MarDon Fresh News – February 22, 2019

MarDon Fresh News – February 22, 2019

Although we will continue to experience winter weather for the next several weeks – there are still plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy our area! The Potholes Reservoir is frozen over – but no reports of ice fishing or safe ice reports yet.

There are still thousands of Snow Geese to watch in the area. Look for them in the fields off M. Road in the afternoon. Late ducks and Lessers are in the fields as well. There are many Bald Eagles around the Potholes Reservoir. Take a drive over the O’Sullivan Dam and look for them sitting on the ice or flying over the Refuge. Look for deer in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge. 

The snow on the ground is providing decent coyote hunting opportunities. They are easier to spot and track in the snow – and they need to be out hunting themselves to keep their metabolism up.

The Sandhill Cranes are beginning to show up! They have left their wintering ground in California and thousands of cranes will make a stop in Central Washington from mid-February through April. The Othello Sandhill Crane Festival is scheduled for March 22, 23, & 24 of 2019. 

Winter will soon lose its grip on the Potholes Reservoir and the Seep Lake area. Fishing can be excellent for walleye and trout right at and shortly after ice out. The Potholes Reservoir, Soda Lake and Long Lake are open year around and provide some outstanding early season fishing.

Drive M. Road in the late afternoon to see big numbers of Snow Geese feeding in the fields! Photo by Mike Meseberg

One of the many Bald Eagles hanging around the Potholes Reservoir. Gary Thompson of the Potholes Reservoir area took this picture at the Blythe Bay boat launch!