I did some exploring last week. I spent a short time fishing from the shore at Keller on Lake Roosevelt. My drive allowed me to see if there were any people fishing on the ice on Banks Lake. Since I was in the area I made a side trip to Billy Clapp Lake to see if this reservoir was clear of ice.

It was going to be a beautiful day last Tuesday, so I headed up to Lake Roosevelt to try for some trout from the shore at Keller. When I arrived, I found the lake level way down and the large tire anchor that I hang up on earlier in the season high and dry. Setting up my rods next to the water, I cast out and waited for a bite.

Two other anglers showed up and set up just up the beach from me. There wasn’t much going on bite wise, so we met up and talked about how the fishing had been here in Keller. They said they averaged at least a couple of good fish per day. Earlier in the week they caught five fish between them. It seems that if the fish are there they get them. They live nearby so it’s easy for them to fish Keller regularly. I checked the Keller launch while I was there and found five trucks and trailers in the parking area. The docks are way down the ramp now, but there is still enough water to launch even large boats. I checked out Seatons Grove, too, and found just two boats had launched there last Tuesday.

When I traveled to Keller, I took a route that would let me check on some of the popular ice fishing spots along the way. I found groups of anglers on the ice at the bottom end of Banks Lake and also near Coulee Playland at the very top end. Although the ice looked good at these locations, there were huge spaces in the ice on the lake from Northrup down, and large areas of open water on Banks. The warm weather will really go to work on the remaining ice and if we get some strong winds it will go fast.

I also took a detour to take a look at Bill Clapp. I was surprised to find it almost free of ice. There was about 20 yards or so of thin ice along the edge at the beach where folks launch small boats. People will be able to fish for big rainbow trout at Billy Clapp very soon. Only those with small, light boats risk backing over the sand to reach the water, but it’s worth it! I checked out Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee on Wednesday and there were several anglers out on the ice.

One of my favorite early spring fisheries is for rainbow trout on Bill Clapp Lake. It’s about 16 miles from Soap Lake to the boat launch at the bottom end of the lake. Billy Clapp is known for excellent trout fishing, but also has some big kokanee. It also produces walleye and smallmouth bass.

What makes it special is that, due to the drawdown of the reservoir, only small watercraft can access the lake until it fills. The concrete ramp and dock are a long way from the water in the early spring. Anglers with small boats or pontoon boats must drive across the sand to reach the water. The threat of larger boats on trailers getting stuck in the soft sand is very real. This means that the big trout in Billy Clapp don’t see any significant pressure until it fills, usually in late March or early April. Trout fishing is terrific. Anglers can expect trout of 14 to 16 inches. Some years the lake produces rainbow weighing 3 to 4 pounds. A very effective way to get these hungry rainbow is to troll Rapalas or Flicker Shads right on top. When they hit these lures way behind the boat, better hang on! This week’s photo was taken at Billy Clapp in late February in 2020.

Although there are many year round lakes open in Grant County, there are some that open on March 1st. To me the official start of trout fishing in this area is the annual Burke Lake Trout Derby, sponsored by the Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce. It is always scheduled to take place on the first Saturday of March each year. There are some years when the ice hasn’t cleared off the lake by then, and it is postponed. Those who want to participate should click on the “Something Fishy” logo on the Home Page of my website, www.fishingmagician.com. This will take you to the Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce Events Page of their website. Here you can register for the event, find the rules and other details.

This is a very family friendly event, and the sponsors work hard to be sure all the kids get some kind of prize. There are Adult and Youth categories, and this year there is $300.00 in cash to be awarded as the Grand Prize. Tickets are $30.00 for adults. Youth, age 17 and under are free, with a limit of four kids per adult registered. There will be huge amounts of prizes available through raffles at the event, too.

Registrations for the derby can be found at Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee, Sportsman’s Warehouse in East Wenatchee, Quincy Hardware and Lumber Supply, and the Quincy Chamber of Commerce office.

Burke Lake opens to fishing every year on March 1st, and there are several other lakes in Grant County that are part of Quincy Wildlife Area that also open on this date. They include Quincy Lake, which is very close to Burke and very popular with trout anglers. A quality lake that opens on March 1st is Dusty. It requires a hike to reach Dusty and it has a daily limit of just one fish with a minimum size of 18 inches. There are some walk in lakes reached by trail in the wildlife area that often produce some big rainbow, these are Crystal and Cup. A couple of other lakes that open on March 1st in Grant County that are very popular with trout anglers are Martha Lake, and Upper Caliche.
The ice on area lakes is melting fast, so get ready for early season trout 
fishing!