We are having quite a winter here in Central Washington. Lot of snow, snow and more snow. I did manage to make it out on the water this week and fired up the smoker with my share of a catch from Rufus Woods Reservoir.

I drove through heavy snow all the way from Leavenworth to Grand Coulee Dam last Thursday. I had loaded my truck with all my shore fishing tackle and bait. I also had every item of cold weather gear along with me. My plan was to get there in time to meet with Roni Smith, at the Chamber of Commerce, and then do some fishing at Spring Canyon. However, you all know I am a pretty hardy angler, but I wasn’t going to spend a couple of hours in a snowstorm fishing from the shore.

I had another reason for going to Grand Coulee, even with the awful weather I had to deal with on the way. The next morning I was going to meet my friend and guide Austin Moser and his cousin Randy Skyles to fish at the net pens on Rufus Woods Reservoir. Even though this would be Austin’s first trip to Rufus this winter, I knew it would be a great trip.

They picked me up at the Grand Coulee Center Lodge at 7 Friday morning and thankfully the snow had stopped. We launched the boat at the middle pens and set up just below them. We got one fish on bait, but Austin wasn’t satisfied with the action we were getting. He suggested that we try casting jigs. Austin had a box full of a variety of jigs and he had some great days fishing with them in the past. That changed our luck! The fish really liked the olive green jigs that Austin picked out, and we landed our limits of fat triploids in no time. Austin always has a trick up his sleeve and casting jigs was the answer on this particular day. He showed me once again that if you are willing to experiment fishing can be hot on Rufus Woods. This week’s photo is of Randy and Austin with our catch of triploids at Rufus Woods.

I have been getting requests for updates on the ice on Curlew Lake, which is very popular with ice fishers.  Although this lake is fairly remote, located not far from the Canadian border, it attracts anglers from all over the state. I know of a few people that will even made a day trip of it here from Wenatchee. It has an exceptional population of yellow perch, with many in the 12-inch class. There are just a few accesses to Curlew Lake, and most people use the one at the State Park at the bottom end. The folks at the park are good at plowing the parking area to accommodate large numbers of vehicles.

I spoke with Carly at Tiffany’s; the only resort open in the winter at Curlew. She said the lake just froze over and hopefully safe ice is anticipated as early as next week. It would be a good idea to check with her on the ice conditions before heading up there. Although most of the cabins here are already taken on the weekends through February, anglers can park right next to the lake for a fee of $10.00 per vehicle. They are even running a heated hose to their cleaning station for anglers to fillet their catch this winter. The store at the resort will be open so people can get drinks and snacks. There is no winter usable restroom.

When I visited Curlew Lake last January I stopped at Tiffany’s and chatted with a group of ice fishermen that were gathered at an area out from the docks, and they were getting bunches of 12-inch perch. I want to remind people that there is a video that I made last winter of some of the popular ice fishing lakes up north. I visited Curlew and Bonaparte lakes, which aren’t far from the town of Republic. I made a stop at Palmer Lake which is up the valley from Twisp, and Patterson Lake, near Winthrop.

When I start hearing about people ice fishing I do an inventory of my gear. I like to share what I think are the necessities for a successful day on the ice, and when I looked at my storage shelf a couple of items caught my eye. I have found the rod holders that are made to hold the small ice fishing rods very handy. They are made of heavy gauge wire and are easy to fit on my sled. They keep my reels off the ice and snow, and I can place them near the hole.

The other item I just started using last season and will not go ice fishing without is called a Big Eye Spring Bobber and it is a thin wire extension that snaps onto the tip of your rod. They have a very large eye and are painted bright red, come in two sizes, and I get the largest one. The idea is that you can detect even the lightest bite. This is one of the things that you pick up, thinking “what the heck” why not try it, and I was surprised at how much I liked using them.

On my trip to Grand Coulee Dam I observed some wildlife, and it was interesting to see. I stopped at Northrup to see if they were plowing the parking area and saw that they had the previous day. I expected to see some of the turkeys that hang out here, but instead saw two rooster pheasants. I guess they weren’t too nervous seeing me, knowing they were safe in the State Park. Plus, I saw quite a few deer and they looked pretty healthy. The amount of snow we have already seen throughout the region is of concern. I know a couple of wildlife areas have been closed to avoid stressing the elk herd that reside in them.

I am hoping to see safe ice soon on Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee. It is close to me and easy for me to visit. I introduced several people to the fun of ice fishing last winter and it was a lot of fun. It should be ready to go soon!