I will be camping at Steamboat Rock for a few days in June and haven't fished Banks yet. I have some basic questions for anyone who is willing to share some knowledge of the lake. Not asking anyone to sell the farm here, I mostly just want to pack right and play safely with the kids. Welcome to PM me if your don't feel like sharing with the world.

 

-Water level. What is the pattern here? Does it rise in the winter/spring and lower throughout the summer? or do they try to keep it constant? Also, is there ever aggressive lowering or rising that could leave a parked boat beached (like on the Snake River..)?

 

-Wind. I have heard they get some big winds but every lake is different to this respect. Anyone have a pretty stable rule of thumb for when to stay off or at least close to the ramp? For instance a ten-fifteen mile wind on Wallula can be nasty but a 20mph wind on Moses is nothing I fret...

 

-Largemouth. I like to target LM before SM but I have looked at the Google and Bing maps and worry that its going to be tuff going for the green fish. Just looks really deep, clear and pretty sterile from a vegetation standpoint. The North end has all of those main lake pockets that would be nasty LM fishing this time of year if it wasn't so deep in the middle. Is my observation somewhat accurate? Does the smallmouth prevail on this lake even in the backwaters? I am going to fish the backs regardless but I dont want to give up on LM to quickly if its generally pretty easy to catch them here. 

 

-Stain. Pretty clear lake? or no? Its not Chelan clear is it? The water looks big enough to get rolling pretty good so I know it will sediment. But is there an algae bloom or any color to the water?

 

Thanks, I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read or respond to this. -Nate

No takers but after my trip here is what I've found for the record....

 

I will be camping at Steamboat Rock for a few days in June and haven't fished Banks yet. I have some basic questions for anyone who is willing to share some knowledge of the lake. Not asking anyone to sell the farm here, I mostly just want to pack right and play safely with the kids. Welcome to PM me if your don't feel like sharing with the world.

 

-Water level. What is the pattern here? Does it rise in the winter/spring and lower throughout the summer? or do they try to keep it constant? Also, is there ever aggressive lowering or rising that could leave a parked boat beached (like on the Snake River..)? Pretty constant. Was able to leave my boat beached overnight and boat camping is very popular here so I don't think this is ever an issue. Water level was slightly higher than normal according to some locals.

 

-Wind. I have heard they get some big winds but every lake is different to this respect. Anyone have a pretty stable rule of thumb for when to stay off or at least close to the ramp? For instance a ten-fifteen mile wind on Wallula can be nasty but a 20mph wind on Moses is nothing I fret... This will vary significantly on this lake. I knew this lake was big looking at the map but you really don't get a  good perspective on just how big and how segmented it is until you see it. We saw winds up to 14 mph in the area we were staying but never once did I feel like my bass boat couldn't handle it. In fact when the wind picked up is when I really wanted to be out fishing as the water was so clear. Out in the big water closer to the d**n however might not have been the same case.

 

-Largemouth. I like to target LM before SM but I have looked at the Google and Bing maps and worry that its going to be tuff going for the green fish. Just looks really deep, clear and pretty sterile from a vegetation standpoint. The North end has all of those main lake pockets that would be nasty LM fishing this time of year if it wasn't so deep in the middle. Is my observation somewhat accurate? Does the smallmouth prevail on this lake even in the backwaters? I am going to fish the backs regardless but I dont want to give up on LM to quickly if its generally pretty easy to catch them here. No problems finding and catching largemouth. First spot I checked had them. I think with the water a little higher helped because It kept the reeds in deeper waters and more inhabitable. It was fun and I was catching them fishing the way it was meant to be done. Every fish on a Spinnerbait, Jig, or Swimjig. Every backwater or protected area I tried that was up against rock had them, the ones I checked that where on the flat sandy side of the lake didn't or they had already moved out.  Fished the outside wall for a few minutes (like 6 casts) with a deep crankbait and got a nice 3lbs smallie. I cannot wait to get back to this lake!

 

-Stain. Pretty clear lake? or no? Its not Chelan clear is it? The water looks big enough to get rolling pretty good so I know it will sediment. But is there an algae bloom or any color to the water? This lake is very clear. Its not as clear as Chelan thankfully. I would say there is a solid 6-8 feet of visibility in calm water. The wind really helps as there is so much sand and mineral in this lake.

 

Thanks, I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read or respond to this. -Nate

Thanks for the info, I've never been myself, I'll have to go see it sometime.

Thank you for the info...I have never been to Banks either, even though its only about two hours away. Thanks for sharing and its a bummer no one responded with any pointers before your trip...wish I could have helped

WA state LM record came out of banks lake. 

That was before smallmouth were introduced.  Largemouth fishery in Banks is mediocre at best now.