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Rufus Woods Lake Report
Douglas County, WA

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03/17/2009
Trolling With Fly
Rainbow Trout
Noon
03/17/2009
4
2367

Hit Rufus Woods this morning from 10:00 until 3:00 this afternoon with my daughter that's home on leave from the Air Force. (Check out her Gortex) Water temp was 35 degrees. Launched and went strait to the lower pens. Trolled the pens with everything I had in my tackle box and got skunked until I loaded up our rods with my New & Improved barb-less Trout Pellet Flies. From 2:00 until about 3:00 we couldn't keep them off our lines. Caught & Released 10 healthy trips in the two to three pound range in about an hour. We didn’t catch any of the newly tagged and released trips that the tribe put in the lake last week. When we started out this morning the water was like glass and on the way back to the launch this afternoon Mother Nature decided to give us a blow. It was great to hear my daughter laugh again like she did when she was little. (She really enjoys it when I trim the boat up and porpoise from wave top to wave top.)
On a side note, I met five really nice guys this morning at the launch from the other side of the mountains. They were just loading their boat and heading up to the launch at Seatons Grove, (Recommended to them by the park ranger at the corps boat launch.) I saw that they had a RW map printed from this web site and forgot to ask who they were. I gave them a few of my New & Improved Trout Pellet Flies and wished them luck. Great day on the water!!!


