In just a few days one of the most unusual and fun fishing events is going to take place. It’s the 9th Annual Banks Lake Triple Fish Challenge, sponsored by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, which will be held at Coulee Playland. What makes this fishing derby different, is that anglers are challenged to turn in one smallmouth bass, one walleye and one rainbow trout each day of the two day event. Surprisingly, every year anglers turn in lots of smallmouth, walleye, and rainbow, but they don’t seem to be able to catch all three species two days in a row.

The grand prize for the event is a four person Achilles inflatable boat with trailer and motor, and this year someone is going to win it. Anglers won’t need to catch the three species each day to get a chance to win it. There will be lots of other prizes for participants to win, for both the adults and youth that enter—and I mean lots. If you would like to get some tips on how to catch all three species, you will want to go to my website at fishingmagician.com and click on the Triple Fish Challenge video on the Fishing TV Page.
I have always been at the final weigh in and awards ceremony, and have been impressed with the fish that are turned in. Spring is a great time to be on Banks Lake and anglers take advantage of it. Some whopper pre-spawn smallmouth and walleye are caught, and some dandy rainbow, too. This week’s photo is of Rich Coffey with a smallmouth bass taken at the weigh in station a couple of years ago.

I also get a kick out of the prizes that the kids win at this event. The derby organizers are very generous. This is a very family friendly event and the proud smiles of the winners in the youth division make it all worthwhile. Every kid that fishes the Triple Fish Challenge goes home with some kind of prize.

If you are not familiar with Coulee Playland, the headquarters of the Challenge, there are camp sites and RV hook ups right on the edge of Banks Lake. There is also a tackle and convenience store, and fuel right on the dock next to the launch. If you want to arrange to stay here during the Triple Fish Challenge, give them a call at 509-633-2671.

The fourth Saturday in April is coming up soon, and it’s the biggest fishing day of the year. This is the opening weekend of the general lowland lake fishing season, and tens of thousands of anglers will be heading for their favorite lakes. A very high percentage of them will be headed our way to Eastern Washington. I have always enjoyed talking to families that are returning to Jameson or some other lake over here, with three or even four generations represented. It’s an annual event that keeps the family together and a celebration of what trout fishing means.

If you haven’t decided where to go to start the season, you may want to pick up one of the Fishing Guides that I have written for Okanogan Tourism, Grant County Tourism, and the Chelan/Douglas County, published by the Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce. These are handy pocket sized booklets that list the most popular fisheries in each of these areas. Both Grant County and Okanogan County have the content of the booklets available online, and you can contact them to get a copy sent to you. You can get a copy of the Chelan/Douglas County booklet by calling the Wenatchee Valley Chamber office at 509-662-2116.

There are some things to do to get ready for the season. The first thing is to get your new license. Most people get them at their local sporting goods store, but more and more people are getting them online. It’s very easy now, and it helps if you have your old license handy with the Wild ID number. You also want to get a copy of the Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet. This will tell you if the lake you want to fish is open and if there are any special rules for this particular body of water. You can also look up these lakes on the WDFW website.

You should also download the FishWA App to your smartphone. This will give you current regulations and much, much more. People have found this app to be very handy when in the field and not sure about the rules and regulations or what species are available in the waters they intend to fish.

Also, if you plan to fish from your boat on the opening weekend, be sure you have enough lifejackets for everyone on board. It is very important that you start your boat before you head out. Nothing is worse than launching your boat only to find you have a dead battery, a fouled plug or bad gas.

There are many lakes that are open year-round in Washington and over here there are some fisheries going great guns already. Kokanee anglers have been fishing Lake Chelan with great success all through the winter and spring. Now many anglers are turning their attention to the terrific walleye fishing opportunities in the region. I have had a couple of good days on Potholes Reservoir, and the reports I am getting indicate that it is getting even better as the water temperatures warm. Banks Lake walleye fishing is showing signs of getting into gear. Anglers fishing deep and slow are getting some nice pre-spawn walleye on Banks.

The lake that warms up early is Moses Lake, and I hear that the walleye are showing signs of spawning already here. That means that the bite is going to be terrific here very soon. Good news for fans of fishing Moses Lake for walleye is that Connelly Park opens on April 14th. I like to use this park to launch as it is closest to the water I like to fish on Moses Lake, which is at the upper end. I detail the areas I like to fish and Potholes, Banks, and Moses Lake in my latest free E-Letter.