Ice fishing for perch is off and running this season! The first spot to light up was the Coulee City Marina. There has been a safe cap of ice on the sheltered marina water for a while now, and anglers are taking advantage of a good bite for yellow perch. Most of the perch being caught are smallish, but there are enough 9- to 10-inchers being taken to keep people coming back for more. The limit on perch here, which is at the bottom end of Banks Lake, is 25 and people aren’t having a problem getting limits. When I fished it I drilled a hole over eight feet of water and used jigs tipped with worm for my fish. I drilled one hole and never had to move. I checked out Winchester Wasteway near the bridge on Road 5 NW on my way up to Coulee City. The only anglers, and there were just two of them, were not fishing for perch, but carp. It looks like it may be another bleak year for perch fishing on the Wasteway. Perch anglers are watching the ice on Moses Lake closely. The jumbo perch started showing up again last year and they can’t wait for the ice to get thick enough to get out after them.