01-02-2025 REELLIFE DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 9
County (east side) of the
reservoir a few miles above
Chief Joseph Dam.
Many anglers will still fish
for their trout here sitting
by a campfire. Rick Graybill,
a local expert, likes to fish a
shrimp and a marshmallow
just off the bottom from
shore. Others fish worms
and marshmallows or even
powerbait. If fishing from
a boat near the net pens,
Graybill will cast spinners,
drift Corkies, cast flies, or
jig for the trout with either
a small piece of worm or
shrimp on the jig.
If you have an RV, you can
take it to the net pens
where a campground has
been developed with hookups. There is also a boat
launch there, but a day or
annual pass is required. You
can find out more details
at colvilletribes.com/lakerufus-woods.
ROSES LAKE
Located near Manson, this
small lake was stocked
heavily in early November
with over 10,500 rainbow
trout. There is a public
access and launch at the
south end of the lake and
if you don’t have a boat,
you can have some success
fishing from there before
the lake freezes. After the
lake freezes, this fishery
really shines as an icefishing destination. Not
only for trout, but also for
warmwater species like
bass, perch, crappie and
bluegill. Better yet, you are
allowed to use two rods
here as long as you have
your two-rod endorsement.
BONAPARTE LAKE
Chris Marcolin, a pro-staffer
for Mack’s Lure, told me
Bonaparte Lake offers
opportunities for a variety of
trout, including tiger, brook
and rainbow trout that can
be caught under the ice.
Anglers can also reel in
kokanee, smallmouth bass
and if they’re lucky, catch
one of the lake trout there.
The Third Annual Bonaparte
Lake Ice Fishing Derby
will take place on January
25th, 2025 with Ground
Zero being Bonaparte Lake
Resort. Last year, over 400
people attended the event
and close to 350 adults
and youth contestants
fished in it. Stay tuned
for details about this
through the Bonaparte
Lake Resort Facebook
Page at facebook.com/
bonapartelakeresort.
RIVER WHITEFISH
Another option this
winter is to head to South
Central Washington for
mountain whitefish. The
season opened for them
on December 1st and
runs through the end of
February on the Yakima,
Naches and Klickitat Rivers.
Rob Phillips is the long-time
outdoors columnist for the
Yakima Herald-Republic
and has spent some time
wading the cold waters
of these streams hunting
for whitefish. While you
can catch these scrappy
fighters with small spinners
during the summer it’s a
different technique that
works in the winter.
Phillips recommends
fishing a small nymph
close to the bottom with a
maximum size hook of #14.
Black, brown, and yellow
are all good colors, but the
important thing is to tip the
hook with a live maggot
because the whitefish really
like that bait.
So, there you have it. You
can catch everything from
whitefish to lake trout
to kokanee to burbot to
rainbows, tiger or brook
trout as well as bass and
panfish. Bundle up and
head to one of these
destinations and go fishing
this winter!
