We had a beautiful 70 degree day at Rufus Woods! The fishing was slow, but the weather and the beautiful scenery made it worth the trip. Green hillsides don’t last long in arid central Washington. We fished from 9 AM to 6 PM. Our total was 3 walleyes, 2 whitefish, 2 trout, and a pikeminnow. Walleyes were 19 inches, 21 inches, and 23 inches. The water temperature was 44 degrees. Highlights of the trip were catching our first walleye right at noon which was just in time for a fresh fish taco lunch!!! We also enjoyed several close looks at a beautiful bald eagle which refused to eat the pikeminnow we killed.

More info for club members: There was good current the entire day, but locating active walleyes was difficult. We fished jigs and blade baits in many current seams during the first half of the day to discover that pattern was not productive. A local on Buckley Bar had 5 keepers in the boat fishing a gravel hump, so we looked for other humps in light current areas and found walleyes. Two walleyes were caught on copper colored blade baits and one was caught on a 4 inch swimbait (olive color).

For lunch, we cleaned the 19 inch walleye and put the fillets in a bag with a lime, garlic, and turmeric marinade. Grilled the fish and placed in corn taco shells with pico, lettuce, cilantro, cheese, and guacamole.

Greg and Allan: Rufus Woods - 5/4/2022