Greg and Eli: Rufus Woods - 8/21

The forecast was for hot and windy, but we decided to make the trip to Rufus Woods anyway. Fishing was slow, and by 1 PM we were battling gusty west winds and swift current. Boat control in the afternoon and evening was difficult to say the least. We continued to grind away, and by 7 PM, we caught three 18 inch walleyes and 7 rainbows ranging from 17 to 20 inches.

More info for club members: We arrived at the Seaton's Grove launch at 915 AM, and headed upstream. There was almost no current when we arrived so we motored toward Grand Coulee to jig in back eddies and current seems. We picked up an 18 inch walleye within our first 10 minutes, but struggled to get any other bites as the sun got higher in the sky. As the current increased late in the morning, we tried fishing jigs on humps and flats near Buckley Bar with no bites. By lunch, we were trolling bottom bouncers in 35 to 60 feet along the channel edge. No bites. By 3 PM, the wind was blowing so hard we couldn't control the boat with the bow mount any longer so we started trolling crankbaits with the big motor on the flat just below the boat launch. Eli picked up a walleye and a couple trout within the first hour in 20 feet of water. Greg's crankbaits got no love, so he switched to a blade bait. In the last hour of the day, he landed a walleye, lost another walleye at the net, and landed 4 rainbows.