Rufus Woods Lake Fishing Report

Current Fishing Report: Good To Very Good

The use of new technology is helping anglers catch more rainbow trout. Forward-facing, and side scanning, sonar is currently the best way to locate trout, especially when they school in deep water. Rainbows are caught trolling, casting or jigging, once located on these sophisticated fish finders.

Rufus Woods Lake has delivered rainbow trout approaching 30 pounds, and consistently delivers trophy fish. Fly fishing is not covered in this website, but rainbow trout are being caught on plenty of other lures and bait.

SUMMER. Summer coming to an end, and the rainbow have been holding in deep water. The water temperatures are in the low 70's, so rainbows have dropped into cooler water, 50 to 65 feet deep. Trolling, using downriggers or leaded line, and drift fishing with bait, are currently the most productive methods. Anglers fishing from the bank are using heavy weights, on a Carolina rig to get baits into deeper water. Popular baits an lures include corn, salmon eggs, night crawlers, cheese and powerbait. They are also being caught on spinners, spoons, jigs, flies, wedding rings and crankbaits.

FALL. Cooling water temperatures will again draw rainbow trout shallower. Anglers will be catching them near the bottom, 10 to 20 feet deep on points, rocky structure, humps, and anywhere baitfish are gathering. Now that they had a full summer to grow, there are some bragging size rainbow catches.

WINTER. The cold Winter weather is chilling the water at the surface. Some rainbows move to shallow, flowing water and are caught in 3 to 5 feet of water. Others are moving deeper. They can be less active, so fishing is generally just fair. Slow-trolling or drift fishing is catching decent fish, but bites are fewer than in warmer months.

SPRING. As water begins to warm in early Spring, stocked, and naturalized, rainbow trout move from their deep winter holding areas to shallow, warmer water about 30 feet deep. Late Spring may find them as deep as 60 feet. Most rainbows are being caught from mid morning to late afternoon, during the warmest water of the day. A wide variety of small spinners, spoons, crankbaits and bait are catching most of the fish.

Current Fishing Report: Fair To Good

A lot of walleye are being caught using new technologies, cutting down on the time it takes to locate them. Forward-facing, and side scanning, sonar is assisting anglers, fishing from a boat, to locate fish. Fishing is better as anglers can focus on areas with good numbers of walleye. This is true for either trolling or casting. Anglers fishing from the bank still have to search the old fashion way, via test casting, until a school is located.

Spring and Fall are the best seasons for catching walleye here, as they spend a great deal of time in shallower water.

SUMMER. Currently the water temperature is in the mid 70's, and walleye fishing is fair. Throughout Summer, early in the morning, and from dusk to long after dark are the best times to catch walleye. At those times they move shallow to feed in low-light conditions. Night fishing has been good, as well. The rest of the time they are cruising flats and creek channel edges, where they are harder to locate and catch. When the bite is slow, grubs and nightcrawlers, fished just off the bottom are catching walleye, and using a bobber can be helpful.

FALL. Fall brings cooler temperatures to shallow water, drawing walleye and baitfish into the shallows. Jigs, swimbaits, spoons, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits are all historically good for catching walleye again. Watch for the bigger walleye to be slightly deeper than the majority of the school.

WINTER. This Winter fishing for walleye was pretty good. They primarily feed on northern pikeminnows, shiners, and other small fish, staying close to the bottom. Blade baits, jigs, swimbaits, spoons, deep-diving crankbaits, and worm harness spinners, are all working while trolling or slow drifting.

SPRING. Anglers will begin finding walleye in the shallows again, especially rocky areas and inlet channels, where they will spawn once the water warms to the mid 40's. Afterwards, they move to shallow points, flats, shoals and ledges, just off shore and nearby their spawning locations. Bright colored jigs, tipped with minnows or nightcrawlers typically catch them in 5 to 12 feet of water. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and crankbaits are also working when walleye are up shallow.

Current Fishing Report: Good

Smallmouth bass fishing is currently experiencing good results using the latest high-tech fish finders and forward-facing sonar. Especially anglers who fish from a boat, are improving their catch rate. Even when fishing is slow, it's easier to catch them when you know exactly where they are holding. The advent of new lures and equipment has also improved success for anglers fishing from the bank as well. Savvy anglers, who study smallmouth movements and patterns, continue to catch nice fish, even without the new technology.

SUMMER. Smallmouth bass, including many trophy-size gems, are currently feeding shallow early and late in the day. They are being caught on topwater, crankbaits, swimbaits, Ned rigs and tube baits. Smallmouth bass here feed on crawfish, northern pikeminnows, shiners, and small sunfish. They prefer rocky or gravel bottom areas, as this is where crayfish live. During the hotter parts of the day, they are being caught on points, humps, and ledges 10 to 45 feet deep. Often these deeper fish are part of a large school of smallmouth. Anglers are reporting good catches throughout the lake.

FALL. As Fall arrives, smallmouth here follow schools of baitfish into coves and bays, where spoons, drop-shots, and slow-rolled spinnerbaits, are very successful. The average fish being caught averages about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds, but plenty of 4 to 6 pound smallies are caught with some regularity. Fishing shallow for smallmouth is often good on cold, windy, cloudy and rainy days.

WINTER. Winter will isolate them around deeper structure, points and creek channels, often suspending in open water above these features. They can generally be found from 20 to 50 feet deep. Here they hold, feeding less frequently, awaiting warmer water to return in Spring.

SPRING. When water temperatures rise into the 50's now, smallmouth move from deep wintering spots to shallower water, just outside spawning areas. They feed heavily at this time, and are typically caught on jerkbaits, crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, and crayfish imitating plastics. They will be preparing for the spawn. Once water warms into the high 50's, they move into shallower water, and create nests in gravel or sand areas, then lay their eggs. Females quickly move to deeper water and males remain to guard the eggs, and then the fry. After a couple weeks, the males also move to deeper water and feed aggressively. Crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, plastic worms, spoons and swimbaits are catching smallies during this period.