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Rufus Woods Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Rufus Woods Lake: 51 miles of Columbia River reservoir above Chief Joseph Dam, where the license you need depends on which shore you fish.

2/5
Slow. The wind owns today.24 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.
Water temp
~47 F est.
Air / High
59 / 61 F
Wind
NNW 20 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. The wind owns today.24 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Rufus Woods Lake asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 20 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 61. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Smallmouth bassGood

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

WalleyeGood

Spawning runs begin soon after ice-out in the high 30s to mid 40s Β°F; before that, slow presentations with live bait in deep, low-current wintering areas and below dams.

Yellow perchGood

Ice season. Perch stay active under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, so small jigs or spoons tipped with live bait over known winter areas are the usual approach.

Tomorrow: Similar at 61 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Washington requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $39.95 for residents. What a Washington licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with WDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Washington, read off the agency, are on the Washington seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp59 F
High / Low61 / 45 F
WindNNW 20-32 mph
Pressure1019.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:28 / 17:53
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Rufus Woods Lake this week

The best day on Rufus Woods Lake this week looks like Wednesday Oct 28, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Wednesday, Oct 28 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

24 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Solunar majors
9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM
Minor period
4:01 AM-5:01 AM
Sun
07:28 to 17:53
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 24 mph
Rain chance
1%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Rufus Woods Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spawning runs begin soon after ice-out in the high 30s to mid 40s Β°F; before that, slow presentations with live bait in deep, low-current wintering areas and below dams.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Ice season. Perch stay active under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, so small jigs or spoons tipped with live bait over known winter areas are the usual approach.

When to come: the Rufus Woods Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Rufus Woods Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Washington requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Washington license on the Douglas County shore; state or tribal license on the water; Colville tribal permit on the reservation except at signed Designated Fishing Areas. Trout 2 a day; sturgeon closed; closed above the SR 155 bridge (eRegulations WA, updated Oct 5, 2026).

Access

State park with camping and launch, Corps of Engineers access area with launch, Colville-side access areas; limited state-side shore access just above Chief Joseph Dam.

About this water

A 51-mile Columbia River reservoir between Chief Joseph Dam and Grand Coulee Dam, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan counties, Washington; 8,022 acres.

Fishing Rufus Woods Lake: the full guide

The reservoir

WDFW describes Rufus Woods as a 51-mile reservoir upstream of Chief Joseph Dam, 8,022 acres at an elevation of 950 feet, open all year. It lists rainbow and brown trout, kokanee, walleye, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and common carp.

Which license where

The 2026 rule reads: on the Douglas County shore a Washington license is required; on the water either a state or a tribal license is accepted; on the Colville Reservation a tribal permit is required, except at signed Designated Fishing Areas on the reservation shoreline, where either license is accepted.

Limits and closed water

From Chief Joseph Dam to the State Route 155 bridge the trout limit is 2 a day all year, other game fish follow statewide rules, sturgeon are closed, and two-pole fishing is allowed. Above the SR 155 bridge to Grand Coulee Dam the river is closed to fishing.

Access

WDFW notes a state park with camping and boat launching, a Corps of Engineers access area with a launch, and several access areas on the Colville side. On the state side, shore access is limited to a few spots just upstream of Chief Joseph Dam.

Common questions

Do I need a Colville tribal permit on Rufus Woods?

Only on the Colville Reservation shore outside the signed Designated Fishing Areas. On the water a state or tribal license is accepted, and the Douglas County shore requires a Washington license.

How many trout can I keep?

Two a day under the 2026 regulations. WDFW's lake page words it as two over 14 inches; the regulation pamphlet prints only the daily limit of 2.

Is fishing good at Rufus Woods Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. The wind owns today. 24 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Nearby waters

Banks Lake22 miLake Chelan43 miLake Roosevelt43 miMoses Lake69 miPotholes Reservoir77 miIcicle Creek77 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 48.1157, -119.2948 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.