Like so many boating anglers in the region, it is hard to have access to my boat when the weather turns cold. That limits my activity somewhat, but it certainly doesn’t keep me housebound.

I put a lot of triploid rainbow trout through my smoker last week and pretty much exhausted my supply. Everyone knows that if you have smoked fish it doesn’t last long. So, when my buddy James Lebow suggested we run up to Rufus Woods and fish at Brandts Landing I was raring to go. Along with us was Michael Erickson, who fishes here often and has had good luck. His best fish at Brandts was a 12 ½ pounder. Michael showed us how it was done. He had a fish on the stringer in the first half hour we were there. Fishing was slow, though.
The water level was the lowest I had ever seen, and there was no current at all. We did get a few more fish, a total of four ate the Power Bait we were offering. We spent most of our time standing around the fire, visiting with Dave, the fish checker for the Colville Tribe. If you fish from the shore between Chief Joseph Dam and Brandts Landing you have probably met him. We always enjoy talking to Dave when fishing above Chief Joseph Dam. He makes regular circuits at the shore fishing spots, checking on the catches of triploids. He is not an enforcement officer and doesn’t check licenses or if anglers are following the regulations on trout fishing on Rufus Woods. He works for the Colville Tribe but his activities are funded by the Bonneville Power Administration. What he learns helps with the funding of the triploid releases from the net pens by the tribe. He said the fishing had actually picked up in the last week or so. Next time we will fish from shore it will be near the net pens. This week’s photo is of Tom Verschuren with the first fish he caught at Brandts Landing in the winter.
With snow possible in the forecast in my area in the coming week, I guess I have to face the fact that I am going to be fishing from shore for a while. Not a problem. There are several very good places to go to catch big trout in the winter in this region. Another destination that has produced good results for me over the winter months is the shoreline at Spring Canyon Park, just above Grand Coulee Dam. I set up on the sandy beach near the swimming area and cast bait from the shore. I am never surprised when I get an 18 to 20 inch rainbow. The same is true when I fish at Keller. There is a nice spot at the end of the park below the marina that has been very consistent. Also high on my list is the Colville Net Pens site. I catch my biggest trout here in the winter.

When I am going to make one of these trips there are a couple of things that I will take along, aside from warm winter clothing and bait. Those extending rod holders with a fork on the top are one of them.  A stringer is handy, too. One of the things I just started doing is to take a small cooler for my Power Bait, marshmallows, nightcrawlers and shrimp. I put some handwarmers in it and that keeps my bait from freezing.

Thinking about my last trip to Brandts Landing, I thought about what we brought along to make our day more comfortable. One of the reasons that people like to fish at Brandts Landing and at the accesses above Chief Joseph Dam is that there are fireboxes or rings at the sites. My friends brought a good supply of dry wood, and having a fire helped keep us warm. That and a good supply of pocket warmers to keep our hands warm. I am often surprised to learn that some of my friends haven’t heard of toe warmers. These small pads stick to your socks. You put on a thin sock, attach the warmer near your toes and then put on a good pair of winter socks before you pull your boots on. These will last up to six hours and can make the difference between being miserable or comfortable.

I recently received a note in my inbox from Paul Hoffarth, who is a district biologist in the Region 3 office in Pasco with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He attached a link to a presentation that revealed the results of 20 years of research on the walleye population in Lake Roosevelt. I found this very fascinating. Some of the highlights were that 80 percent of the walleye in Roosevelt are in the 14 to 16 inch class, and the reason is the very slow growth rate. Around 50,000 walleye are harvested every year by sport anglers, but that doesn’t really impact the population. The abundant population is self-sustaining, and there is a very large year class that occurs every two to four years. Most anglers prefer to keep walleye that are 16 to 18 inches or larger and fish over 20 inches are rare. Releasing walleye that are over 20 inches could help improve the number of larger fish. If you have an interest in watching this very informative presentation you can follow this link: https://youtu.be/Z50qyBbJRPc.

I wanted to mention a couple of other places where anglers can try fishing from the shore in the winter. It has been a while, but I have fished from the shore at the very bottom end of Moses Lake at the ORV Park. There are some big rainbow in Moses Lake, and this can be a place to catch them. The other place that you will see anglers in the winter is at “Medicare Beach”, which is on the east side of Potholes Reservoir. It can be very good for trout here, unless the reservoir freezes. It is known for catches of really big rainbow and brown trout in the early spring.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you can get outdoors with your family and friends over the Holiday.