I am really excited about the New Year, mainly because we have a couple of terrific fisheries that will carry us through the winter season.  Rufus Woods is producing limit catches for boaters that fish the two upper net pens, and Lake Roosevelt’s giant kokanee are big and abundant again this year.

We were running late on Monday for a trip to the net pens on Rufus Woods. My brother in-law Tom Verschuren and I left the launch at just after 3.  We pulled up below the upper most pens and put the bow mount on anchor mode.  There were fish rolling all around us and that was a good sign.  

We put out four rods baited with either nightcrawlers or Power Bait and waited to see what would happen.  We didn’t have to wait long.  Tom grabbed a rod that was bent over sharply, and he landed a triploid that was at least 5 or 6 pounds.  Not long after he got another fish, and it was even bigger.  It was getting darker by the minute and I was afraid we would run out of time, but another rod went off and I had a heck of a time getting this one to the net.  I swept all our other lines and got tangled on the motor, but Tom managed to slip the net under it and hefted it into the boat.  It had to have weighed 12 pounds!  What a great hour of fishing!

We still needed one more fish, but I didn’t want to run back to Seatons Grove in the dark.  This isn’t a difficult run, if you keep to the middle of the river most of the way you will be fine.  However, about two miles below Seatons Grove is the Buckley Bar.  This shallow bar is on the left on the way down.  There was enough light for me to see it on our way back, and there is a lighted buoy at the bottom end of the bar.  

Although we quit before we had our limit of two fish each, we weren’t too disappointed.  I bet the three fish we had in the cooler weighed over 25 pounds and will probably make for a full smoker load.

This is part two of a recent adventure to the Grand Coulee Dam area.  The first day Tom Verschuren and I got up to the net pens very late but managed to get three big triploids before it got too dark for the run back up to Seatons Grove.  We spent the night at the Grand Coulee Center Lodge and in the morning ran up to Keller.  

The plan was to get some of the giant kokanee that are showing up again this year on Lake Roosevelt.  I landed a 23-inch and an 18-inch kokanee while fishing with Austin Moser the week before.  When we turned the corner out of the launch to run up the lake, we ran into heavy winds.  It was blowing 20 mph and we put up with it for a couple of hours without a bite.  This week’s photo is of me and Austin with my first kokanee of the season at this time last year.

I decided to get off of Roosevelt and run to the net pens at Rufus Woods where I knew we could get some more of those big triploids.  We stopped the boat below the pens where we fished the day before and yes, we landed three whoppers.  I will be back to Roosevelt but it’s hard to beat the great fishing on Rufus Woods right now.

Fishing for these big trout is complicated and doesn’t require any fancy techniques.  On this recent trip we just put either nightcrawlers or Power Bait on sliding sinker rigs and mostly fished just up from the bottom.  Earlier this season I was trolling bottom bouncers and spinners baited with nightcrawlers downstream below the upper pens.  On most occasions we were able to add some walleye to our trout catch doing this.  

Anglers should also know that jigging for big trout and walleye can be very effective on Rufus Woods and these triploids are very aggressive and will readily take a large fly.

You can probably tell that I am really excited about two fisheries that we can take advantage of this winter.  Number one is Rufus Woods Reservoir and the terrific action it is providing with triploid rainbow trout.  I have been fishing Rufus Woods since this past summer this season and I haven’t seen this kind of consistent fishing for many years.  

Bait fishing below the two upper most pens has produced limits trip after trip.  Although the Colville Tribe has closed reservation waters to all but tribal members, boaters have been able to launch at Seatons Grove to make the run down to the pens.  Number two is Lake Roosevelt and the fishing for giant kokanee.  On my first trip this winter, with Austin Moser, I landed a 23-inch and an 18-inch kokanee.  The following week when I saw Austin on Roosevelt he had gotten eight kokanee.  I got blown off that day, but Austin stuck it out and had good results for his clients.  Launching at Keller will put anglers closer to where the big kokanee are being found right now but later in the season you will be able to launch at Spring Canyon.

Anglers interested in fishing Lake Roosevelt should check out the video I have posted on my Fishing TV Page of my web site at www.fishingmagician.com.  This was taken while Eric Granstrom and I were fishing with Austin Moser for big kokanee the very first time.  There is a lot of good information in this video, but there are some things that have been changed.  The type of side planer being used now is the biggest difference.  The Sidewinder planers we use have been modified and have a release attached to the top of the planer.  Also, Austin uses a “clothesline” style of side planing.  He fishes up to eight rods off large planer boards and can slide a new line out without retrieving the planer board.  It’s a sweet system.  I continue to use the modified Sidewinder planers with good success.  

How to use the modified planer and a whole lot of more details will be included in my Winter fishing free E-Letter, which will be out very soon.  I will also describe in detail how to fish Rufus Woods for big triploids.