggest trout he has caught, he tied into a dandy 10lb. 1 oz. rainbow. After some hair raising jumps and nice deep runs we managed to get the nice fish into a net and then the livewell.

At the pens the numbers of fish cruising the them have been getting less and less, since the 32,000 fish escaped about a month ago because of a big log floating down and ripping one of the pens open with a hole the size of a suburban. They are finally spreading out over the rest of the lake. On the run up from Bridgeport there was definetly a lot more fish hitting the surface at dawn than in previous trips, pretty much all the way from the state park up to the pens.

Most of the fish that we were seeing were very nice in size....and some were simply monsters that were left to fight another day because I continue to screw up!! I just can't help it, I know your suppossed to wait until you feel the fish on your line, but...when I see the fly floating down in the water...drifting in front of a possible 15 - 19 pound monster fish,........ his big white jaws opening to suck the fly in and it dissapears in his mouth.......he starts chewing on the fly,............. I set the hook and ....................#@%*!!$%*!, promptly pull the fly right out of his mouth!!! Its a disease that I have had for years and years, its called excitement!! I love it. I have said before, some of the fish I remember the most are the ones that got away.

Tried a little casting later in the day and came up with a ...well,.... I think its big enough to be called a fish!!....what do you think? ha ha I am always amazed at the size of a lure some little fish will try to take. Was that fish actually thinking that he could eat that lure?? All in all, it was a very good day out on the water and Mark was able to go back to Idaho with plenty of fish ready for the fry pan.


Comments

Big D
7/8/2009 8:11:00 PM
As always Chris...Thanks for the great report. I'm looking forward to the photos.
aguynamedmike
7/9/2009 1:49:00 AM
Could someone please tell me where this Rufus Woods is at? I read these posts daily and this place sounds amazing.
Im in western WA in Puyallup, and theres only a handfull of places to go and catch trouth over 5 lbs. The fish I been seeing reported from Rufus Woods are double digits! Sounds like candy land!
Big D
7/9/2009 6:45:00 AM
Hey aguynamedmike, Rufus Woods is actually the Columbia River backed up behind Chief Joseph Dam (Find Bridgeport on the map) It runs upriver about 55 miles to Grand Coulee Dam. The fishing on Rufus Woods is truly amazing.
outdoor chris
7/9/2009 7:57:00 AM
Big D...
Don't know what happened to the photo's, will have to try to repost with them again so you can see my monster fish I caught on a spinner!!
Big D
7/9/2009 8:36:00 AM
Hey Chris...You'll have to email the photos to Aaron or Mike so that they can load them for you. Did you set Mark up with a Trout Pellet fly? Them folks from Idaho are easily converted. I was able to send three of my in laws back to North Idaho last year with their life time biggest Trout. Now I regularly ship get pellet flies to North Idaho.
birdhunter
7/9/2009 10:25:00 AM
Great report Chris,
I am not much good at tieing flies. Can the pellet fly be purchased anywhere? I am going to go over to Rufus in a couple weeks and am looking forward to some great fishing. How far up are the pens from the Bridgeport launch?
outdoor chris
7/9/2009 2:53:00 PM
Birdhunter,
There are actually a few flies I have seen on the market that you can order, I tie my own and have a time tested pattern made just for RW. I have not seen the fly pattern that BigD ties, but I do know that he does sell them, you might want to get in touch with him on that. If your not fishing catch and release then a very hot bait to try is made by berkley, its sold in a plastic package, I believe they are called power pellets, they almost exactly imitate the size, shape and color of the actual trout pellets that they feed the larger fish with at the pens. They are about 3/8 to 1/2 in diameter and are dark brown in color. If your using these, fish by the pens, remembering that you can not tie up to the pens, and fish them down to about 5 - 15 feet of water, the water around the pens is around 56' deep but the trout like to cruise the upper layer of water. Fish can be taken down deeper but the fishing is a bit slower that way. The last time out we caught trout on the pellet fly, spinners, rapala and jigs. The fun part is that you can see the fish in the water so you can see if they like what your sending their way. So if they don't take your offering right away, try something new until you get that right combination! Good Luck!!
birdhunter
7/10/2009 8:58:00 AM
Those are great suggestions Chris. Thanks for your help, hope to have a good report to post when I get back.
Aaron
7/12/2009 7:14:00 AM
Photos added.
Big D
7/12/2009 9:19:00 AM
Hey Chris, Now that the photos are up, I see why you said you caught that monster fish...I would tell the Warden the same thing if I got caught tipping my spinners with live bait. Ha Ha just kidding. Thanks again for the report & photos.
outdoor chris
7/12/2009 11:52:00 AM
Darn it all Big D, now my secret of live minnows is out!! ha ha.....can you imagine though?? that would be like me being super hungry and trying to eat something like a full sized truck!! The power of a reflexive action.....
willardchrist
7/14/2009 11:12:00 AM
Hi Chris sorry I didn't get back to you sooner and thank you for the info you gave me. Looks like your having a good time. I think I won't be back until September. I tied up some of those flies and some new jig patterns. As for the missed fish, I have the same problem. One day my arm and brain may be able to work together and I won't jerk it right out of their mouth.
outdoor chris
7/14/2009 5:16:00 PM
Ah Willard, but that is why we both keep going back for more. And those are just the fish missed that we can see while sight fishing, just think of all the fish missed while casting or trolling!! One film I liked to watch is "Why Fish Bite"..I beleive its called, its about a camera mounted on a downrigger that shows just how many salmon come very close, but don't take the bait, if anyone knows what its called, let me know, I want to see it again! They say that over 80% of fish that look at your lure don't take it....an amazing film.
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service

Phone: (509) 687-0709