It is great to see people getting out and about after an odd winter. I am seeing folks fishing our big reservoirs and lakes throughout the region. Spring is a great time of year when more and more fisheries begin to happen. Better dust off the tackle box and get your boat ready to go.

The forecast for last weekend was for rain and wind but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the anglers that fished in the annual Quincy Chamber of Commerce Trout Derby. Over 100 people registered for the event that took place on Burke and Quincy lakes. Fishing at these lakes has been good since the March 1st opener and was excellent during the derby. Quincy Lake was the most productive for anglers this year. Thanks to the local Aikins Market, Raceway Technologies, Pepsi and Vantage Data Centers, $3,600 worth of big rainbow were added for the derby. There were over $5,000 worth of prizes handed out to the derby winners and through raffles. In the Youth Division, Julian Rubio won an Xbox for a 22.5 inch fish. Ruby Prunedo turned in 14 pounds of trout and won a drone. Prior to the weigh in, I had met Holly Bogart, who said she was a big fan of mine. Her fishing partner told me that on Saturday, she got her limit, and he didn’t land a single fish. Turns out she swept the Adult Division, with a 22.5 inch rainbow and over 13 pounds of trout. Derby organizers made sure that kids that participated received a rod and reel, or a tackle box. The Quincy Chamber and volunteers did a great job again this year. Anglers who like to participate in the Chamber’s annual Pike Minnow Derby should know that the event has been moved to the fall. I will keep you updated.

I mentioned earlier that I was invited to fish Billy Clapp with some friends. Dennis and Monica Beich met me at the boat launch at 7 and off we went. It was chilly with a slight breeze, and we were looking forward to having a busy day. Dennis and Monica live in Marlin, not far from Billy Clapp and have had many great days in the early spring catching rainbow. We were trolling above the island and Dennis noticed a fish rise in some calm water and steered over there. Boom! His rod bounced and soon we had a very nice fish up to the boat. The fish was about 16 inches long and was almost square. It had a deep girth and was very chunky. We got our lines out again and continued to troll a variety of shallow running Rapalas. We trolled and trolled, but never got another hit. We were all surprised. Conditions seemed perfect and we are used to catching lots of rainbow at this time of year. We’ll be back, though. The traditional good rainbow bite has to happen soon. I look forward to walleye fishing at the upper end, and there are lots of smallmouth bass in Billy Clapp, too. This week’s photo is of Dennis with his fish.

On a previous trip to Rufus Woods a couple of anglers stopped by to say hi, when I was fishing with my friends at the middle net pens. They said they were fishing at the “Greenhouse” access on the reservoir. They had caught their limits of fish like the ones we were getting, but one of the anglers next to them got a 22 pounder, fishing a jig. I wondered where they were talking about and on the way out we passed the sign for the Colville Tribal Greenhouse. The next time I was in the area I turned in to investigate. Driving past the greenhouse facility the dirt road led down to the river and there were several spots where there were steep trails to the shore. I gave this spot a try earlier this week. I didn’t catch anything but I was lucky as I ran into the angler that had caught that whopper trout. He showed me his setup, which was what we used to use when we had steelhead up here. A good ol’ slip bobber and black jig.

I love fishing Banks Lake. Not only is it one of the most scenic places to fish in Washington, but it also has terrific fishing for a variety of species. If you haven’t tried Banks you may want to plan a trip on April 12 through the 14th. That’s when the annual Reel Recreation Banks Lake Triple Fish Challenge fishing derby is scheduled. This is a very family friend derby with special emphasis on making sure the youngsters have a great time. On Friday, there’s a special “pond” set up and Pacific Seafoods loads it up with rainbow trout for the kids to catch. On Saturday participants head out to catch bass, walleye, whitefish, and trout to be entered into the derby. Fishing continues on Sunday and concludes with a weigh in. Then winners for catches made on both Saturday and Sunday are awarded their prizes. The aim of the derby is to get families involved in fishing, and the derby is a fun way to do it. To learn more about the Banks Lake Triple Fish Challenge, just Google Real Recreation and check out their website. You can even register for the event on the site.

I recently traveled home to Leavenworth from Coulee Dam. I stopped to see if the docks were in at Northrup and found one dock in place. I have heard some people talking about good walleye fishing and that the bass were beginning to bite. I continued down Highway 17 and visited with some fly anglers who were coming off Lake Lenore. This lake has special rules that make it popular with fly fishers. Getting to Lake Lenore and other spots via Highway 17, anglers should be aware of the construction delays. During the first phase of the project, known as slope scaling, the public should expect regular closures along SR 17, from Monday through Friday every hour at the top of the hour for 45 minutes. These closures start from 8:15 a.m. and run until 5 p.m. State Route 17 will reopen every hour on the first 15 minutes of the hour to clear traffic, before closing again.

Back to Fishing Magician Articles