MarDon Resort Fresh News – June 11th, 2025

MarDon Resort Fresh News – June 11th, 2025

Hot days make hot fishing. As we enter summer and the water temp rise and the water

level falls all the different species of fish get more active and easier to target. This truly

is a special time of year, when anglers are able to fill their live wells with walleye,

crappie, bluegill, perch and bass all in the same day.

Bass – Anglers are reporting great days on the water catching over 50 largemouth per

day. Most of these anglers are starting off the morning throwing top water baits and then

transitioning to swimbaits as the day warms up and then transitioning to deep diving

crankbaits and jigs in the hottest part of the day. Look for shaded cover, Beaver huts

and steep drops. Smallmouth bass have moved in heavily along the dam and rock

outcroppings around Goose Island.

Pan fish – Hutchinson Lake and Shiner Lake have been the stars of the pan fish show

this week. Angers are getting daily limits of Crappie, Bluegill, and Perch. Anglers

targeting pan fish on these lakes are slowly trolling a size 10 bait holder hook tipped

with a 1.5 inch piece of a red wiggler worm under a slip bobber. Reports of Perch being

caught in Corral Lake have also came in last week.

Walleye – Anglers continue to find good numbers of walleye up the Crab Creek Channel

in 10-12 ft. To target these Walleye troll bottom walkers with Mack’s lure Smileblade

Slow Death rigs @ 1.1 to 1.3 mph in 10 to 12 ft of water as close to the weed edges as

possible without getting weeded up. As the water level starts to fall, the walleye fishing

will get better and better.

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1043.97 feet – Falling 1.56 feet this

past week. Water temperatures range from 70 to 75 degrees depending on where you

are on the Reservoir. As always for more info or help choosing tackle, stop into our fully

stocked tackle shop. We also carry ammo, boating and hunting accessories and are

open 7 days a week all year or call the MarDon Resort Tackle store for current

conditions and fishing information at 509-346-2651

Pictured is Luke Green holding a 8 pound Walleye

 

MarDon Resort Fresh News – May 28th, 2025

MarDon Resort Fresh News – May 28th, 2025

Winner, Winner - Luke Morgan & Shawn McDaniel are the proud winners of a brandnew

Skeeter ZXR19. This beautiful Skeeter was the top prize of the Nixon’s Marine Big

Bass tournament. To get a chance at winning the boat Luke & Shawn had to weigh-in

the largest bass caught in a single hour out of a 167-boat field and pick the cup that had

the key inside.

Bass – Largemouth fishing is very good. Anglers are reporting that the Top Water bite

has started. Whopper Plopper’s and Spro Popper frogs in the morning and evening has

been producing good numbers. Also, Neko rigged Senko’s in perch & Watermelon

moondust colors around beaver huts and submerged islands with heavy cover have

yielded great results. Smallmouth Bass - Anglers have been finding larger Smallmouth

in the 15-25 ft deep range off Medicare beach and Perch Point. Anglers have been

having success picking up these larger Smallmouth using Deep diving Crank baits,

Lipless Crank Baits, and even Blade baits. Fishing Ned rigs and dropshot set ups along

the Dam and the Rock piles have also been producing good Smallmouth numbers.

Pan Fish – Crappie and Bluegill fishing has remained good to very good. Anglers are

reporting finding Crappie in 12 ft deep water hugging close to submerged islands with

willows reaching up to 5ft deep. Fish a slip bobber rig with a Bobby Garland “Baby

Shad” just above the willows. Bluegill are starting to bed in the shallows. Anglers are

cruising the shallows in the dunes looking for beds. Once located use 1/64 oz jig head

tipped with a 2” piece worm on the bed to entice a bite.

Walleye – Over the weekend anglers started to find good numbers of walleye up the

Crab Creek Channel in 10-12 ft. To target these Walleye troll bottom walkers with

Mack’s lure Smileblade Slow Death rigs @ 1.1 to 1.3 mph in 10 to 12 ft of water as

close to the weed edges as possible without getting weeded up. As the water level

starts to fall, the walleye fishing will get better and better.

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1046.27 feet – Falling 0.16 feet this

past week. Water temperatures range from 65 to 69 degrees depending on where you

are on the Reservoir. As always for more info or help choosing tackle, stop into our fully

stocked tackle shop. We also carry ammo, boating and hunting accessories and are

open 7 days a week all year or call the MarDon Resort Tackle store for current

conditions and fishing information at 509-346-2651

Also pictured is Todd Johanson holding his Largemouth

 

MarDon Resort Fresh News – May 14th, 2025

MarDon Resort Fresh News – May 14th, 2025

Feeling Lucky? Want a chance at winning a Brand-new Skeeter Bass Boat? Well, the

Nixon’s Marine 2025 Big Bass tournament held on May 17th is your chance. This

tournament offers hourly pay-outs for big fish and each hour’s big fish winner gets a

chance to win the Skeeter. Also, there will be additional prizes and drawing. This is one

of the most popular and most fun tournaments of the season. Don’t miss out, sing up

today.

Big, Big, Bluegill – Anglers are reporting larger than average Bluegill being found and

caught in the dunes. One of these large Bluegill may be the new state record caught by

Chad Halvorson, it weighed in at 2 pounds 6oz. Chad spotted this monster Bluegill while

pre-fishing for the walleye tournament and caught it on a 2-inch swim bait. Anglers are

also catching bluegill limits on jigs tipped with worms.

