Had a blast at Rufus Woods

[hewesfisher]

Report submitted, but too much stuff to put in one report. This was the first time I had pulled the boat any distance with the motorhome, so it was an experience. Winds between Spokane and Grand Coulee made the trip interesting, but we got there safe and sound. We rolled into camp Friday afternoon about 1:30, and went about getting camp set up. The wind was blowing pretty good, so we decided to leave the boat on the trailer and just sit back and relax while watching the water and a great sunset once the winds calmed down.



Saturday was a day for fishing and we limited before noon at the middle pens. Back to the campsite for lunch and then just try to stay cool the rest of the day. At 91°, it was hot! We lounged around until evening then fired up the grill. BBQd some chicken and had a nice meal. Nothing like camping at the water's edge!



Sunday was Debbie's birthday, so after a nice breakfast, we headed back to the middle pens. Some decent fish, but I finished my limit with a 5 1/2 pound trip that was fun to catch. Best of all, we had found a hole that these guys were holding in as I had caught a 4 pounder in the same spot the day before. We were onto something.



Monday was proof positive we had it figured out. We only boated 3 fish, but all were over 5 pounds (and the biggest of our stay at 7#, 7ozs), all were caught on the same plug, and all came from the same hole.

Last day of our stay I was certain we would finally break the 8 pound barrier but not to be. I put the first fish in the boat at 9:30 and it was 4#, 1oz. Then nothing, absolutely nothing for the next 2 hrs. We had decided we were leaving at noon, so with a 20 minute boat ride back to camp, I trolled a couple hundred yards below our honey hole in hopes we might pick up another fish, and when we didn't, I started bringing gear in. I had the first rig up and was bringing in the next when the reel with the long lined J7 started singing. Debbie got the honors on that one, and it was a 4# 15oz beauty to end our day and vacation.



It was a great vacation, and I highly recommend it to anyone who might be thinking of going there. It's a 14 mile boat ride to the upper pens, so be sure to have plenty of fuel on board. We covered 150 miles on the water and burned 27.7 gals in our 4 days on the water averaging 5.4mpg. That included runs each day to the middle pens, the upper pens one day, and on Monday afternoon, a run almost all the way to Bridgeport and back.

I love my MercMonitor, it gives me instant fuel economy readouts plus trip averages. I can run at most economical recommendation and get 6mpg or better, or open it up some and get less. I don't always like running at 28 - 30mph, sometimes it's more fun to run 40mph or faster! Who says 2-strokes aren't fuel efficient.

[sickbayer]

Nice job! Gotta love rufus woods trout well worth the trip.

[clarkhess122]

Very nice looking fish! Ever since I heard about it I've wanted to get out there but I don't think my boat is big enough. :(

[Bodofish]

Awesome! Glad you had a great trip! Hope to making the run soon.

[A9]

Thanks for the report. Rufus is on the "to do" list in the near future..

[blufin loui]

Awesome Job Phil and Debbie, Sounds like a great trip with plenty of action and great times at the waters edge. Thanks for the report and pics. What a vacation!!

[hewesfisher]

I have to admit, if you're thinking of going to RW, I can certainly recommend it. There are ample opportunities for bank fishing as well, especially near the middle pens. We saw many people catching their share of RW trips.

Lewis, I have to thank you for suggesting the camp spot when we hooked up for our first RW outing. It's the perfect spot for running up or downstream in search of big RW trout. Wish we could have met up, would have been nice to pick your brain for spots downstream. I was running blind the day we traveled down below Brandt's Landing.

[Grizz]

Love the pics. Looks like you had a fun trip. What a great spot to celebrate a birthday!

I've wanted to try RW for years. Everyone talks about the pens but I'm not sure where they are on the reservoir. Is there a map showing where the net pens are? I've seen the one for the pump stations. What road do you take to get to the middle pens? Thanks.

[knotabassturd]

hewesfisher- very nice hybrid report/post here indeed! Thanx for sharing the nice big pics and nice big grins:cheers:

[Lotech Joe]

Glad you guys had a good time. Thanks for the report. BTW, ya gotta love Debbie's pants. They're way cool.
:bigsmurf:

[Big D]

I've wanted to try RW for years. Everyone talks about the pens but I'm not sure where they are on the reservoir. Is there a map showing where the net pens are? I've seen the one for the pump stations. What road do you take to get to the middle pens? Thanks.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=48.141979,-1 ... src=6&z=15

[hewesfisher]

Love the pics. Looks like you had a fun trip. What a great spot to celebrate a birthday!

I've wanted to try RW for years. Everyone talks about the pens but I'm not sure where they are on the reservoir. Is there a map showing where the net pens are? I've seen the one for the pump stations. What road do you take to get to the middle pens? Thanks.

The pens are on the upper portion of the reservoir. In regards as to what road to take, where would you be coming from? I can tell you how to get to the middle pens coming from Grand Coulee if that helps. Don't know if there's bank access at the upper pens.

BTW, for anyone heading to the Cabin By the River from Grand Coulee, here's a word of caution. Directions posted on their website say it's 13 miles from Grand Coulee on Hwy 155 north to the turn off onto Columbia River Rd/Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Rd 10. I stopped to gas up at the bottom of the hill and reset my trip counter as we pulled out onto Hwy 155. I started watching at the 12.5 mile point and nothing for the next 4.5 miles. At 17 miles, I noticed a left turn, and I took it on a hunch. About 150 - 200yds later I saw a barely readable, dilapidated sign indicating "BIA Rt 10". The big issue? There are absolutely no signs on Hwy 155 to alert you to the turn off. I have informed the folks at Cabin By the River about this and hopefully they'll update their directions coming from Grand Coulee.

hewesfisher- very nice hybrid report/post here indeed! Thanx for sharing the nice big pics and nice big grins

Glad you enjoyed them. Guess I should start a blog instead of taking space in the fishing forum.

Glad you guys had a good time. Thanks for the report. BTW, ya gotta love Debbie's pants. They're way cool.

I'm always complaining about her "pajama pants" (can't you wear some jeans?) but she likes them, so I tolerate them.

[Lotech Joe]

I'm always complaining about her "pajama pants" (can't you wear some jeans?) but she likes them, so I tolerate them.

I think they're great. Got a good chuckle.