It is really starting to look like spring. The ice is clearing off or has disappeared from the surface of many of the lakes at lower elevations. When I visited several of the lakes that opened on March 1st in the Columbia Basin, I found big crowds of anglers enjoying their first day of trout fishing for the season.

I ran down to the Quincy Wildlife Area last Saturday to see what conditions were like on some of the lakes that opened on March first. The boat launch at Quincy Lake was frozen, but there was enough open water to allow for bank fishing on the south shore. There was a lot more open water on Burke Lake when I checked on it. Anglers were able to launch boats here and shore anglers were having good luck catching catchable-sized rainbow trout from both shores at the bottom end of the lake. I then traveled to the lakes near the town of George. Martha Lake is just a couple miles east of George and is one of most popular opening day lakes in the region. There is very good shore access here and it produces surprisingly good catches of trout every year on the opener. A few miles to the west of George is Caliche Lake. I found the parking lot packed with trucks. People were launching small boats and were scattered among the reed-lined banks. Fishing can be quite good in the early season on Caliche. Due to the opener falling on a Saturday with great weather, the turnout was the best I have seen in years. This week’s photo was taken at Burke Lake on the March 1st opening day.

Last week I traveled to Lake Lenore, which is north of Soap Lake on Highway 17. This lake is known to produce good catches of large Lahontan cutthroat trout and is particularly popular with fly fishers. The lake is a selective fishery, barbless hooks and no bait, and has a daily limit of one fish over 18 inches. One of the favorite areas on the lake with fly fishers is the very top end of the lake, and it was still frozen over when I went to check on it last Tuesday. There are some shore fishing spots along the highway, and I found open water at one of them. There are some special rules that you should know before fishing Lenore, that are in the Sport Fishing Pamphlet.

I also checked on Billy Clapp Reservoir. About three weeks ago I visited the lake and there were a large number of anglers fishing from the shore and one boat had launched from the sandy beach. On my recent visit things have changed. We had that spell of very cold weather, and that put a solid layer of ice on the lake. Apparently, the ice was never thick enough to tempt anglers out on it though. I saw no evidence of holes being drilled in the ice. Now it’s a waiting game. Anglers are going to be eager to see the ice leave the surface of Billy Clapp. It often offers terrific fishing for rainbow trout in the early spring. I have had some great days out here, fishing from small boats launched from the sandy beach. Some years the rainbow will average 14 to16 inches, and we have had a blast trolling Rapalas and Flicker Shads behind the boat. We will usually start just above the big basalt island that is a distance from the public access and often have our best luck along the eastern shore. Man, I can’t wait for the ice to clear off of Billy Clapp!

A week ago, I was at the bottom end of Banks Lake to check out the ice conditions and see if people were out fishing for perch at the Coulee City Marina, or out on the main lake. We found good ice in the marina, but there were no sign of fish on the fish finder when we drilled some test holes. However, there was a big crowd of anglers further out on the ice, way out off of the tip of the island. There were at least a dozen huts and other anglers out on the ice. My friends and I headed out to see if we could find some of the big whitefish that everyone was targeting. We drilled a bunch of holes near several of the huts, but didn’t mark many fish. Turned out, the huts we were near were all empty, as their owners wouldn’t be there until dark, when the fishing is the best. There is no point in traveling to Banks now, for ice fishing. There was just one hut out there when I checked recently. The anglers must have waded through water to get out there. I sure wouldn’t have done it. The ice isn’t safe.

The Wenatchee Sportsmen’s Association will be holding their annual fundraising dinner and auction on Saturday, March 29th, and if you haven’t attended one of these events, I suggest you get tickets and go. The menu includes four different entrees to choose from (no wild game). Also, nine different side dishes, all prepared by great chefs. In addition to the dinner, it is a very busy evening. There will be tables full of “gotta have” items for those who hunt and fish. The live auction is just that— very lively. When you buy your ticket, it is good for the dinner and a year’s membership to the organization. The Wenatchee Sportsmen’s Association volunteers dedicate hundreds of hours every year to fish and wildlife habitat and ecological work, all right here in our area. They have participated in the Rock Island Kids Free Fishing Day for many years, helping kids catch a fish. For some of them it’s their first fish ever. The event will take place at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wenatchee, beginning at 4:30. You can get tickets at Hooked on Toys.