Walleye – Anglers are reporting good numbers of walleye being caught. Most anglers

are trolling bottom bouncers with a Macks Slow Death rig or Wallypop worm harness in

10-12 FOW @ 0.9-1.1 mph along weed lines. If you’re not into trolling, you can throw

jerkbaits or swimbaits targeting the same areas. With the water being this high the

Walleye are spread throughout the reservoir.

Bass – Bass fishing remains very good. Anglers are reporting 50 plus fish afternoons.

Most of these bass are in the 1-2 pound range with a few over 3lbs mixed in. Top water

fishing is starting to pick up as well. For larger bass look for areas with good cover and

fast escape routes in 8 to 10 feet of water. Try using Jigs tipped with a creature style

bait, Punch Rigs, and Texas rigged 5 and 6 inch Senkos.

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1046.43 feet – Rising 0.72 feet this

past week. Water temperatures range from 63 to 67 degrees depending on where you

are on the Reservoir. As always for more info or help choosing tackle, stop into our fully

stocked tackle shop. We also carry ammo, boating and hunting accessories and are

open 7 days a week all year or call the MarDon Resort Tackle store for current

conditions and fishing information at 509-346-2651

Picture is of Chad Halvorson holding his 2lbs 6oz bluegill

 

MarDon Resort Fresh News – April 23rd, 2025

MarDon Resort Fresh News – April 23rd, 2025

Late April on Potholes Reservoir means longer and warmer days. With those warmer

days the water temps begin to rise and the Walleye and Bass that call potholes home

begin to spawn. The spawn can be a tough time to fish as many angler found during the

Potholes Bass Club’s 46th annual “Potholes Open” bass tournament. This tournament

had almost 150 boats entered and Aaron Echternkamp and his son clinched the #1

position with 33.66 pounds for 2 days of fishing.

Bass - Targeting spawning bass involves finding them in shallow protected areas with

hard bottoms and deeper water close, using lures that mimic their forage or are bright

and easily visible, and presenting them in a way that simulates a threat to their nests.

Lizards, creature baits, and bright colors are good choices. Spawning bass may not

immediately bite at a lure, so be patient and make multiple presentations. Don't be

afraid to experiment with different lures and presentations to find what works best in

you.

Walleye – Anglers are finding walleye in the Lind Coulee and Crab Creek. Look for

areas with a hard bottom (gravel, rock) in 12 to 20 feet of water, where current and

cover are present. Most anglers are trolling Mack’s SlowDeath worm rigs behind a

bottom bouncer @ 0.9 to 1.1 mph. Also jigging 4 & 5 inch curly tail grubs and 3.5 to 4.5

inch tubes have been proving to be good choices.

Crappie – Anglers have reported large schools of feeding crappie in Soda Lake. Anglers

are using sonar to locate these schools. After the school is found use a slip bobber set

to 6” to 8” above the school and drop down a Strike King Monkey Shine “Lil Suck’R”.

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1045.68 feet – Rising 0.49 feet this

past week. Water temperatures range from 55 to 60 degrees depending where you are

on the Reservoir. As always for more info or help choosing tackle, stop into our fully

stocked tackle shop. We also carry ammo, boating and hunting accessories and are

open 7 days a week all year or call the MarDon Resort

 

MarDon Resort Fresh News – April 9th, 2025

MarDon Resort Fresh News – April 9th, 2025

It’s not as easy as “shooting fish in a barrel” but it is definitely more fun! This Saturday

April 12th is Washington Bowfishing Association’s Youth Night Shoot. These youth

shooters will take aim at putting a dent into the massive Carp population on Potholes

Reservoir. For more info or to sign your youth up for a fun filled night of cruising thru the

shallows with lights as bright as the sun, harvesting Carp for chance at some great

prizes, contact the WBA thru Facebook or email washingtonbowfishing@hotmail.com

Channel Cats – Its that time of year when the Channel Cats move up into the shallows

of flowing water to take advantage of the warmer water and easy meals. Anglers are

having great success finding Cats over 10lbs nightly in the Frenchman’s Wasteway and

the Lind Coulee using cut bait or chicken livers sitting on the bottom.

Walleye – Soda Lake anglers are still finding limits of 14 to 16 inch walleye trolling

Mack’s Slow Death Smileblade worm harness in 15 to 25 FOW @ 1 to 1.2 mph.

Reports of a few Walleye being caught up the Lind Coulee are starting to come in.

While fishing in the Lind Coulee focus on 12 to 20 FOW where the water is moving.

Anglers in the Coulee are catching walleye trolling and using jigs.

Crappie – Anglers are starting to find Crappie scattered thru out the Dunes. To target

these slabs, work your boat through dunes looking for areas with heavy cover. Once

located throw 2” swim baits along the cover to entice a bite.

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1045.19 feet – Rising 0.58 feet this

past week. Water temperatures range from 46 to 52 degrees depending where you are

on the Reservoir. As always for more info or help choosing tackle, stop into our fully

stocked tackle shop. We also carry ammo, boating and hunting accessories and are

open 7 days a week all year or call the MarDon Resort Tackle store for current

conditions and fishing information at 509-346-2651

Picture: Wyatt Harmon from Yakima hold his 14lbs Channel Cat