eastern washington fishng, rock and banks

[kbyers]

So I have to be in Spokane all day Wednesday, but thought I would head up there a little early and fish Rock Lake on Tuesday and Banks on Thursday.  I have never fished either but have a rough idea.  I will be in an 18 foot boat, kicker and electric.

I have read that at Rock Lake you can troll but casting is much more productive.  I figure that it is a little early to try for the spinyrays that are in the lake, so I am going to be trageting the browns and bows.  I figure to troll flat fish and troll and cast spinners and rapalas

I will be looking for walleye at Banks.  Like I said, I have never fished it before so I am going to approach it like I do McNary, worm harnesses with smile blades real slow and blade baits, 25-40 feet of water.  I got one of those fishin' maps of Banks so I figure that will help a little.

If anyone has any advice, comments, or suggestions feel free to let me know.  Of course I do not want any honey holes, just helpful tips.  All fish wil be catch and release and I will post pics and a report when I get back.  Also, if anyone wants to go let me know but you will be responsible for your own transportation. 

[stout]

I don't know about the whole of Banks Lake, but it is frozen over at North Dam, so you won't be able to launch at Coulee Playland.  You might want to get ahold of someone close to where you want to launch and check to see if the water is open.

Other than that, I live right by the lake, but haven't been out boat fishing on it, so I can't help you there.  I do however know the guys at Coulee Playland do a decent job of keeping up on what fish are biting and on what, you might give them a call, they may even know if there is any open water and launches you could use.

-Stout

[walt]

Rock Lake can be good.  It sounds like you know what you are doing and should do well.  Check out reports on washingtonlakes.com if you haven't already.  There is an interactive county map toward the bottom of the home page that can be useful.  Just click on the county and pick a lake.  There are quite a few guys on there that fish it regularly.  Same thing for Banks.  Good luck.

[div4gold`]

I fished the Rufus net pens about 5 miles down from Electric City, it was fun for the Triploids.  If Banks is froze up I'm sure that part of Rufus would be open.  There are also some Triploids in Banks.

[kbyers]

Thanks for the responses guys.  Walt, that is where I got my information from.  Figured Rock would be a good choice, of all the reports I read, didn't sound like anyone that tries gets skunked.  Hope it works out.  Gold, I think Rufus is a good second choice, any advise on how to fish it?.  Thanks again guys

[div4gold`]

Thanks for the responses guys.  Walt, that is where I got my information from.  Figured Rock would be a good choice, of all the reports I read, didn't sound like anyone that tries gets skunked.  Hope it works out.  Gold, I think Rufus is a good second choice, any advise on how to fish it?.  Thanks again guys

If you go to the 'net pens' on Rufus just tie up on the inside of them.  Use rainbow power bait on a size 10 hook, just enough to cover it, they seemed to go for the smaller baits. 

[Big D]

Re: Rufus Woods,
The fishing at RW has been slow lately beacuse the water temp is down in the lower 30's.
Be very careful about tying up close to the pens. The new owner’s frown on it.
One of the best ways to fish the pens is to slowly move around the outside of them using your bow mount trolling motor casting and dropping black colored jigs & flies. If you use barb-less hooks you will be able to catch & release all day. If you use bait or scent of any kind the first two fish you catch have to be counted towards your limit of two fish regardless of whether you keep them or not. You can also do well casting from the bank using a worm and marshmallow or power bait on an egg sinker rig. If you fish the can line behind Chief Jo, you will find the fish very deep and holding the bottom.
Good Luck!

[huntnphool]

Welcome to the site BigD

[Big D]

Hey huntnphool,
Thanks for the welcome.
There sure is a lot of great info here.
I look forward to learning much from the site and maybe sharing a little info myself.

[huntnphool]

I look forward to learning much from the site and maybe sharing a little info myself.

There are folks on here almost daily looking for info on fishing in your area, any tips or info is appreciated

[div4gold`]

Re: Rufus Woods,
The fishing at RW has been slow lately beacuse the water temp is down in the lower 30's.
Be very careful about tying up close to the pens. The new owner’s frown on it.
One of the best ways to fish the pens is to slowly move around the outside of them using your bow mount trolling motor casting and dropping black colored jigs & flies. If you use barb-less hooks you will be able to catch & release all day. If you use bait or scent of any kind the first two fish you catch have to be counted towards your limit of two fish regardless of whether you keep them or not. You can also do well casting from the bank using a worm and marshmallow or power bait on an egg sinker rig. If you fish the can line behind Chief Jo, you will find the fish very deep and holding the bottom.
Good Luck!

