february 1st fishing at the south end of banks lake was quite nice. we launched at coulee city and trolled just outside the boat harbor, picking up seven rainbow in the 15 to 17 inch range. the day was sunny, and started out calm; just when we had had enough, the wind came up, small whitecaps developed, and we headed back to the launch ramp.

i hope you don't mind, but we are meat fishermen. finesse fishing is foreign to us. we drag worms behind a bunch of flashers, and sometimes the trout jerk hard enough that we can even tell there is a fish on!

i sure hope these trout don't taste muddy, like that potholes trout from a little while back.

the surface temp was 38 degrees, and we found the trout honey hole in about 24 feet of surprisingly clear water.

we hoped to see what might be walleye hugging the bottom, or maybe even perch, but in 3 or 4 hours of fishing we noted only 2 fish glued to the bottom.

fishing pressure was light to non-existant. a great time to be on banks lake.

i have a nice digital photo of one of the trout, and i'll try to figure out how to add it to this post. (just trying to make you droll a little, if ya happen to be sitting in some windy, wet western washington rain!)

big john [img]http://users.bentonrea.com/~johnrobyn/fish&clayton[/img]

nice fish big john...nothing wrong with meat fishing, screw the elitists...as long as you are having fun, thats all that matters, thats why you pay for your license in the first place

Banks is one of my favorite lakes. It has some real nice 'bows swimming in it.

I'm headed to Banks this summer on part of a two week camping trip being planned, with Banks, Roosevelt, Potholes, Moses, and a few others on the list.

Thanks for the info, I'll be saving that for use this summer!

Niiiiiice fish, and nothin wrong with keepin it. Why plant them if youre not gonna keep them?

Curtis

The trout fishery in Banks is really one of the most under-fished trout fisheries in the state. Banks is know for bass and walleye. Most trout caught are incidental catches.