Rufus Woods Lake

Is this lake doable from a kayak?.Heard something about a motor being mandatory.

Only 5 posts down from your thread there's the answer.
http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,4216.0.html

Z

Is this lake doable from a kayak?.Heard something about a motor being mandatory.

People say that everytime I mention fishing from a kayak...    

It all depends on how far/long you are willing to paddle/peddle.

Is this lake doable from a kayak?.Heard something about a motor being mandatory.

I fish Rufus multiple times a year, and have never heard anything about a motor being legally mandated. It is a big, long reservoir- something like 50 miles long, so you're not going to cover much of it without a motorboat. Spring, summer and fall there is the potential (and likely) strong winds that can send up a nasty chop where the fetch lines up with the wind direction. However, it's not unusual to drive 5-10 miles to an area where the gorge runs a different direction, and then be relatively protected. It is also the Columbia, which averages something like 100,000cfs, year round, with runoff easily hitting double or triple that. That's a lot of water, especially since the reservoir is in canyon/gorge that contains the flows. It's also operated based on hydro-electric needs of the region, with peak demand occurring mid-week. This means that you may experience substantial currents during the week, while they're generating electricity, but relatively slack current over the weekend. The dam above Rufus is Grand Coulee Dam, which for a long time was the biggest hydro-electric dam in the world. There's a lot of storage in the reservoir above GCD, which is Roosevelt. The current from generation is most noticeable in the upper part of the reservoir, above the Nespelem.

If you ever have any questions about Rufus or other fisheries in the area, give a shout.