The Fishin' Magician Weekly Report

Monday - March 4

Fish Lake, near Lake Wenatchee, has been a favorite of ice fishermen for decades, and the favorite catch has been perch. To assure good fishing for perch through the ice and the balance of the season there was a 25-fish bag limit in place for several years.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement folks have been keeping anglers honest on Fish Lake and recently cited four men for trying to get away with taking more fish than allowed here. Officer Klump was observing a group of four anglers and saw one of them stuff fish into a back pack and carry it to a vehicle parked at the Cove Resort.

He contacted the Cove and asked that they watch to see which vehicle the man was using. He and another officer met the four anglers at their vehicle when they left the lake. Two of the anglers had exceeded their limits.

They then asked the owner to open his trunk, and found two large bags containing an additional 68 perch. The four had a total of 167 perch and were cited for exceeding their bad limit. Fans of Fish are will happy to hear that Enforcement is on top of over-limit fishing at this popular lake.

Wednesday - March 6

I know many of you are anxious to learn how the Quincy Valley Tourism Association's annual trout derby turned out, and I have the results.

First of all there was great attendance this year.

The weather was cloudy but not windy and there was no ice on any of the lakes in the region.

Over 500 people bought tickets. I saw one tagged fish turned in, but it wasn't a "money" fish. There were lots of other winners, though.

In the adult division for biggest single catch, Dan Sharf took first place with a two fish that weighed just over 8 pounds. It helped that he caught the biggest trout ever weighed for the event; a 6-pound, 8-ounce bruiser. He also took first for total catch weight, so he went home with a pocket full of cash.

In the youth division, Drayer Silversten won first place for single catch with single fish that was over 15 inches, and it helped him win the total catch, too, as his stringer weighed over 4 pounds.

There were many limits turned in with most of the fish in the 11- to 12-inch class.

I want to remind anglers that if they catch a tagged trout at Burke Lake prior to June 1st it may be worth some serious cash.

If you catch a tagged trout, call the Chamber of Commerce office in Quincy and read them the number. It may be worth up to $500.00!

Friday - March 8

Trout anglers can expect continued good fishing at the lakes in the Quincy Wildlife Area.

There were big crowds on Burke, Quincy, Martha and Caliche last weekend, but all of these lakes have plenty of fish in them and will produce great catches for weeks to come.

Fishing should be even better for the larger trout that the Quincy Valley Tourism Association put in Burke Lake for the derby.

They were planted just the day prior to the derby and weren't really in a biting mood. I am getting reports of some very large rainbow being caught on Potholes Reservoir and Banks Lake.

Spring fishing for trout well over 20 inches can be excellent on these large impoundments and this year seems particularly good.

I would encourage anglers to give Banks Lake a try for trout, as the first Bank Lake Triple Fish Challenge derby is less than a month away now. There will be prize money awarded for the biggest rainbow, walleye and smallmouth bass at the derby, and this would be a good time to find out where the best trout fishing is on Banks.

Go to my web site and click on the Pepsi logo to get the link to the derby site for info.