Comments

blufin loui
3/17/2009 10:37:00 PM
Way to go BigD, First report for RW in some time, and you were able to get the daughter into some fish. Hey, Hey, New and improved?? You must be getting some tieing time in. Great to hear you tied them and then hooked em.
I haven't been keeping up on the news lately, what's with the "Tagged Fish".
Thanks for a good report
Big D
3/17/2009 10:59:00 PM
Hey Lewis,
The Colville Tribe has released nearly 2,000 triploid rainbow trout, weighing between 3 and 4 pounds into Rufus Woods Reservoir. The plan is to make monthly plants of triploids of similar amounts and size for the next two years. Anglers should be on the lookout for trout wearing tags at the base of their dorsal fins. The fins have a number and the phone number of the Colville tribe’s Fish and Wildlife office. It is important that the date and best possible description of the location of where the fish was caught be reported to the tribe. This information will help them design the future management strategies for Rufus Woods Reservoir.
guyara
3/17/2009 11:21:00 PM
So, do you have any pics of the flies? I've tried to find them but no one seems to have any.
blufin loui
3/17/2009 11:33:00 PM
That's good info, it would be interesting to know if they would be able to tabulate the number of times, and travels of C&R trout.
Thanks for the reply
Fish_Slayer83
3/18/2009 1:19:00 AM
How would I get some of those "New and Improved" Trout Pellet Flies.
SALMONHAWK
3/18/2009 9:18:00 AM
Ditto to Fish_Slayer83 where can those flies be obtained ????
Big D
3/18/2009 12:21:00 PM
Hey, SALMONHAWK, Fish_Slayer83 & guyara
Thanks for the replies. I've been wondering about selling some of my now proven trout pellet flies to make a little extra $$$ for my favorite hobby (fishing). I figure I've got about a buck into each one so...what do you think I should sell them for? I’m along time Ebay seller and I’m also wondering if I should go that route. If I was to list them on Ebay I would have to charge $2.50 each + $1.00 shipping for the first one and I know that’s expensive for a single fly. I would combine shipping so shipping would be free for every fly after the first one. So…what do ya think? PM me if your interested or have any suggestions.
Big D
3/18/2009 1:44:00 PM
Hey blufin loui,
You raised a very good question in regards to the C & R triploids so I put in a call to the Tribe's F & W office. The person that I talked too stated that the tribe wants any and all information that you can provide in regards to your catch. Time, location, date, tag number and they don't care about if you C & R the fish. I'm thinking this is a great opportunity for a contest since it's close to Easter. Kind of like the hunt for the golden Easter egg. Who will be the first WL.com member to catch, photograph & post a photo of a tagged RW Triploid? I’m hitting RW again tomorrow. I’ll start the day using everything in my tackle box and if that doesn’t work I’ll pull out my new secret weapon, The New & Improved Trout Pellet Flies and give them a whirl. Remember the weather can change quickly on the water this time of year. Stay safe & Good luck.
blufin loui
3/18/2009 4:49:00 PM
YAA Hoo, Just got word ole Blu is repaired and ready to pick-up. Probably get er out of the shop Thursday, and try some test runs here on Lake Chelan, and If all runs out OK (and if I finish a bedroom remodel we're working on), will try to do RW sometimes this week-end. It will be interesting to see how many and where the Tagged fish turn up. Hope ya got plenty of Pellet Fly materials, you may be tieing up a few in the near future, LOL.
lonnie197272
3/19/2009 3:10:00 PM
Sounds like you had a great day. One thing to keep in mind if your fishing Rufus (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. That came out of the WDFW Regs and I know that they hammer that pretty hard so be carefull just dont want anyone to get in trouble.
blufin loui
3/19/2009 5:07:00 PM
Hello lonnie197272,
Thanks for the input. Here is the excerpt from WDFW Regs (EASTSIDE LAKES-SPECIAL RULES)
RUFUS is considered an Eastside Lake.
*****************************************************************
RUFUS WOODS LAKE (Douglas/Okanogan Co.)
ALL SPECIES - chumming permitted.
Closed to fishing from Grand Coulee Dam downstream to SR155 Bridge.
State license required. For fishing on Indian reservation boundary waters, please also consult the Colville
Confederated Tribes, (509) 634-4711.
KOKANEE Year-round No min. size. Daily limit 2.
All Other TROUT Year-round No. min. size. Daily limit 2.
KOKANEE not included in TROUT daily limit.
Other Game Fish Year-round Statewide min. size/daily limit.
STURGEON CLOSED...
And yes, the area is patrolled quite often by agents, as is needed. I'm grateful they (agents) make an appearance in the area, hopefully it will curtail the ones who are riding the fence when it comes to following the rules and regulations.
Good luck out on the water
Big D
3/19/2009 6:19:00 PM
Hey lonnie197272,
I've been checked several times by "THE MAN" (one agent is a friend of mine) and I take pride in my ability to follow the rules. I'm fairly up on the regs for RW because it's my favorite body of water and I fish it often. If given the opportunity I will report violators of the fish & wildlife regs to the proper authorities in a heartbeat. I even have "THE MAN’S" number in my speed dial. Thank you for your concern and I hope to see you on the water soon. Hey Lewis, Thanks for the back-up. My daughter & I had the best day ever on RW today. Report to follow soon. (After dinner)
lonnie197272
3/24/2009 11:49:00 AM
Hope you didnt think I was giving you grief not my intentions at all. Glad to see your up on the regs I wish more poeple took pride in that. Some fisherman I know where cited there last year for catch and releasing to many trout even though they were clearly fishing for walleye. It my understanding that if you catch two trout (released) that is your daily limit and if you catch another one whether it be unintentional you could be cited for it. Just making poeple aware of that. Let me know if this is incorrect. Thanks
Big D
3/24/2009 12:57:00 PM
Hello lonnie197272,
You are not correct. The rules for Rufus Woods state that if you use bait or scent of any kind you have to count every fish caught as part of your two fish limit regardless of weather you retain or release the fish. By the same token the rules for Rufus Woods also state that if you use a single barbless hook attached to an artificial lure, jig, plug, spinner or fly you can catch and release any fish caught as long as the fish is not foul hooked in the eyes, gills, tongue and is not bleeding or injured in any way until you retain your two fish limit. I would venture to say that those fishermen that you describe as clearly fishing for walleye had been using bait and had caught and released more than two trout each and that’s why they received the very justified citation. They should count themselves lucky to have only received a citation; they could have lost a boat, trailer, vehicle, fishing gear and anything else in their possession that was used during the commission of their crime.
Thank you for your comments but as I stated above, you are not correct in your understanding of the regulations.
Aaron
3/24/2009 2:09:00 PM
Does anyone know where the Rufus Woods *specific* rules are located at?
Big D
3/25/2009 5:32:00 PM
Hello Aaron,
I emailed WDFW and received this reply: Thank you for your email correspondence to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Fish Program. Your best source for information on licenses, daily limits, season, restrictions, etc. would be the 2008/2009 Fishing In Washington Sport Fishing Rules regulation pamphlet. This pamphlet is full of a lot of useful information, such as license fees & requirements for both resident and non-resident on page 24. This publication is formatted with the regulations for Westside Rivers first, followed by Westside Lakes, Eastside Rivers, Eastside Lakes, Marine Area Rules and finally Shellfish/Seaweed Rules. There are no Emergency Regulations currently in effect for Rufus Woods Lake, meaning that this lake is as listed under the Eastside Lakes - Special Rules section on page 99 of the pamphlet. The daily limit for Kokanee is 2 fish. The daily limit for all other Trout is 2 fish and Kokanee are not included in the Trout daily limit. For all Other Game Fish, statewide minimum sizes and daily limits apply - as listed under the Statewide Freshwater Species Rules on page 37 of the pamphlet. Also under these same statewide rules, the regulation pamphlet states: When fishing with bait, all trout equal to or greater than the minimum size count as part of your daily limit whether kept or released. The above sentence applies to Rufus Woods Lake because this lake has a 2 fish daily limit. If you are fishing with bait, ALL trout count towards that daily limit regardless of whether you keep those fish or release them. If you do not have a copy of the current regulation pamphlet, you can respond with your surface mailing address and we would be happy to send one to you, or with your internet capability, you may view/download the WDFW online pamphlet at the following web address: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/2008/2008sportregs.pdf. Please make sure you check for emergency rule changes before you harvest as follows:
Fishing Rule Change Hotline at (360) 902-2500 Shellfish Rule Change Hotline at 1-866-880-5431 Or, try our new searchable emergency rule link off our website at: https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/index.jsp Additionally, for shellfish, make sure to call the Dept. of Health Marine Toxins PSP Hotline at 1-800-562-5632. If you have further questions, please email again or call (360) 902-2700. Our Customer Service hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Sincerely, Fish Program
Aaron
3/25/2009 5:37:00 PM
Excellent Big D. Thanks for posting your correspondence. That should make it clear enough to everyone what the exact rules are at Rufus Woods.
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Available Guide

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

Phone: (509) 687-0709