The Fishin' Magician: Bass Rising

I have had good reports on the bass fishing at Banks Lake already this year, and I think it's about to get even better. I fished the south end with Keith Jensen this week, and we had an amazing day. Water temperatures have been lower than usual and the smallmouth are just now beginning to bed on Banks.

We fished shallow running swim baits near the Coulee City Marina and along the east shore and caught smallmouth like crazy. We saw a few beds but were mostly fan casting in the shallow bays or along road beds. Most of the fish we caught were in the two and a half to three and a half pound class with a couple even larger. The water temperature was just hitting 60 degrees and Spenser says that what it takes to trigger the bedding response of the smallmouth.

More and more smallmouth are going to moving into the shallow flats on Banks and there should be excellent fishing for them for the next few weeks. A good sign is the presence of weeds and even weed beds, indicating a very quick recovery from last year's drawdown. I can't wait to get back up there again!