MarDon Fresh News – April 26, 2019

MarDon Fresh News – April 26, 2019 

The current water level on the Potholes reservoir is 1043.80-feet – remaining fairly constant. The water temps back in the sand dunes are running in mid-50’s to 60+ degrees. The water temps on the main Reservoir remain in the mid-50s.

The Largemouth bass fishing has been extremely good over the past several weeks! The Potholes Bass Club held their 40th Annual Potholes Open Tournament! They had an impressive 146 boats meaning 300 anglers! Big fish day one was a 6.92 pound Largemouth. Day two big fish weighed 6.92 pounds! A big congratulations to Jordan Doucet and Chad Eidson for the win - weighing in 38.96 pounds of Largemouth for 10 fish over 2 days of fishing! There were 22 bags weighed in over 30 pounds. 

Walleye fishing has picked up considerably over the past week with limits coming in from Lind Coulee, Crab Creek and up the Winchester flow. Trout are being caught off Medicare Beach both from shore and by boat. Bank fisherman are using Power Bait, worms and marshmallows, a 12-18” leader, and a 1/8-1/4 oz. egg sinker above the swivel. Boat anglers are trolling Needlefish spoons, #7 Flicker Shads and shallow running Rapalas.

No reports on Perch, Crappie or Bluegill yet – off the MarDon dock or out in the main Reservoir. We only need a week or two of the good weather to get the panfish going.

The fishing is improving daily - call the MarDon Tackle Store for the latest fishing info at 509-346-2651.

Jordan Doucet and Chad Eidson win the 40th Annual Potholes open with a winning weight of 38.96 pounds!

Evan Quillian with a nice Potholes reservoir walleye caught on a Zoom Fluke!

MarDon Fresh News – April 19, 2019

MarDon Fresh News – April 19, 2019 

The current water level on the Potholes reservoir is 1043.94-feet – remaining fairly constant. The water temps back in the sand dunes are running in mid to upper 50s. The water temps on the main Reservoir remain in the low 50s.

The largemouth fishing back in the sand dunes continues to be very good – find the warmest water you can. Throw Black & Blue Punch Rigs, Structure Jigs, swim jigs, and spinnerbaits. The fish are ranging from 3-6+ pounds. Several reports of nice smallmouth being caught in the sand dunes are coming in. 

The Northwest Bass Potholes Reservoir Tournament held this past weekend produced some tremendous fish! Big fish weighed 7.81 pounds and the winning weight for 10 fish over the two days was 41.96 pounds. 2 fish over 7 pounds were weighed, 10 between 6 and 7 pounds were weighed and 20 between 5 and 6 were weighed. The Potholes Reservoir is very healthy!

Walleye fishing remains slow yet on the Potholes Reservoir – but should improve soon as they finish spawning. Walleye anglers are having some success on Soda and long lake trolling Slow Death/Smile Blade rigs above a 2oz bottom walker. Trout are being caught off Medicare Beach both from shore and by boat. Bank fisherman are using Power Bait, worms and marshmallows, a 12-18” leader, and a 1/8-1/4 oz. egg sinker above the swivel. Boat anglers are trolling Needlefish spoons, #7 Flicker Shads and shallow running Rapalas.

No reports on Perch, Crappie or Bluegill yet – off the MarDon dock or out in the main Reservoir. We only need a week or two of the good weather to get the panfish going.

The fishing is improving daily - call the MarDon Tackle Store for the latest fishing info at 509-346-2651.

John Allen with a nice Largemouth at the Northwest Bass tournament weigh-in!

Gary Thompson and Roger Pearson with a good catch of walleye form the Seep Lakes!

MarDon Fresh News – April 12, 2019

MarDon Fresh News – April 12, 2019 

The current water level on the Potholes reservoir is slowly rising to the 1044.0-foot - up slightly from last week. The water temps back in the sand dunes are running in the low to mid-50’s with high temp of 57degrees. The water temps on the main Reservoir remain in the mid 40’s.

The largemouth fishing back in the sand dunes continues to be very good – find the warmest water you can. Throw Black & Blue Punch Rigs, Structure Jigs, swim jigs, and spinnerbaits. The fish are ranging from 3-6+ pounds. Several reports of nice smallmouth being caught in the sand dunes are coming in. 

Walleye fishing remains slow yet – but should improve soon as they finish spawning. Trout are being caught off Medicare Beach both from shore and by boat. Bank fisherman are using Power Bait, worms and marshmallows, a 12-18” leader, and a 1/8-1/4 oz. egg sinker above the swivel. Boat anglers are trolling Needlefish spoons, #7 Flicker Shads and shallow running Rapalas.

