Fresh News from MarDon
Brian, Braxton, and Hunter Loria of Seattle, WA with some great Walleye caught with nightcrawlers on "Slow-Death" hooks in the Sand Dunes out of 12' of water.
The Potholes Recreation Area has been seeing cooler than average temperature, leaving the water high and requiring anglers to bring their rain jackets along with them. The water level on Potholes Reservoir is 1,044.2 Feet which is still very high for this time of year as it is only 2 feet below full pool. With the late June heat and increased irrigation needs the reservoir will be dropping rapidly in coming weeks, making it increasingly more attractive to anglers and boaters. Overall the fishing has been spectacular for Rainbow Trout and Walleye will only improve with lower water. The Bass fishing has been stable but anglers must adjust tactics to account for the higher water.
The trout fishing at Potholes has been phenomenal along the shores of Medicare Beach, Frenchman's Wasteway and off the MarDon Resort dock. Large Rainbow Trout up to 6 lbs. have been taken around the reservoir. The lower temperatures have left many bugs in vulnerable stages to be munched on by these aggressive trout, so bring a fly rod or a rooster tail and get ready to have a blast. Also, for the anglers to love to troll there has been a consistent trout bite trolling wedding ring set-ups and especisally Needle Fish along Medicare Beach. To catch a limit of trout, the trout at Warden Lake seem to be chomping on PowerBait.
The bass fishing on the reservoir will begin to improve with the lowering of the water level. You can catch Largemouth in the back bays along Crab Creek and Winchester Wasteway as there is still 4-6 feet of water in many of the backwaters. Throwing a weightless 5" Yamamoto Senko on a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook can be very effective. Post-Spawn Smallmouth can be caught throwing Firetiger and crawdad color crankbaits on the many rock points of Lind Coulee. These lures can be found in our convenient tackle shop here at the resort.
A few large tournaments have been held recently with fairly good results. On May 19 and 20 the first annual MarDon Open Bass Tournament benefitting the CWFAC was held (For more info visit CWFAC.org). Weigh-master Dick Hemore reported 19 bass weighing over 5 lbs. The winner of the inaugural two-day event was tournament stalwart Aaron Echternkamp and Joe Lynch with 41.67 lbs. The largest team tournament trail in the State, NWBASS, came to MarDon Resort on Potholes Reservoir June 9th. The event was won by Blake Lesher & Steve Lebsack with 5 fish weighing a whopping 23.90 lbs. The latest tournament was the Inland Empire Bass Club's Bill Demaris Invitational, named in memoriam of Bill for his extensive work with the club and support of youth fishing across the state. The June 16th-17th event was won by Dan Jensen & Taylor Smith with 30.31lbs for the weekend.
Walleye fishing on the reservoir has been great with solid results during last month's Rod Meseberg Classic taking 30.33 Lbs to win for the weekend by Mark Olson & his wife. Trolling bottom walking, worm harness set-ups in 10-15 feet of water in Winchester Wasteway, Crab Creek, and Lind Coulee have been consistent producers.
If you are into Bow-Fishing for Carp, it has been absolutely amazing. With the Carp digging around in the shallow bays makes them the perfect target for using your bow. A recent local Carp tournament took over 400 lbs. of Carp to win!
Look forward to more fresh news reports every week, all summer long! For more information check out the resort at www.MarDonResort.com, email info@mardonresort.com or call us (509) 346-2651.