The Fishing Magician

Friday, Nov. 12

Now we're talking. This is real winter-like weather. The kind of weather that steelhead anglers are most familiar with and feel like they are really fishing, snow on the ground and all. All kidding aside, the cooler weather is going to be a benefit. Water temperatures are dropping. There are plenty of fish in the rivers, and this trend will get them biting. Expect the best bite early and late in the day on the smaller streams, and any time there is good flow on the main stem Columbia. I got a great report on the fishing at Rufus Woods Reservoir. Anton Jones, of Darrell and Dads Family Guide Service sent me a note along with some photos to prove it. He recommends fishing near the net pens, and although fish can be caught with other methods, the best way to get them is with baited jigs. Limit catches can be had and fish I saw were a consistent 6 pounds. This is really good news. I know a lot of steelhead anglers pack up their gear when the weather gets nasty. The prospect of catching triploids from the comfort of a heated boat has more appeal to them in the winter.

Monday, Nov. 15

Walleye fishing isn't the greatest at Banks Lake right now, but the bass fishing is very good. True to form, the smallies are putting on the feed bag with dropping water temperatures. The water is still a balmy 52 degrees on Banks, and the smallmouth will continue to feed heavily until it drops to about 45 degrees. Fish can be taken even when it dips below this frosty level. I had an excellent day of smallmouth fishing years ago with a couple of buddies from Chelan in mid-December. Big fish are being taken now, too. The recent Frostbite Tournament saw lots of smallmouth in the 3- 4 pound class taken. Fishing the weed lines is very productive right now, but some anglers are fishing very deep, like over the road bed near the Poplars for big fish. Another fishery that has blossomed at Banks is the trout fishing. Every year the bigger rainbow, and I mean fish in the 20-inch range also being feeding heavily. A good way to get a bunch of them is to troll Rapalas near the weed lines. The orange-gold and purple florescent are good colors. Big walleye can be taken at Banks and trolling the weed lines is where to find them.