This was my last big trip for the Cascadia Big Fishing Year, where I am attempting to catch/harvest as many species of fish/shellfish in OR/WA in 2014. My two target species for this trip were burbot and lake whitefish. I arrived at Banks late in the afternoon on Sunday afternoon as high winds whipped up the lake funneled by the coulee walls. I didn't want to fight the winds and cold in my kayak so I instead fished nightcrawlers and chunks of anchovy off the north dam on a sliding weight carolina rig. I really wanted to catch a burbot but after freezing my butt off on the dam for 4 hours I started packing it in hoping to go and catch the last half of the Sehawks/Cardinals game in front of the heater in my motel room. Just as I was about to leave line started slowing leaving my reel. I was fishing with circle hooks so I gently increased the drag and applied pressure to the fish. Suddenly the fish realized it was hooked and started fighting back. After a short fight in the dark I landed my first burbot for the year and my 83rd species for the year.

BTW: Burbot tastes awesome!!!

The next morning I scraped the ice off the kayak and launched out of Coulee Playland. I pedaled across to where the north canal feeds in to the lake and started jigging right off the bottom in 50' of water. My fishfinder was lit up with dozens of Lake Whitefish. I didn't have to wait long before hooking and landing my first whitefish and my 84th species for the year. I rapidly caught several more fish and then headed in to warm up. I put together a short video on this fishery with some underwater video. I even got incredibly luck and got video of an albinistic whitefish. It was a great trip and I hope to make it back to Banks Lake again in the future.