MarDon Fresh News – March 26, 2021

MarDon Fresh News – March 26, 2021

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1042.08 feet dropping 4.68 inches from last week and is 4.42 feet below full pool. The water temperatures on the Potholes Reservoir continue to warm with main lake temperatures in the mid-40s. The water back in the sand dunes is warming to the low 50’s by most afternoons and cooling to the mid 40’s at night.

Trout: Trout fishing has picked up this week. Troll a #7 Flicker Shads in front of the Potholes State Park and at the mouth of Lind Coulee to Perch Point. From Shore fish Medicare Beach with Berkley PowerBait or Marshmallows and worms.

Corral and Blythe Lakes have been producing keeper sized trout and a few holdovers. From shore use Rainbow PowerBait and a 1/8-1/4oz egg sinker with a leader long enough to keep it above the weeds. From a boat troll Dick Nite’s or small spoons behind Pop Gear.

Walleye: The Walleye fishing has been fair this past week. They are spread out depth-wise. Fish the rocks around Goose Island with Blade Baits, Whistle Pigs, and Drop Shot rigs in 30-43 feet of water or slow troll a crawler with a Slow Death rig. Lind Coulee has been producing smaller male fish in 18-25 feet of water. Use the same techniques listed above.

Smallmouth Bass: Try for Smallmouth bass along the face of the dam and the rocky area between Goose Island and the dam. Use a drop shot rig with a DS Minnow or jig a Blade Bait in 25-35 feet of water.

Largemouth Bass: The bass are moving into the sand dunes! Reports are coming in of catches of largemouth up to 6.87 pounds with a lot of 3–5-pound fish being reported. The afternoon bite is much better than the morning bite at this time based on the water temps warming in the afternoon and dropping through the night. Find the warmest water you can!

Top baits have been jigs with a craw or swimming trailer in black and blue, hard jerkbaits, swim jigs, and chatterbaits.

The Columbia Basin Bass Club held their first tournament of the year on the Potholes Reservoir this past weekend.

Despite cooler temps and wind – a lot of quality fish were weighted. Big Fish of the event weighed 7.25 pounds caught by the Greg Jager/Tim Dallas team! Winning weight was a 23.21-pound bag for five fish, that included a 5.97lb. Largemouth caught by the team of Justin Dodd/Brett Sanders!

Panfish: No reports have come in yet for Crappie, Bluegill or Perch – still a little early.

Call the MarDon Tackle Store for the latest Spring fishing report and information at 509-346-2651 – things quickly change this time of year!

 

MarDon Fresh News – March 19, 2021

MarDon Fresh News – March 19, 2021

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1042.47 feet dropping .09 feet from last week and is 4.03 feet below full pool. The water temperature on the Potholes Reservoir is on the rise with main lake temperatures in the low to mid 40s. The water back in the sand dunes is warming to the low 50’s by most afternoons and cooling to the mid 40’s at night.

Trout: Not a lot of reports for trout coming from the Reservoir itself – yet. The Reservoir trout fishing should be picking up quickly. Try trolling #7 Flicker Shads in front of the Potholes State Park and at the mouth of Lind Coulee to Perch Point. From Shore fish Medicare Beach with Berkley PowerBait or Marshmallows and worms.

Corral and Blythe Lakes have been producing keeper sized trout and a few holdovers. From shore use Rainbow PowerBait and a 1/8-1/4oz egg sinker with a leader long enough to keep it above the weeds. From a Boat troll Dick Nite’s or small spoons behind Pop Gear.

Walleye: The Walleye fishing has been good this past week. They are just now beginning to stage for the spawn. They are spread out depth-wise. Fish the rocks around Goose Island with Blade Baits, Whistle Pigs, and Drop Shot rigs in 30-43 feet of water or slow troll a crawler with a Slow Death rig. Lind Coulee has been producing smaller male fish in 18-25 feet of water. Use the same techniques listed above.

