"wild brook trout native to the spring creeks that run through their property"? I'm skeptical. I thought all brookies in WA were non-native. (board experts, please chime in...)
All in all, a very nice critique of the fishery and the facility. Thanks, John. Sean -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of johnny costanza Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2005 5:48 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: flyfishing at Rainbow Springs Ranch Last weekend I visited Rainbow Springs Ranch and took a walk around their property to investigate the fishing opportunities there. Let me first begin by saying how genuinely friendly and accomodating the couple who owns the ranch were to me. They gave me a key to check out the cabin they have for rent (which was really nice, first class) and allowed me to freely walk around their property to check things out. As for the fishing, the primary spots to fish are the two ponds (one natural, one man made) they have on their ranch. The first pond is the man made pond and does hold some very large Kamloops rainbows in it, though it does have an "artificial" feel to it. The pond is quite small and all fishing would be done from shore as there is really no need for a boat or float tube on a body of water this small in size. Though I did not ask them, my suspicion is that these fish are fed similiarly to those in the net pens at Rufus Woods and thus are not going to be very selective in thier eating habits. When I stood on the dock, instead of swimming away, the fish all swam up and "gathered around" as if they were expecting to be fed something. Though not a technical fishery by any means, it would be a great place to take a young kid or anyone who has never fly fished before. One could, even with litle or no skill, likely catch a lot of fish over the course of the day, most of which would be 2-4 lbs in size with the possibility of catching a few bigger than that. The back pond is spring fed and not man made, thus it does not have the artifiical look or feel of the first pond. It is surronded by trees and actually is situated in a very scenic setting. The cabin they have for rent is right next to the pond (which is a little larger than the first pond, but you still would do all your fishing from the shore). The fish were not as large, seemed a bit more wary than the fish in the first pond (but not too much), and likely would be a bit more difficult to catch. The owners said that the back pond is inhabitated by a strain of trout that is "half-steelhead" in addition to the wild brook trout native to the spring creeks that run through their property. The spring creeks themselves are very small and I did not think that they would be very fishable considering their size, although the guy who owns the place said that he had caught brook trout up to 14 inches in the creeks. All in all, I was impressed with the place, although I would not recommend it to anyone who is looking for highly technical or challenging fishing. For 80 bucks a night, you get two ponds to fish in addition to a home made breakfast and other amenities you would not get at most hotels. It is very quiet and the solitude I think of the place is one of its greatest selling points. You can also fish for 50 bucks a day if you do not want to stay overnight, but I think if I was ever going to fish here I would split the 80 bucks with someone and stay in the cabin for a night. >From: Kent Lufkin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: flyfishing at Rainbow Springs Ranch >Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 08:27:57 -0800 > >Johnny, > >I'd be interested in learning what you found when you have time to post >a >report. > >Thanks, > >K > >>I was curious to know, particularly from anyone living in the Spokane >>area, what the fishing was like at Rainbow Springs Ranch about 20 miles >>north of Spokane off Hwy 2 near Deer Park and Eloika lake. They have a >>website and I contacted them last year about fishing the ranch, which >>supposedly has a spring fed natural pond and one man-made pond open for >>fishing, in addition to some smaller spring fed creeks running through the >>property. It sounds intriguing, and I was thinking about driving there >>tomorrow since it is so close to check it out. The downside is its a pay >>for play situation, but I believe its 50 bucks a day to fish the property, >>although maybe less during this part of the season. If anyone has fished >>there or evem been there to check the place out, I would be interested to >>hear your thoughts about the place. Thanks in advance. >
