by Dave Graybill, November 01, 2002

These are exciting times for anglers who seek trophy trout here in Washington State. I have looked at the records for a variety of species over the years, and because they hadn’t changed in decades, I was pretty discouraged about the potential of ever seeing my name listed next to one. Now, I’m not going to tell you that my name is appearing anywhere in the state’s record books, but the possibility doesn’t seem quite as remote when you consider what’s happened in the last decade.

The books have been rewritten to include new record fish in Washington State for rainbow trout, lake trout (mackinaw), and Lahotan cutthroat since 1993. The previous records for all of these had stood for a long, long time. The potential for another change in the record books for all of these species in the near future is also fairly good, when you consider the fisheries from which they were taken. Let’s take a look at these record fish, the lakes that they were taken from, and why another, bigger fish just might be waiting for you.

Lahotan Cutthroat

When the Colville tribe imported this strain of cutthroat from Pyramid Lake back in the mid 70s it caused quite a stir among anglers. The world record for this strain of cutt exceeded 40 pounds, and now they were in Omak Lake just outside Omak! In the early 70s, when the tribe opened the lake to the general fishing public they had plenty of people willing to pay the $20.00 special fee to catch one fish. Lots of nice fish were taken, too, but the largest remained at about 13 pounds I seem to recall, until Dan Beardslee came on the scene.

He was intrigued with Omak Lake and the Lahotans that reside there and decided to give it a try. He started fishing the lake in 1992. He learned what he could from those who had fished it, and studied the habits of the fish themselves. He learned what water temperature they preferred, and by lowering a gauge on his downrigger wire, found the water he wanted and put his lures there. This thermocline was like a vein of ore for Beardslee. He ran a variety of lures and plugs through this layer of water and in October of ’92 he hooked and landed a cutthroat weighing 14 pounds, .95 ounces—a new state record, taken on a Ross Swimmertail. But he wasn’t done yet.

The way the regulations at Omak Lake worked back then, it was catch and release until July first. Beardslee launched his boat on that morning in 1993 and when he headed for the dock he was in a hurry. He had to find a certified scale. Sure enough, on his first day of fishing Omak Lake he beat his own record and set the state’s at 18 pounds, .04 ounces. This time on a J-Plug. Two new state records in ten months. Not bad.

This record still stands and Beardslee still fishes Omak Lake, but not as often as he did back then. Guess he knows when to quit while he’s ahead.

Beardslee’s story may make setting a new state record sound easy. It isn’t, but the potential of a new state record for lake trout may just be a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The place would be Lake Chelan, and the time could be right now. Let me explain.

Lake Trout (Mackinaw)

Lakers were introduced to Lake Chelan in 1980, and they settled right in. They are abundant and considered much easier to catch than the lake’s king salmon. Fish weighing 4 to 6 pounds are the average, but fish up to 20 pounds are no surprise. Due to the food sources available to the lake trout and the length of time they had been in the lake, it was generally agreed that a new state record was possible by the 90s. It was just a matter of time. The clock ran out on the old record in May of 1999 when Phil Rettstatt landed a 31-pound, 2.75-ounce lake trout.

By the time this appears in print, there may be a new state record. The Lake Chelan Sportsman’s Association has hosted an annual salmon derby on the lake. They’ve changed the name for the 12th Annual event to the Lake Chelan King Salmon and Mackinaw Derby. Yup. This year there is a whole list of cash prizes included in the derby specifically for lakers, and there is now a reason to target these fish at derby time.

Let’s see. The record in 1999 was set in May. The Lake Chelan derby is in May. There will be as many as 650 anglers fishing in the derby. Oh heck, what are the odds?

Derby anglers this year have a very good chance to be in the right place at the right time and with the chance of taking home some cash for catching lakers this time! We’ll see….

If you would like to learn how to catch lakers on Chelan, just read the book. Seriously. I normally wouldn’t tell someone to just read a book to learn how to catch fish. But my brother Rick has printed a booklet titled "Graybill’s Guide to Catching Lake Chelan Chinook and Lake Trout", and this is absolutely the best treatment of a single body of water and how to catch these two fish that’s ever been done. No favoritism, really. Just check it out. If you want to find out how to get a copy, just log onto www.rgraybill.com.

If a new state record for lake trout isn’t set this year, there will be one soon.

Rainbow Trout

In May of 1995 a new rainbow fishery was born on the Columbia River’s Rufus Woods Reservoir. One of the net pens, owned by Columbia River Farms, was torn open and 10,000 triploid rainbow trout escaped into the open river. These special hybrid trout were being raised in the pens for commercial sale to restaurants. Their incredibly fast growth rate made it feasible. When the word got out that the river in this area was full of fat, mostly 4- to 6-pound rainbow, anglers flocked to the site. In 1998, to no one’s surprise really, a new state record for rainbow trout was set at 25 pounds, .45 ounces.