I thought the Colville Tribe owned the pens.  Someone else own them now?

[skybusterbo]

Was just there this weekend. Looked like the same guy's and boats to me.

[mossback91]

theres actually a few different set of pens and owners.........

[boneaddict]

Banks was 100% froze when I went through Friday.  Kinda shocking really. 

[Big D]

Re: Rufus Woods net pens new owners'
RICH LANDERS; The Spokesman-Review Published: November 20th, 2008 02:48 AM
Trout anglers wondering what it might be like to cast into a fish hatchery full of lunkers can quit dreaming and start catching.
North Central Washington’s Lake Rufus Woods has been even better than a hatchery.
And it’s legal – at least for those following the rules on the Columbia River reservoir.
The windfall for fishermen stems from a trout farm that recently folded after losing roughly 300,000 rainbows over the past year from poorly tended net pens and driftwood damage. That’s the assessment of Ed Shallenberger, fisheries biologist for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and a former manager of Columbia River Fish Farms.
“The guy I sold the fish farm to in July 2005 ran the place into the ground,” he said. “Another outfit, Pacific Sea Foods, bought the place out of the bankruptcy a couple of weeks ago, and they’re in the process of making major changes. But it will take time. the reservoir that backs up behind Chief Joseph Dam and reaches upstream toward Grand Coulee Dam – had a relatively unremarkable fishery until the 1990s.
The change began after Shallenberger helped with the pilot program for commercial fish farming on the south side of the reservoir. In 1994, he moved Columbia River Fish Farms to the north shore in agreements with the Colville tribes and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The sterile rainbow trout – called triploids – were raised and fed in the pens to sizes of 6-7 pounds before being marketed to grocery chains and restaurants.
Three sets of net pens were established and continue to produce fish on the reservoir. Two that are about two miles apart, now operated by Pacific Sea Foods under the name “Pacific Aquaculture,” can produce about 4.5 million pounds of trout a year.
One located another 10 miles downstream, operated by Chief Joseph Fish Farm, produces about 1 million pounds of trout a year.
Fish that occasionally got out of the pens – plus the 5,000 to 10,000 trout the Colvilles contracted for release almost yearly to create a recreational fishery – didn’t go far. They hunkered below the pens and bulked up on natural food and the bounty of feed that drifted down through the nets.
A progression of state record rainbows were caught from Lake Rufus Woods, ending with the current record, a 29.6-pounder caught in November 2002 by Norm Butler of Okanogan.
Another record fish isn’t likely soon, Schallenberger said.
“You’ve got way too many fish in the river and way too much fishing, legal and illegal,” he said. “It’s pathetic.
“In the 12 years I worked (at the fish farms), I’ll bet we didn’t lose more than 20,000 fish, mostly in two incidents. The big numbers of fish they’ve lost in the past year – I’m guessing a minimum of 300,000 – has made for some good fishing, but not necessarily for big fish. Most of the fish are running 1.5 to up to 10 pounds, but anything bigger than that is pretty hard to find now. We had 40,000-angler days there last year. Even with a two-fish limit, that’s still a lot of fish coming out.”
The harvest numbers swell when greed is factored in.
“Frankly, what we’re seeing is piggery,” said Sgt. Jim Brown, Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer for Okanogan County.
“We wrote one or two tickets a month on Rufus Woods eight years ago. Last November, when word got out about the fish escapes, we started writing 15 to 20 tickets a week, and we’re not there every day. Literally, nine out of 10 fishing parties we made contact with earlier this year had violations.”
One couple was caught catching their limit and returning to catch another. “They lied to the officers when we asked if they had any fish hidden in their trunk, and that alone is a gross misdemeanor, a $540 ticket for each one of them right there,” Brown said. “Then each of them got a $378 ticket for possessing twice the limit.”
High-grading is the most common violation, he said.
“You have all of these 2-pound fish out there, but everybody wants to catch the big ones. It’s OK to catch-and-release fish with artificial lures or flies, because they have a high survival rate. But when using bait, statewide rules say you must keep each fish you catch up to your two-fish limit.
“Some bait fishermen were catching 40 trout to keep two, and most of those 40 fish were dying.”