Smallmouth Bass: Try for Smallmouth bass along the face of the dam and the rocky area between Goose Island and the dam. Use a drop shot rig with a DS Minnow or jig a Blade Bait in 25-35 feet of water.

Largemouth Bass: The bass are moving into the sand dunes! Reports are coming in of catches of largemouth up to 6.87 pounds with a lot of 3–5-pound fish being reported. The afternoon bite is much better than the morning bite at this time based on the water temps warming in the afternoon and dropping through the night. Find the warmest water you can!

Top baits have been jigs with a craw or swimming trailer in black and blue, hard jerkbaits, swim jigs, and chatterbaits.

Panfish: No reports have come in yet for Crappie, Bluegill or Perch – still a little early.

Call the MarDon Tackle Store for the latest Spring fishing report and information at 509-346-2651 – things quickly change this time of year!

Brody Gleich from Yakima with a nice Potholes Reservoir Largemouth Bass caught from shore in the sand dunes! Brody caught this fish on March 14th!

 

MarDon Fresh News – March 12, 2021

MarDon Fresh News – March 12, 2021

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1042.56 feet dropping .44 feet from last week and is 3.94 feet below full pool. The water temperature on the Potholes Reservoir dropped to the upper 30’s for a few days but is on the rise with the main lake running in the low 40’s and the sand dunes running 44-48 degrees. We have some nice weather

ahead this week which will have a very positive affect on the fishing!

The warmer temperatures are already improving the fishing for trout, bass and walleye! Several reports of Largemouth bass being caught came in this week. They were caught back in the sand dunes on Black and Blue and Green Pumpkin ó oz. jigs – craw or swim type trailer in the warmest areas of the dunes.

Try for Smallmouth bass along the face of the dam and the rocky area between Goose Island and the dam. Use a drop shot rig with a DS Minnow or jig a Blade Bait in 25-35 feet of water.

Some of the open Seep Lakes have been producing decent catches of trout. Top lakes are Corral, Soda, Upper Goose and Long Lake. Make sure you check the fishing regulations before heading out. We no longer have a March 1st opener as we used to. The lakes that are open year around remain open, but others will not open until late April.

Walleye fishing was fair this week with reports of catches coming in from the rock humps around Goose Island and the mouth of Crab Creek. Fish 1/2-ounce blade baits, Whistle Pigs, and plastics on a 3/8th ounce jig head in 25-45 feet of water.

There are still a lot of Snow Geese and Swans in the area, and the Sandhill Cranes continue to arrive making for an excellent viewing opportunity.

Call the MarDon Tackle Store for the latest Spring fishing report and information at 509-346-2651 – things quickly change this time of year!

Sawyer Fisher of Federal Way caught this nice 3 pound Potholes Reservoir Smallmouth jigging a Blade Bait off Goose Island!

 

MarDon Fresh News – March 5, 2021

MarDon Fresh News – March 5, 2021

The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1043.00 – remaining fairly level over the past week or so – and 3.50 feet below full pool. The water temperature on the Potholes Reservoir has warmed up to 44 degrees on the main lake and the temp will be several degrees warmer the further back you go back in the dunes – and continues to warm quickly. We have warm temperatures in the forecast this coming week with some days reaching the mid-60’s!

The combination of the wind and air temp are warming the water up quickly – and the fish are responding! Pitch a Black and Blue ó oz. jig – craw or swim type trailer in the warmest water you find for largemouth Walleye will begin their spawning duties within the next few weeks and can be caught now at the mouths of the main spawning creeks. Fish 1/2-ounce blade baits, Whistle Pigs, and plastics at the mouths of Crab Creek, up Lind Coulee and the mouth of Frenchman’s Wasteway.

Call the MarDon Tackle Store for the latest Spring fishing report and information at 509-346-2651 – things change quickly this time of year!

Jordan Doucet - a Potholes Reservoir expert with a nice early Potholes Reservoir largemouth bass! The bass are moving in and getting active!