It surprised no one because anglers were catching bigger and bigger rainbow each year after the accidental escape of the large number of triploids. But big trout were being caught for years prior to 1995. I first fished the reservoir in 1993, after hearing about an unusual number of large fish being taken from Rufus Woods. At that time the big trout that were being caught were actually regular rainbow trout. Each year a photo of a 12- to 17-pound fish would appear on the front page of the local paper.

What was interesting about this first trip was that the person who took me up the reservoir, delivered me to the net pens. We weren’t there to catch the triploids, but the resident rainbow in the reservoir that had been attracted to the site by the feed that had leeched into the water. The fish food intended for the triploids had attracted quite a number of trout to the area, and my fishing partner that day was particularly aware of their presence. You see, he was the maintenance man at the pens, and was in the perfect place to notice the appearance of the reservoir’s trout near the pens. When I visited the net pens in 1993, there was no one else around.

When the triploids escaped in 1995 it caused a local stir, and although there was a fishing party going on here for a month or so, everyone pretty much thought that the heyday would be short-lived as the trout dispersed throughout the 40 miles of river below the pens. No one even knew if the fish would survive in the "wild."

What really stimulated the fishery was the decline in the numbers of steelhead that were showing up at Pateros, at the mouth of the Methow River on the Columbia River. The steelhead fishery had kept anglers busy for years. In the mid-80s the Methow River saw returns of around 20,000 fish, and everyone fished steelhead in the winter. When the numbers dropped below 10,000, then below 5,000, anglers were looking for something else to do.

As more anglers began to fish Rufus Woods, more catches of big triploids were being reported, and not all from the net pen area. The fish had dispersed, and made their way all the way down to Chief Joseph Dam, some 40 miles below the pens on Rufus Woods. The triploids had survived all right, and now it didn’t take a 40-mile boat ride to the pens to have a good chance of catching them.

Anglers fishing from the shore were now catching these brutes just above the dam. Trollers were catching them right along the barrier where they traditionally fished for silvers and rainbow. I photographed a fish weighing 21 pounds, 8 ounces that was taken within sight of the launch.

The trout fishery on Rufus Woods is going strong and there doesn’t seem to be a predicable end to this heyday now. Though not as large as the accidental release in 1995, there are the occasional smaller "jail breaks" from the pens. The Colville Tribe even planted an additional 10,000 of these popular fish in the reservoir a couple of years ago.

Another interesting aspect of the fishing here, too, is that unlike Omak Lake and Lake Chelan, where fairly sophisticated techniques and tackle have been used to set the records, the next record on Rufus Woods could be caught on a worm! Anglers along the shore, or anchored at the pens have just as good a shot at these fish as those who choose to troll.

What I’m saying is that access to the reservoir is good and the fish are aggressive. It doesn’t require a 40-mile run to the pens to have a shot at one of these hogs. I’m not saying that every time you go to Rufus Woods you’re going to need a trailer to haul home your catch. The bite here can be very on, but more often very off. Like any other fishery, those who put in the time in the long run will reap the rewards. In most cases.

On first fishing trip of the year in 1999, a friend took me up river to the bay just below the pens, about a half-mile down river. We tried several different lures, and I finally tied on a Ross Swimmertail, rigged with a small dodger and a three-ounce drop lead. I ran this set up for about 20 minutes, without success. While I was bent over the boat seat, looking something else to try, I heard a strange noise. It was line ripping out of my reel! After nearly spooking me twice, we finally brought the fish to net. A 16-pound triploid. When people asked me why I didn’t have the fish mounted, I replied, "Why? I know I’ll get a bigger one sometime at Rufus Woods."

But if there is a place in this state where a fairly uninitiated angler has a chance at putting his name on the list of state record holders, Rufus Woods is the one.

It wasn’t so long ago that really big, freshwater fish seemed to be a thing of the past here in Washington. You know, fishing isn’t as good as it used to be. What happened in the ‘90s sure changed my attitude about this. There is a better chance now for new records for Lahotan cutthroat, lake trout and rainbow than there has been in the decades prior. If anglers apply themselves to the waters mentioned here: Omak Lake, Lake Chelan and Rufus Woods Reservoir, the intervals between new records will be shorter than they ever were before.

* Editor's Note: The following article first appeared in "Salmon, Trout, Steelheader"
magazine this past spring. Since the article was published, there was a new
record for mackinaw confirmed. It was taken on Lake Chelan and the new mark
was set at 35.7 pounds. There is also a potential new state record for
rainbow trout. It was taken at Rufus Woods Reservoir in November and the
record could be set at 29.6 pounds.