MarDon FreshNews – May 25, 2018

MarDon Fresh News – May 25, 2018

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1045.39 feet. The water temperature on the main Reservoir is at 73.5 degrees and in the mid 70’s back in the sand dunes.

The Largemouth fishing continues to be very good. Some Largemouth have spawned, many are on beds, and some fish are still pre-spawn. Most fish are being caught back in the sand dunes. Fish the same pattern as last week - Senkos, Chigger Craws - Texas Rigged, Punch Rigs, Jigs, and Spinnerbaits and popping frogs have all been productive.  The smallmouth fishing has picked up this week. Smallmouth are being caught in the sand dunes, on the rock piles off Goose Island and along the face of the dam. Use crankbaits, 3 ½” tubes, and Senkos for the Smallmouth.

The walleye fishing continues to good. The walleye have finished up their spawning activities and have moved back into the main Reservoir and into the sand dunes to begin feeding again.  Fish are being caught trolling Slow Death rigs with Smile Blades and Butterfly Blade rigs as well as traditional spinner/crawler harnesses. Crankbaits and swimbaits have been productive back in the dunes in 4-15 feet of water. Fish Lind Coulee, Crab Creek and the sand dunes for the walleye.

 Trout are being caught in the Seep Lakes on Glitter Mallows, Power Bait, and or worms and Rooster Tails.  The top lakes have been Soda Lake, Long Lake, and Upper and Lower Hampton Lakes. The trout fishing on the Potholes Reservoir has been productive this week. Anglers have been catching big fish trolling #5 and # 7 Flicker Shads and Shad Raps in front of the State Park.

The crappie fishing has been very good off the MarDon dock as well as back in the sand dunes. Use a 1” Berkley Gulp Minnow in Black Shad, Smelt, or Luma Glow on a 1/80^th -1/32^nd ounce jig head. No reports on perch fishing yet.

Only registered guests of MarDon Resort able to fish off the dock.

Call the MarDon Store for the latest fishing info and to make reservations at 509-346-2651.

A nice crappie caught off the dock at MarDon Resort.

Shelby Ross of Ross Outdoor Adventures with a beautiful freshly spawned Potholes Reservoir walleye. Shelby released this fish after taking the picture.

MarDon FreshNews – May 18, 2018

MarDon Fresh News – May 18, 2018

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1045.94 feet- just about to full pool. The water temperature on the main Reservoir is at 70 degrees and in the upper low to mid 70’s back in the sand dunes.

The Largemouth fishing has been outstanding this past week with anglers reporting large numbers of fish up to six pounds. Most fish are being caught back in the sand dunes. Use a variety of baits to figure out the bite – Senkos, Chigger Craws - Texas Rigged, Punch Rigs, Jigs, and Spinnerbaits and popping frogs have all been productive. Some fish are on beds, with more getting ready to spawn. The next full moon – May 29^th – should put the rest on beds.  The smallmouth fishing has picked up this week. Smallmouth are being caught in the sand dunes, on the rock piles off Goose Island and along the face of the dam. Use crankbaits, 3 ½” tubes, and Senkos for the Smallmouth.

The walleye fishing has been to good this past week. The walleye have finished up their spawning activities and have moved back into the main Reservoir and into the sand dunes to begin feeding again. The fishing should improve over the next several weeks.  Fish are being caught trolling Slow Death rigs with Smile Blades and Butterfly Blade rigs as well as traditional spinner/crawler harnesses. Swimbaits have been productive back in the dunes in 4-15 feet of warer. Fish Lind Coulee, Medicare Beach, Crab Creek and the sand dunes for the walleye.

 Trout are being caught in the Seep Lakes on Glitter Mallows, Power Bait, and or worms.  The top lakes have been Soda, and Upper and Lower Hampton Lakes. The trout fishing on the Potholes Reservoir. Anglers have been catching decent numbers of big fish trolling #5 and # 7 Flicker Shads and Shad Raps in front of the State Park.

The crappie are finishing up their spawn back in the brush and a lot of fish have moved in under the MarDon Dock. Use a 1” Berkley Gulp Minnow in Black Shad, Smelt, or Luma Glow on a 1/80^th -1/32^nd ounce jig head. No reports on perch fishing yet.

Only registered guests of MarDon Resort able to fish off the dock.

Call the MarDon Store for the latest fishing info and to make reservations at 509-346-2651.

A quality Potholes Reservoir Largemouth caught on the face of the Sand Dunes.

The Potholes Reservoir walleye fishing is picking up and should continue to fish well throughout the summer.

Steven of TICA Rods show two nice crappie caught off the MarDon dock.

MarDon Fresh News – May 11, 2018

MarDon Fresh News – May 11, 2018

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1045.88 feet- about one foot up from last week. The water temperature on the main Reservoir is at 67 degrees and in the upper 60’s to low 70’s back in the sand dunes.

