Rufus Woods Lake’s rise as a regional “hot spot” for catching large Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) coincided closely with the establishment of net pen aquaculture in its waters, which began in 1989. Throughout their history on Rufus Woods Lake, various iterations of net pen aquaculture sites and ownership led to a range in Rainbow Trout escapement numbers. Escapements of large Rainbow Trout from net pen facilities resulted in increased fishing opportunities for boat and shore anglers. The Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) further recognized the potential use of net pen facilities to increase Rainbow Trout numbers in Rufus Woods. In coordination with Columbia River Fish Farms, CCT began to fund Rainbow Trout supplementation of the fishery which lasted from 1997 – 2005 and released more than 200,000 fish. Additionally, from 1996–1999, a study documented thousands of fish entering Rufus Woods Lake from Lake Roosevelt (upstream reservoir on the Columbia River) by entraining past Grand Coulee Dam. Word spread about the opportunities for trophy size Rainbow Trout throughout this period, and Rufus Woods Lake quickly became a popular fishing destination for anglers. In 2002, the current Washington State record Rainbow Trout was caught in Rufus Woods Lake (13.4 kg). Rumors of the lake’s fishing activity were, and continue to be, closely followed by anglers.

Previous years' creel data suggest the catch and catch rates of large Rainbow Trout were maintained at artificially high levels due to excessive fish escapement from the aquaculture net pens located within Rufus Woods Lake while CCT fish purchases and stocking efforts were a lesser percentage of creeled fish. Specifically, from 2006–2008 total fish escapement estimates ranged between 300,000–400,000 fish. The result was more than 40,000 angler days spent on Rufus Woods annually, making Rufus Woods the most popular fishing destination on the CCT Reservation. Stocking efforts of CCT have accounted for a large portion of harvested Rainbow Trout from 2007–2008 during periods when escapement was low, but most stocked catchable size Rainbow Trout only contributed to the fishery within the first month of their release. Moreover, relying on mass net pen escapements is not a sustainable way to manage the Rainbow Trout fishery. Annually maintaining a Rufus Woods Lake Rainbow Trout fishery that produces the high angling effort, catch rate, total catch, and average fish size seen in years with large net pen escapements has proven challenging for fisheries managers.

The Rufus Woods Creel Survey and Analysis project has a primary goal of maintaining a subsistence fishery for Tribal members and quality sport fishery for members and non-members. In order to do this, the project attempts to determine a sustainable augmentation strategy that will produce the highest level of angler effort and catch rate of desirable size Rainbow Trout. In order to provide information on the fishery for sustainable management, CCT initiated studies to determine creel dynamics, Rainbow Trout entrainment rates and reservoir residence times, and production potential for a put-grow-and-take Rainbow Trout fishery.

The creel survey, initiated in 2008, will be continued during this contract period. Creel protocols have changed overtime to reflect changes in the fishery (usage and site access locations), project budget, and personnel constraints. The goal of the survey is to determine a stocking strategy that will provide the best management option and document trends in overall creel dynamics. Specifically, the creel program will estimate:

1. Total fishing effort (angler-hours) for shore and boat anglers for all strata.
2. Average catch and harvest rate (# fish per angler-hour) for all Rainbow Trout and individual sources of Rainbow Trout (when possible) for all strata.
3. Total catch and harvest for all Rainbow Trout and individual sources of Rainbow Trout (when possible) for all strata.
4. Number of angler days for all strata.
5. Harvested fish size statistics (length and weight) for all Rainbow Trout and individual sources of Rainbow Trout (when possible) by month.

The current management objective is to provide an annual angler harvest > 40,000 Rainbow Trout in Rufus Woods Lake. Further, half of the fish retained by anglers should be 400 mm in total length or longer and 5% of the fish caught should be 500 mm or longer.