For a day and a half leading up to our Club Fish Day at Banks Lake, the wind blew 15 to 20 mph from the north at Banks Lake. As I arrived at the boat ramp around 815 AM, there were some white caps at the south end of the lake. By the time Paul, Ron (new member), and I got our boats unloaded, the white caps had decreased to 1 foot waves. By the time 11 AM rolled around, we were wishing some of that wind would return as temperatures climbed into the 90s. There were 6 club boats on the water. Paul, Ron, Mark/Linda, John/Shirley, and Vincent/Vinney. Good to see some new members join us!!!

Fishing was excellent!!! By noon, most of the club boats congregated on a long flat along the east shore line about 3 miles north of the Coulee City launch. Fish were stacked in 20-25 feet of water in the vicinity of a weed bed that had been exposed to 36 hours of wind. Several big fish were caught including a 30 inch fish caught by John and Shirley's grandson which was his first walleye ever. Ron caught a fish over 25 inches. Mark and Linda put a pair of 20 inchers in the well. And I got an email from Shirley with a huge fish caught Saturday evening. The average size fish was 14-16 inches, and there were lots of them. Greg and Paul had a 45 fish day with several doubles and one triple. I heard at least 3 other boats not associated with the club hollering loudly about very large fish caught throughout the day.

Most fish were taken trolling bottom bouncers and spinners. Green was a popular color. A couple fish were taken long line trolling crankbaits in 14 to 18 feet, but weeds made it difficult to troll the flat. Trolling small buoyant cranks in a three-way rig worked almost as effectively as crawlers and bouncers. Blade baits also worked quite well. All of the big fish were caught with bottom bouncers.

Club Fish Day: Banks Lake - 7/18