MarDon Resort hosted a successful Rod Meseberg Spring Walleye Classic which is part of the Ranger Cup Walleye Circuit. A big congratulation to Brad Phillips and Ty Whitaker for a 1^st Place finish, weighing 16.30 pounds Day 1 and 20.34 pounds on Day 2 for a winning total of 36.64 pounds! Congratulations to Shelby and Tanys Ross of Ross Outdoor Adventures for winning the Cool Under Pressure honors standing in 42^nd Place after Day 1 with 5.72 pounds and climbing 33 spots on Day 2 with 17.32 pounds for a 9^th Place finish overall. The Ross’ received $500.00 for their Day 2 effort – they then turned around and donated the winnings back to the CWFAC’s Habitat Restoration Project on the Potholes Reservoir – Thank you Shelby and Tanys! Big Fish on Day 1 was brought in by Heath Brown and Steve Marquardt weighing 6.35 pounds. Day Two Big Fish and Big Fish of the tournament was caught by Jordy Mac and Skyyler Grant weighing 6.64 pounds – awesome job!  There were 53 boats this year, 427 walleye were caught, and the average weight was 2.25 pounds.

This was an awesome event and it is one of several events that benefit the Central Washington Fish Advisory Committee’s habitat restoration efforts. Check out www.cwfac.org to see how you can get involved in ensuring and improving the future fishing on the Potholes Reservoir.

The Largemouth fishing has been very good this past week with anglers reporting large numbers of fish up to six pounds. Most fish are being caught back in the sand dunes. Use a variety of baits to figure out the bite – Senkos, Chigger Craws - Texas Rigged, Punch Rigs, Jigs, and Spinnerbaits have all been productive. The fish are just starting to bed up. Some smallmouth are being caught in the sand dunes, off Perch Point and along the face of the dam. Use crankbaits and 3 ½” tubes for the Smallmouth.

The walleye fishing has been fair to good this past week. The walleye have finished up their spawning activities and are making their way back into the main Reservoir and into the dunes to begin their recovery and begin feeding again. The fishing should improve over the next several weeks.  Fish are being caught trolling Slow Death rigs with Smile Blades and Butterfly Blade rigs as well as traditional spinner/crawler harnesses. Fish Lind Coulee, Medicare Beach, Crab Creek and the sand dunes for the walleye.

 Trout are being caught in the Seep Lakes on Glitter Mallows, Power Bait, and or worms.  The top lakes have been Soda, and Upper and Lower Hampton Lakes. The crappie are back in the brush in the sand dunes spawning and a few good schools of crappie in the 9-12” range have just arrived at the MarDon Dock! Pete Fisher, manager of the MarDon Resort tackle store caught 25 crappie between 9-12” in about 90 minutes – all fish were released. Use a 1” Berkley Gulp Minnow in Black Shad, Smelt, or Luma Glow on a 1/80^th -1/32^nd ounce jig head.

Only registered guests of MarDon Resort able to fish off the dock.

Call the MarDon Store for the latest fishing info and to make reservations at 509-346-2651.

Wayne and Bill Conley of Moses Lake getting ready to blast off at the Rod Mesesberg Spring Walleye Classic. Bill still loves to fish out his Ranger walleye boat with his son. Mr. Conley is 84 years young!

Pete Fisher of MarDon Resort with a nice crappie caught off the MarDon Resort dock!

Shelby and Tanys Ross had a great day two in the Rod Meseberg Spring Walleye Classic, climbing 33 spots to receive the Cool Under Pressure honors!

MarDon Fresh News – May 4, 2018

MarDon Fresh News – May 4, 2018

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1044.95 feet- a little up from last week. The water temperature on the main Reservoir right in the low 60’s and in the mid-60’s back in the sand dunes.

The Largemouth fishing has been very good this past week with anglers reporting large numbers of fish up to six pounds. Most fish are being caught back in the sand dunes. Use a variety of baits to figure out the bite – Senkos, Chigger Craws - Texas Rigged, Punch Rigs, Jigs, and Spinnerbaits have all been productive. The fish are just starting to bed up. Some smallmouth are being caught in the sand dunes, off Perch Point and along the face of the dam. Use crankbaits and 3 ½” tubes for the Smallmouth.

The walleye fishing has been fair this past week. The walleye have about finished up their spawning activities and are making their way back into the main Reservoir and into the dunes to begin their recovery and begin feeding again. The fishing should improve over the next several weeks.  Fish are being caught on blade baits, trolling Slow Death rigs with Smile Blades and Butterfly Blade rigs. Fish Lind Coulee, Medicare Beach, Crab Creek and the sand dunes for the walleye.

 Trout are being caught in the Seep Lakes on Glitter Mallows, Power Bait, and or worms.  The top lakes have been Soda, and Upper and Lower Hampton Lakes. The crappie are back in the brush in the sand dunes spawning.  No reports from the MarDon Dock yet.

MarDon Resort will be hosting the Rod Meseberg Spring Walleye Classic is this weekend. Come by and watch the weigh-in and get in on the raffle. You will be supporting the CWFAC and have the opportunity to win some great prizes! The Central Washington Fish Advisory Committee is a nonprofit organization that focuses habitat restoration in the Potholes Reservoir. The organization relies on public and corporate support to obtain the materials required to build the habitat boxes that are placed in the Potholes Reservoir to provide neccessary cover for fry and small fish during low water periods. Please visit www.cwfac.org to learn more about the project and how you can get involved in ensuring quality fishing for sportsmen, sportswomen, and families for years to come.

 Call the MarDon Store for the latest fishing info and to make reservations at 509-346-2651.

Santos Garza with two nice Potholes Reservoir Largemouth Bass caught while fishing the sand dunes.

Levi Meseberg placing habitat boxes into the Potholes Reservoir as part of the CWFAC's habitat restoration project on the Reservoir.