Northwest Fishing Reports

i am going over to rufus woods and omak lake for a week i have never fished omak lake so any pointers i can get from anyone would be very helpful and i have never fished rufus woods from a boat this will be my first time for that i am used to just fishing powwer bait next to the pens so please give me sum pointers on that to on what to use from a boat and where to fish from a boat please

what fish you be fishing for?

cutts on omak and trips on rufus

trout, so I'm moving this thread from 'classifieds' to the trout forum.

ok thank you i couldnt figure out how to do that

Only a mod or admin can move a thread. :-)

Using the internal search feature brings up lots of past info/discussions: http://washingtonlakes.com/forum/search ... words=omak" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://washingtonlakes.com/forum/search ... ords=rufus" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also look in the video section here, both have fairly recent, within the year, videos I think.

Then there is lots of info in the reports.

Both have had lots of interest the last couple months. Similar questions have been asked and answered fairly recently. I hope this helps get you started. Mark

like already stated, read back on the fishing reports for rufus and omak and you'll get a good idea what has and may work. on rufus, you can't go wrong starting out trolling a wedding ring. pitching roostertails and jigging can work well also. be sure to crimp the barbs on all hooks on your lures so you can catch and release, otherwise you have to keep your first two fish. any fish caught with bait, you have to keep. on omak, i've had good luck trolling various colored spoons on the downriggers...
good luck

dave g wrote:like already stated, read back on the fishing reports for rufus and omak and you'll get a good idea what has and may work. on rufus, you can't go wrong starting out trolling a wedding ring. pitching roostertails and jigging can work well also. be sure to crimp the barbs on all hooks on your lures so you can catch and release, otherwise you have to keep your first two fish. any fish caught with bait, you have to keep. on omak, i've had good luck trolling various colored spoons on the downriggers...good luck

Here's some good advise above...
W/exception, on Rufus Woods you don't have to keep the first two fish when using bait/scent or barbed hooks, they do however count towards your two fish limit. I would add that trolling black, brown or olive woolly buggers and wiggle fin combos a long way behind your boat is also very effective.

Big D wrote:

dave g wrote:like already stated, read back on the fishing reports for rufus and omak and you'll get a good idea what has and may work. on rufus, you can't go wrong starting out trolling a wedding ring. pitching roostertails and jigging can work well also. be sure to crimp the barbs on all hooks on your lures so you can catch and release, otherwise you have to keep your first two fish. any fish caught with bait, you have to keep. on omak, i've had good luck trolling various colored spoons on the downriggers...good luck

Here's some good advise above...
W/exception, on Rufus Woods you don't have to keep the first two fish when using bait/scent or barbed hooks, they do however count towards your two fish limit. I would add that trolling black, brown or olive woolly buggers and wiggle fin combos a long way behind your boat is also very effective.

I think dave g has it pretty close since the rules state,

Only uninjured TROUT caught using artificial lures or flies with single-point barbless hooks may be released.

If you fish using barbed hooks or more than a single point hook, barbed or not, you cannot catch and release AND your first two fish count toward a daily limit. However, the rules do not say artificial lures or flies cannot be baited, which includes scent, just that you can only release trout if they were caught while using artificial lures or flies with single point, barbless hooks. Fishing with a streamer fly with a single-point, barbless hook and sprayed with an attractant (bait), the angler can catch and release until a daily limit is retained.

I think the regs would be clearer if they were changed to read,

Anglers may catch and release TROUT only when using selective gear methods, i.e., artificial lures or flies with single-point barbless hooks and NO BAIT. All TROUT caught using other angling methods count toward a daily limit.

Personal practice for me at RW is, when fishing with bait (including any scent), barbed hooks, or more than a single point hook, no more than two, and they go in the cooler.

thank guys that is very helpful like as i stated i have only fished rufus woods from the shore at the pens and have never fished omak lake so i am trying to find out where to go on omak and i have no down riggers and i will give the wedding ring a try on rufus and what size and color of rooster tail should i use

thanks for all ur tips i leave in the moring so tight lines everyone

thanks for that clarification, phil. i never really thought to use a baited artificial lure to catch and release. i usually use a lure and if it doesn't produce, move on to the next one. good to know. it would be nice if the regs were more black and white without the grey areas. shark- the darker colors, black, olive green, brown, like big d stated, have worked for me, but ya never know. the key is to be persistent. on omak, i've had my best luck along the eastern side of the lake, working south... be sure and post a report of your adventures...

i will post pics when i get back we r leaving in a hour we r also hitting bonaparte and beth lake and molson lake used to fish sidley lake all the time but the fish always taste like mud anymore i am hoping to get my 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter there first fish

well i'm thinking you have a pretty good chance of getting your kids their first fish if you're hitting all those places, lol. good luck...