Northwest Fishing Reports

i have been driving to indian reservation by newhalem in easter wa on columbia river, for two weeks straight i did not catch any trout? waisting my gas, where is all the trout go?

Depending on how many were stocked, some get fished out fairly quickly after they are planted. And depending on the size of the lake and how the fish can move around and/or go deep, it may be you just haven't found them.

If you've gone a few times though, with no luck, then it's very likely there are not that many in there. Most of the triploids were stocked in the spring.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

stace

Not so much Rufus Woods. It's more of being there when they want to eat and giving them what they want. The best times to catch fish there is when the the dam is generating and water is moving and stiring up food and of course when the fish are being fed.....

Everytime it seems when i have luck its bone chilling cold, snow on the ground ect... So I bet it will all pick up soon, it just hasn't been cold enough.

that is what our RW guides on this site will tell you.

I don't think it makes any difference on the temp. I've caught them year round from -5 to over a hundred.

I have also fished rufus in all temps, from 10 -105. I do better the colder it is however. But sometimes the fish just arnt cooperative. My best day it the was in the high 30s low 40s and was in march. But I have also fished it in February, witch is the money maker month on Rufus. Last 3 state records were caught in February, and I had to scrounge for a limit and a half. RW can be unpredictable at times. If you are making a long drive I would say give it another 3 weeks. If you live with in an hour or so keep at it, it will turn on any day

I used to fish Rufus, and Roosevelt. Pressure was light at both spots. There have been a ton of reports and much more pressure on Rufus this year. Triploids are not very hard to catch, so I think there would have to be less of them at this point. That being said I agree with gpc the big fish bite better in colder weather.

My take on Rufus Woods catching this time of year.

Water temps continue to drop on Rufus Woods and the catching will improve with heavier fish being caught. I have found the best catching to be when the water temp hovers around 40 degrees with a ripping current. The numbers of fish in the lake will continue to rise with every accidental release from the pens. I don’t remember the exact numbers accidentally released earlier this year but I think it was like 75000 extra fish dumped into the river. I believe the reason that the catching has been slow is because the PUD’s are filling the reservoir in preparation for the heavy power consumption winter months. IE: (Low Flows)

To summarize the fishing/catching on Rufus Woods…Colder water means larger fish…Faster water means more fish.