Taking a quick look around the region, here’s what’s going on. The Burke and Quincy lakes in the Quincy Wildlife Area are producing good catches of rainbow that average about 11 inches. Caliche Lake is also good for rainbow and Martha Lake is too, which has some bigger fish. A friend of mine had to throw rocks to break the ice at the Northrup launch on Banks Lake to get his boat in, but he felt it was worth it. He fished for two or three hours and got five nice walleye. Some are getting limits of walleye already on Banks. They are finding the fish on the back side of Steamboat Rock and in very deep water. Expect to drop your bottom bouncers to 50 or 60 feet and troll very slowly. The bites can be very subtle in the cold water and if it’s windy it is really tough to tell if you are getting bit. This is also prime time for fishing for rainbow on Banks Lake. Bank fishing from the dike at the Coulee City Marina can be very good, and trolling at the south end can also be very productive. I have heard of the occasional walleye being caught on Potholes Reservoir. Many people blade bait this time of year, but you have to find a good concentration of fish for this to be worthwhile.