Jig fishing near the lower pens has been very productive. We have also gotten a number of fish on Pautzke’s Fire Bait. Remember to be patient when fishing at Rufus. It is typical for your fish to come in bursts. You will work hard to chunk out a fish here and there, then when something changes, the bite turns on. I would recommend reserving bait presentations until near the end of your day to fill out limits. There are some small fish there. If you catch them on bait, you must count that fish towards your two fish limit. If you catch them on artificial lures you can catch and release until you want to keep the fish. There are some nice fish to be caught. A bonus is the profusion of waterfowl and other wildlife that winter on Rufus.
On Chelan, fish the trench for good numbers of lakers. A bonus would be one of Lake Chelans gems, a landlocked Chinook. Working depths of 210 to 225 feet at 1.3 mph was the ticket. Mack’s Lures Cha Cha Squidder was the hottest lure during the reporting period. Worden Lures U20 flatfish in Luminous Chartreuse and Silver Horde’s Ace Hi Flies in glow colors also caught fish.
Your fishing tip of the week is to be patient at Rufus. Normally, I recommend that you have a ticker when it comes to changing something when you are fishing. On Chelan, that’s usually about an hour. My Steelheading buddies never make more than 3 unproductive passes before making a change. However, at Rufus, because the bite can be cyclic, I think you need to really hang in there on a known good location and wait for the bite to turn on. Current changes and fish feeding in the pens can both trigger a “wide open” bite.
Your kid’s tip of the week is to remember school age boys are not designed to sit still quietly. Design those outdoor activities with that in mind. Demanding stealth will make for an unhappy boy. Lots of activity will make it fun.
Your safety tip of the week is to use an old milk crate to stabilize that propane heater on your boat for winter fishing. Having that heater tip over can be a real hazard!
Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service
http://www.darrellanddads.com or 1-866-360-1523
Pictured: 12/20/11 - The old man himself, who really did dig catching a pig on a jig. That's a 10 lb 13 oz Rufus Triploid Rainbow. Jeff was nice enough to hook it and hand it off to me.
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Also pictured: 12/19/11 - Al Skulberstad with a lovely Lake Chelan Landlocked Chinook.
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Finally pictured: 12/19/11 - A resident River Otter scratching what itches at the lower net pens on Rufus Woods.
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