I have been trying my luck fishing from shore for rainbow lately.  When snow is in the forecast I leave the boat wrapped up and try various places that are known for good catches of big rainbow.  My luck has varied, but some of the biggest trout of the year are caught on Rufus Woods and Lake Roosevelt in the winter.

I had fished from shore at Keller and Brandts Landing so far this winter, and I wanted to make a trip to Rufus Woods.  I haven’t fished the upper reservoir for years, and since I have the Colville Tribal Access Permit, I wanted to try it at the middle net pens, where the permit is required.  
James Lebow and I made the trip last Saturday and arrived to find lots of room on the shore above the new boat launch.  We off loaded our gear and James got set up while I moved the truck.  Before I had even got a rod out James had a nice triploid on the bank.  He got another one very soon after.  It took a little longer for me to get my fish, but we had our two limits of triploids by 9:40.  We found Power Bait the way to go with the heavy current in the river that day, and we had to use a lot of weight to keep our baits anchored to the bottom.  I was surprised to see the river flowing as fast as it was for a Saturday on Rufus Woods.  I am sure that helped.  When the current is slow, so is the fishing on the Columbia River.  This week’s photo is of one of trout we caught last Saturday.

There were at least six trucks and trailers using the new boat launch, and there were several RVs in the Net Pens Campground and RV Park, too.  There was a tribal enforcement officer on duty, and he was checking for access permits and licenses.  You can use your Washington fishing license when fishing from this area, and the access permit is good for the vehicle, like the Discover Pass, so your passengers don’t need the pass.  If you have the pass and are launching a boat you need to have a launch permit.  All the licenses and permits can be purchased on-line on the Colville Fish and Wildlife web site.

I have my boat sort of stored as there is snow in the forecast for Leavenworth later this week, but I still wanted to get my brother Lane out fishing somewhere.  He likes to try places that he and his daughter Sophie can fish together when she is home from college.  I thought Rufus Woods would be a good place to fish this winter, and Brandts Landing would be the ideal spot on the big reservoir.  

I remember the first time I took my brother in-law Tom to Brandts Landing.  He almost lost his rod when a big fish grabbed his bait and headed for deep water.  He managed to grab it without getting too wet.  This Federal Park is just six miles up the road from Chief Joseph Dam and there are several accesses to the water, some with fire rings.  There is a vault toilet just as you enter the park.  I typically use my marshmallow and shrimp combo or Power Bait and cast as far as I can.  It is fairly shallow along this shoreline.  

I hadn’t fished with my brother Lane since a couple of trips to Fish Lake for perch earlier this fall.  So, I invited him to come along with me to Rufus Woods Reservoir and try our luck from Brandts Landing. Turns out he had fished here a couple of times with his daughter Sophie and didn’t have a good experience.  It was extremely windy and cold, then and they never got a bite, and he was anxious to try it again.  

There was someone fishing from my favorite spot, but there was plenty of room nearby, and the day turned out to be clear and calm.  We put out three rods and baited each one differently.  One with my preferred marshmallow and shrimp, another with marshmallow and nightcrawler and one with Power Bait.  We settled into our chairs and watched our rods.  Nothing was happening for quite a while, and then I saw a big fish jump way out of the water.  It had to have taken a bait and was running for deep water.  I yelled at Lane, and he scrambled for the rod and reeled in a nice triploid.  It had taken the shrimp and marshmallow bait.  We left without another fish but counted the day a success.  Next time we’ll try Rufus Woods Reservoir near the middle pens at the Net Pens Campground and RV Park.

I mentioned that I have tried several areas from the shore to catch trout so far this winter.  There are some that are still on my list to fish.  The destinations that I have fished so far won’t freeze.  There is another big list of lakes that are fun to fish when we get enough cold weather to drill holes through the ice.  Fish Lake near Lake Wenatchee, Moses Lake, Patterson Lake near Winthrop and Curlew Lake near Republic are just a few of the favorites of folks who enjoy ice fishing.
I will be talking about these lakes and the best prospects for the winter season in my free E-Letter that will be out very soon.  I will also be providing subscribers with feature-length, highly detailed articles on a couple of the best places to fish this winter.  It’s very easy to get on the list to receive the free E-Letter.  Go to www.fishingmagician.com and click on the E-Letter button at the top left hand side of the page.  
I will continue to get out as often as I can to keep you up to date on the fishing this winter, and I hope I run into you out there.  Be sure and say hi!