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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2021)
PAGE A24, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 30, 2021 The Curve By JIM TAYLOR For the Keizertimes In the middle of April, my friends— Stinky, Crab Bait—and myself took a road trip to Rufus Woods Lake, below Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in cen- tral Washington. Rufus Woods is a 51-mile long reservoir behind Chief Joseph Dam. The lake is home to fi ve net pens, each about an acre, owned by Pacifi c Seafood, to raise triploid rainbow trout for stores. When you see farmed steelhead in a store they are rainbow from Rufus Woods Lake. They are sterile and can’t reproduce; they The Great OUTDOORS grow very fast and big. Many are released into the lake for the Coville Tribe and fi sh- ermen. There is a two fi sh limit over 14 inches. After driving most of the night—seven hours—we backed Crab Bait’s jet sled into the water. Seven miles down the river was where we were going to fi sh. A acquain- tance had fi shed there the previous week and gave us the information on where to go and what to use. The air temperature brainfood Jim Taylor was just above freezing and it was a cold 25-minute trip down the river. When fi shing in a new area there is a learning curve no matter how good a fi sh- ermen you are. We started with a black and purple jig under a bobber and it worked well. Most of the fi sh were under 20 inches but we fi nally caught three that were four to six pounds. A good day. Day two started with another cold ride. I wrapped a space blanket around myself to break the wind. It worked well but may have messed up some Air Force radar. We decided to use soft beads, used in steel- head fi shing, under our bobbers. It worked well even when we trolled slowly. We kept six 6 to 7 pound fi sh and released about 60 smaller fi sh. The learning curve was fl attening . Our third day resulted in an epiph- any. After catching some of the usual 15-20 inch ‘tweeters,’ a large muddy creek entered the river. The Columbia was 39 degrees and we could see down at least 15 feet. Back in the cove where the creek entered it was 50 degrees with two feet of visibility. The depth ranged from two to 10 feet; the fi sh liked it there. I had the only fl y and so I tied an #8 black woolly bugger fl y and cast it out and let it sink a few seconds then began to strip it in slowly. After about three strips, I hooked a big fi sh and brought it to the net. A beautiful nine-pound rainbow. On the next cast I caught a tweeter but that was enough to get my buddies to tie on woolly buggers. With their spinning rods and a split shot weight it worked great. We kept six fi sh and released at least 75 others On our last day we set a 10 a.m. dead- line to quit fi shing because we had a long drive home. At 9:30 we caught our sixth keeper. We’d released about 50. The six were 8 to 11 pounds. To make it even bet- ter, we were by ourselves with nobody in our area. This was the greatest trout fi shing we’d each ever experienced. Also the best eat- ing fi sh. Deep orange meat and a lot of fat. Do you think we’re going to return? We’re planning a mid-May trip. We are fl atten- ing the curve. At least ’til next time. Cat of the Week Name: CHAZ Age: 6 HISTORY: Chaz is a special needs cat on a particular diet and medication for chronic asthma. Frequent vet trips are necessary to keep him healthy. crossword PREFERRED HOME: A quiet home with no dogs and children over the age of 13. He’s shy and cautious at fi rst, but a new owner would soon discover his aff ectionate and loving personality. answers pg A10 We have moved! Our new location is 4157 Cherry Avenue, Keizer • 503-362-5611