No reports on Perch, Crappie or Bluegill yet – off the MarDon dock or out in the main Reservoir. We only need a week or two of the good weather to get the panfish going.

Be sure you check the WDFW regulations before heading out. The regulations have changed on many of the lakes in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Refuge. We really don’t have the March 1 or April 1 opener this year. Most non-year around lakes in the Refuge have changed to the 4^thSaturday in April opener. The year around lakes appear to have remained the same – open. Just double check!

The WDFW has produced a great app that allows you to check the current regulations on any body of water in Washington. Go to the app store and download it to your phone. It is interactive and a very useful tool.

The fishing is improving daily - call the MarDon Tackle Store for the latest fishing info at 509-346-2651.

Matt Romack with one of several big Smallmouth bass he caught back in the dunes!

Gary Thompson of the MarDon area caught and released this healthy Rainbow trout while fly fishing one of the Seep Lakes!

MarDon Fresh News – April 5, 2019

MarDon Fresh News – April 5, 2019 

What a difference a week makes! Spring is here for sure! The current water level on the Potholes reservoir is remaining steady in the 1043.60-foot range, but the water temps are way up from last week and the bass have reacted very positively! Water temps on the main Reservoir are in the mid 40’s – but water temps in the sand dunes are running between 53 and 57 degrees!

The Largemouth fishing in the dunes has turned on! Reports of bass up to 6.90 pounds - verified and released – are coming in. Both numbers and size are very healthy. Bass anglers are pitching and flipping Punch Rigs and jigs, throwing spinnerbaits and chatter baits for the largemouth back in the dunes.

Have not had any reports on the Smallmouth yet. Walleye has been a bit slow yet – but should improve soon. Trout are being caught off Medicare Beach both from shore and by boat. Bank fisherman are using Power Bait, worms and marshmallows, a 12-18” leader, and a 1/8-1/4 oz. egg sinker above the swivel. Boat anglers are trolling Needlefish spoons, #7 Flicker Shads and shallow running Rapalas.

No reports on Perch, Crappie or Bluegill yet – off the MarDon dock or out in the main Reservoir. We only need a week or two of the good weather to get the panfish going.

Be sure you check the WDFW regulations before heading out. The regulations have changed on many of the lakes in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Refuge. We really don’t have the March 1 or April 1 opener this year. Most non-year around lakes in the Refuge have changed to the 4^thSaturday in April opener. The year around lakes appear to have remained the same – open. Just double check!

The WDFW has produced a great app that allows you to check the current regulations on any body of water in Washington. Go to the app store and download it to your phone. It is interactive and a very useful tool.

The fishing is improving daily - call the MarDon Tackle Store for the latest fishing info at 509-346-2651.

Curran Bowers and his son Ben with 4.5 and 5.5 pound Largemouth bass caught while on a guided trip with Levi Rodello through Ross Outdoor Adventures yesterday!

MarDon Fresh News – March 29, 2019

MarDon Fresh News – March 29, 2019 

The current water level on the Potholes reservoir is remaining steady in the 1043.65-foot range. The main Potholes Reservoir is ice free – finally! Most launches are open – and the remaining couple will open up within a day or two. The water temp reports have varied from the mid-30’s to the low 40’s depending on where you are on the Reservoir. The sand dunes remain iced over out to the front – but should open up a bit this week. Most of the Seep Lakes have thawed – especially the ones that have water moving thru them.

There have not been many anglers on the water as we were iced over several days ago, but there are a few reports of both Largemouth and Smallmouth being caught in the past day or two and trout are being caught in the Seep Lakes that have thawed and that are open.

Make sure you check the WDFW regulations before heading out. The regulations have changed on many of the lakes in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Refuge. We really don’t have the March 1 or April 1 opener this year. Most non-year around lakes in the Refuge have changed to the 4^thSaturday in April opener. The year around lakes appear to have remained the same – open. Just double check!

The WDFW has produced a great app that allows you to check the current regulations on any body of water in Washington. Go to the app store and download it to your phone. It is interactive and a very useful tool.

There are still many Sandhill Cranes, Bald Eagles and Snow Geese in the area and with the weather improving we have a unique wildlife viewing opportunity in our area.

The fishing and the opportunity to fish is improving daily - call the MarDon Store for the latest and fishing info at 509-346-2651.

A panorama of the MarDon dock area taken at 3:00pm on March 28 - almost there!