I did some looking around our area last week, and spring is changing things. The irrigation canals are bringing water to popular lakes like Billy Clapp near Soap Lake and Evergreen Reservoir in the Quincy Wildlife Area. These are just a couple of lakes that fill each spring and offer good fishing for a variety of species.
The timing couldn’t be better for the annual Quincy Chamber Trout Derby. It will be held on both Quincy and Burke lakes in the Quincy Wildlife Area, not far from the town of Quincy. The derby kicks off on Friday, March 27th at 6 a.m. The WDFW planned plant of 1,500 rainbow weighing an average of 1 pound that was made in both Burke and Quincy lakes to help with success during the derby. The Quincy Chamber also arranges to have an additional plant of trout that may be even bigger to raise the anticipation of landing a whopper by derby participants. If you haven’t registered online, registrations will be taken in person at the derby headquarters on Quincy Lake on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. and on Saturday from 6 till 9 a.m. The cost is $40 for adults over the age of 18. Kids 17 and under are free, and up to four kids can fish with one registered adult. Something that always impressed me about the derby is their emphasis on the kids. They make sure that all the kids go home with some kind of prize. Please click on the Something Fishy in Quincy logo on my website for all the details. This week’s photo was taken at derby headquarters at last year’s event.
Good news for fans of fishing at Billy Clapp Lake. The water level is up high enough to launch a boat here now. I was in Grand Coulee recently, to do some videos with my good friend Austin Moser. On the way home I took the Pinto Ridge Road south that takes you by Summer Falls Park and meets Highway 28. It’s not far east of here to Stratford and the road into Billy Clapp. The last section of the boat dock is floating, and I know we launched when it was at this level last year. The canal that fills the reservoir is full and the water will continue to come up fast now. I get excited when I see that the boat launch can be used. I have had some terrific spring days on Billy Clapp fishing for rainbow averaging at least 16 inches. The past two seasons have been disappointing but in previous seasons we have had a ball trolling above the big basalt island. We have had our best success flat lining crank baits, like Rapalas or Flicker Shads way behind the boat. Sometimes we have found using side planers to be very effective here, too.
Looking back a year ago, I came across a photo of my fishing buddy Dennis Beich with a nice rainbow he landed on Rufus Woods Reservoir. This is usually the time of year that the Colville Tribe makes releases of triploids into Rufus. We hit the reservoir right after there had been a release of thousands of them. I launched at the middle net pens and then ran up a ways and watched my depth sounder until I found a good mass of fish on the screen. We tied on either marabou jigs or plastics, pinched the barbs down and had a blast catching and releasing trout. I got a notice that indicated that the releases have begun, and that as many as 25,000 were released recently. The average weight of the trout was just over a pound, which I believe is smaller than many of the previous plants. This is just one of several plants that the tribe typically does in the spring. Some of the releases are of a smaller number of much larger fish. I have announced a derby that is being conducted by the tribe, and these releases should spark interest in participating.
I had arranged to meet Austin Moser, of Austins Northwest Adventures Guide Service, at his home in Coulee Dam on Wednesday, and I arrived in town early enough to check on a couple of the boat launches in the area. On the way up I swung into the Northrup launch site and found that there was one boat in the parking area, probably looking for some pre-spawn walleye. The docks aren’t in place yet here. They do an amazing job at the Federal Park at Spring Canyon with the docks. When you pull into the parking area you see the big, long docks high and dry. But way down below, where the water level is right now, you can see that there is a dock in place that can be used to put a boat in. I walked down to it and saw that there is solid concrete right to the water’s edge. It is shallow but two large boats had put in there earlier. The other boat ramp that is just above Grand Coulee Dam is out of service now. Hard to say when the water will be back up enough to use this one, due to planned maintenance at the dam.
I want to continue to maintain the level of current reports and even expand the area I cover as I look for fishing opportunities. The time and effort it requires to deliver the best quality information on fishing in the region has become very demanding. I need to consolidate my efforts to make a more efficient use of my time. I will continue to place reports on my website, and I have even added Saturdays and Sundays to my weekly line up of reporting. Now I am inviting you to subscribe to my Facebook page. Please follow me and then go to the subscribe hub. As a subscriber you will receive tips and tricks, How To videos and other special features that I share only with subscribers. There will be video interviews with known fishing experts like Austin Moser, Shane Magnuson, Buzz Ramsey and others. By becoming a Facebook Subscriber, you will not only be getting exclusive information and features, but you will also be helping me expand my coverage of the area where I find more great fishing opportunities. I want to thank you for your support, and I will continue providing you with even better information on fishing in this region.
