The Fishing Magician: February 20, 2026

We had another week of mild weather and that was a blessing for those who like to fish open water. Ice began to disappear from the surface of some of the lakes in our region. Everyone hopes that the warm trend will continue and we have an early spring. What that means for our summer here only time will tell.
I had been wondering how the kokanee fishing on Lake Chelan was this winter, and when Nate Stull of Stully’s Guide Service invited me to go I jumped on it. We met at the State Park boat launch at 7 a.m. and ran to an area above the Yacht Club. There were just two other boats fishing in the same general area, and although we weren’t marking any fish, we started catching kokanee right away. Nate had two riggers set at 90 feet and two set at 40 feet, and one of the rods that was set at 40 feet was getting bit time after time. We eventually got fish on all four of the rods. The action wasn’t fast and furious, but we were picking up fish throughout the morning. Nate was putting a variety of hoochie style lures on the rods behind small dodgers. Instead of corn he was baiting the hooks with the Gulp maggots. He adds scent to the jars. He likes these as they stay on the hook better than corn, so when you get a strike and do not hook up you still have bait. The kokanee we got that morning were mostly 11 inches long.

I was at Potholes Reservoir recently, and I found out the water temperature was still too low to get the walleye bite going. With the warm weather we continue to experience here in the region, things could change earlier than usual. One of the places where walleye anglers find fish in the early spring is in Lind Coulee. Walleye travel from Potholes up this narrow water way to spawn, and many remain there afterward. I have made a few trips up Lind Coulee over the years. The bay above the bridge on Road M SE is one of the first places we have stopped to troll before heading up the coulee. I noticed that the launch here already has enough water to put a boat in. As you make your way up Lind Coulee you will pass by brush islands in the narrow channel. There are many places that are so tight that two boats can’t pass through side by side. A couple of years ago my friend Brian Neilson took Mike Wren and me way up Lind Coulee and we caught some very nice walleye. You can view a video I did on this trip by going to my Facebook page, FishingMagician.com, and checking the report for last Thursday, the 12th of February.

The chilly weather that put a layer of ice on Moses Lake and stalled the perch fishing has melted away, and anglers are back at it near the I-90 Bridge. I didn’t arrive at Blue Heron Park until about midday so there was just one person fishing from rip rap bank and one angler on the bridge. There was one boat fishing near the up lake side of the bridge. Fishing had slowed by then. I made a couple of casts and just got one bite, and I saw a fish caught by an angler in the boat. I would think that the good fishing in this area should continue for a while. I can remember fishing through March and into early April for perch on Moses Lake. Then, when the water warmed up a bit, we switched to fishing for walleye and smallmouth bass. It is hard to say for sure, but with the warmer temperatures we are experiencing this winter, things may happen earlier than usual this season. I had a great time catching perch on Moses last year and had the best fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass ever. This week’s photo shows a boat fishing just above the I-90 Bridge on Moses Lake.

I figured that the ice that had formed around the edges of Potholes Reservoir had melted away, and I wanted to see if there was any angling activity there. I stopped by the much improved Sampson Pit boat launch and saw about a half dozen trucks and trailers in the parking area. I also visited with Nathan, who is behind the counter at the tackle shop at Mar Don Resort. He said there are some die hard anglers fishing for walleye, but it is slow going. He described the activity as “sonar fishing”. That meant that you don’t just head for your favorite area on the reservoir and start trolling, you have to look for fish before you put your gear out. He said he may look for a couple of hours before casting his blade bait or winged jig. If there aren’t any fish on the screen you are wasting your time. I gathered that if an angler could put a half dozen walleye in the boat that would be a good day. He said that the water temperature is still hovering around 34 degrees. When it got up to at least 40 degrees things would change.

Many years ago, I would make several trips to fish for perch outside of Quincy. There is a bridge on Road 5 NE over a canal, and it used to be loaded with yellow perch. They weren’t huge but we would sort through them and take enough home for a perch dinner. Sometimes we would bring my sister, her husband and their kids and have a great time. Also, there was a spillway at the opposite end of the canal we fished, and on two different occasions my wife and I found people fishing here and catching some perch, but also some whopper rainbow. I remember one angler had a five gallon bucket and the tail of the trout stuck out of the top of the bucket. The other day I stopped by this area and found one angler fishing near the bridge. He was targeting the carp that are now most common in the canal. I saw him get a bite and he said the small perch were stealing his bait, but not big enough to keep. I tried fishing at the spillway for a while but didn’t have any luck. Just thought I would share.