By Chris Erwin
I have been watching Vickie Banks for a few years now she is a Muskie machine catching fish in some of the most difficult fishing conditions possible. So I felt it was time to meet her and see if I could find out more about her approach to fishing for the fish referred to as the fish of 10,000 cast.
Banks grew up in Owenton KY and then went to Georgetown College. She later started working for the state. Along the way, she became interested in fishing. She started out catching big catfish, however; she soon fell in love with Muskie fishing and as most fishermen know they are nothing alike.
She hired Greg Thomas a well-known guide on Cave Run Lake to take her out and learn the ropes. Thomas has a few guides working for him, one you might remember, Scott Salchli. His step daughter, Sarah Terry; age 14 at the time caught the state record Muskie. That record still stands today. Sarah’s fish was caught Nov. 2 2008. It was 54-inch long, and weighted 47-pounds.
Banks told me that she became friends with both Thomas and Salchli and has fished with them both many times. Their wealth of both Muskie fishing and Cave Run Lake has helped her to become as successful as she is on the water today.
As someone who guided this lake from 1986-1992 I can tell you, she manages to catch fish even when the water is as tough as it gets. My favorite time to be on Cave Run Lake is Sept-Nov, so I spend 14 days on the lake this year in Oct. The conditions were hard with flood-stage water levels during a time when the water is usually low as the winter draw-down begins.
While I caught my share of bass, the Muskie eluded me only seeing one in 14 days. However, during that same period Banks managed to catch two nice fish. She is a member of the Wolfpack Pro Staff and spends part of her time helping at some of the Muskie shows.
I asked her if she could tell me what I might pass along to anyone starting out in Muskie fishing. She said, “Spend as much time on the water as possible and hire a guide to teach you the lake you want to learn.”
She told me that during that high-water period, they continued to fish the spots that normally hold fish. ‘You just need to get a bait in front of them” she said. “Strikes are hard to come by, but you just got to be ready.”
I could tell from talking to her she loves fishing, and now that she is retired from her state job, she is trying to spend as much time on the water as possible. The Muskie fishing on Cave Run and Green River Lake will continue to produce until the lake freezes over. With water temperatures falling into the 50s, the lake will begin the winter turn-over once this has stabilized the Muskie fishing will still produce.
I will continue to stay in contact with Vickie Banks. She has proven to be a Muskie master, her ability to land the “the fish of 10,000 cast” is without question a skill every Muskie angler wants to duplicate.
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