It’s starting to really look like spring. Temperatures are often in the mid-fifties throughout the region, and I am seeing more and more boats being towed to destinations known for good early-season fishing. I brought my boat home last week, and I am making plans to get in on the action.

The annual Quincy Chamber of Commerce Trout Derby is coming this weekend, on the 25th and 26th, and I wanted to check out Burke Lake, to see what I could catch. I was very short on time last Thursday, and only had a half hour to fish. I cast my bait from the platform near the vault toilet and waited for a bite. I ran and took a quick photo of the improved boat launch and dock and then changed my bait and recast. I laid my rod on the short rail at the edge of the platform and took a quick look at what was just down the shore from me. I was close enough to hear my rod sliding across the concrete and got to it before it slipped into the water. Turned out there was a fat, 13 inch rainbow on my hook and he nearly took my whole setup. I think this was a yearling fish from last year’s fry plants, and there should be a bunch of them in Burke and Quincy lakes. The Quincy Chamber bought additional fish to be planted just prior to the derby on the 25th and 26th, and a good number are going to be whoppers.

You can get all the details, including where and when you can register for the event by going to my website at www.fishingmagician.com and clicking on the “Something Fishy in Quincy" logo on the Home Page.

I have told people that there are some big rainbow in Potholes Reservoir, and spring is good time to get them. The ice has been off the big reservoir for a while now, so I ran down to give it a try. I set up on what is known as Medicare Beach and cast my bait on sliding sinker rigs as far out as I could. There is a very gradual drop here, and it isn’t very deep. I waited and waited and wasn’t getting any action. I talked to an angler that was on his way home and he said he just got one bite. He mentioned that the fishing here was very good in October. He sometimes got limits of rainbow and one of them was a 7 pounder.

I stopped at Quincy Lake on my way home and just fished for a half hour. There were several fly fishers on the lake, and when one of them started rowing for shore, saying he hadn’t had a bite in two hours, I left, too. This week’s photo is of the fly fishers on Quincy Lake.

I am repeating what I told everyone last week, as I received a message from the Bureau of Reclamation. I checked with the folks at the Reclamation District, and they said there was going to be normal levels on Banks this season. Recently the Bureau of Reclamation began pumping water out of Lake Roosevelt into Banks, and that has certainly destabilized the ice. The first area to be impacted is the north end, near Coulee Playland Resort. Potholes Reservoir and Billy Clapp will see the effects of the annual operational activities of the Bureau in March. The agency has begun to operate the Potholes Reservoir/O’Sullivan Dam outlet works. Water has begun to flow into Billy Clapp Reservoir and the Bureau of Reclamation has started operating the Billy Clapp Reservoir Dam outlet works. The Bureau sent out an announcement a couple of weeks ago, and I reported on this in the Spokane Exchange. There has been concern that ice anglers on Banks would be fishing unstable ice and should pack it in for the season. So, no drastic drawn down planned for Banks this year.

I got a follow up message from the Bureau of Reclamation, and they had this to say, “Banks Lake is being operated within the top foot of the normal 5 foot operating range of 1565 to 1570 feet. As irrigation for the Columbia Basin Project turns on this month it may drop below elevation 1569 ft. Generally, Banks Lake drafts to its lowest point at the end of August to elevation 1565 ft or sometimes a bit lower”.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is inviting public comment on two proposed land acquisitions that would help promote fish and wildlife conservation and access to the great outdoors. The proposal includes about 538 acres in total with acquisitions in Grant and Okanogan counties. One project would conserve about 379 acres at risk of commercial and residential development in partnership with the Methow Conservancy in the Methow watershed. Another project would conserve about 159 acres in the Babcock Bench area of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area, Quincy Lake Unit. The property provides significant recreational opportunities as well as space to reduce overcrowding in an area popular for rock climbing.

Since 2018, the Lake Roosevelt sturgeon fishery has opened in mid-June and closed at the end of September. In 2023, it will transition to a fall fishery to take advantage of cooler water temperatures which reduce stress on wild adult sturgeon caught by anglers. Changes to other area sturgeon fishing rules will be made as well. As an example, sturgeon reared and released into Lake Roosevelt between 2011-2016 didn’t survive as well as those released in earlier years of the project. The 2011-2016 fish are of high conservation value and cannot sustain harvest, so changes to the harvest slot (the size of fish legal to harvest) will be necessary over the next five to seven years to ensure the population is not negatively impacted. Beginning with sturgeon produced in 2017, hatchery fish were larger at the time of release, which generally translates into higher survival. That means a surplus of harvestable sturgeon is once again anticipated as those fish grow into harvestable sizes (likely beginning in 2029 or 2030).

It’s spring now, so take advantage of this good weather and get out and get after ‘em!