MarDon Resort fresh fish report
Courtesy photo - Sylvester Dennis of Seattle caught this nice perch off the MarDon dock using a crappie jig tipped with a maggot.
Courtesy photo - Keegan Anderson with a 6.76 Largemouth bass caught during the Limit Out Marine Big Bass tournament. This fish earned Keegan and his partner, JR Clark a first place finish and a check for $6,950.
Courtesy photo - Kim Holznagel of Carbonado, WA with a 7.4 pound walleye he caught trolling a Lindy Rig/crawler combination.
We have experience some outstanding fishing on the Potholes Reservoir. Several reports of walleye and trout limits have been coming in. The current water level of the Reservoir is 1,042.85 feet. Water temperatures are running in the low to mid 70’s in the dunes and in the upper 60’s on the main lake.
The trout fishing has been incredible. The fish are running 2-5 pounds and the number being caught is just as impressive. Successful trout anglers are trolling either a Bikini colored Needlefish with enough weight to get it to the 10-20-foot depth range over 30-40 feet of water or long-line trolling the Berkley Flicker Shad with no additional weight. Wedding Rings with worms have been producing some nice catches as well.
The walleye fishing has picked up with limits being reported. The top spot has been Crab Creek both above and below the power lines. Trolling Slow Death Hooks with a half of a night crawler in the channels next to the willow line has been the top producing pattern. Some anglers are trolling the hook/crawler combination by itself, some add a bead, and most are fronting the rig with a 1.1 inch Smile Blade. Chartreuse has been the top color. Troll between 1.2 and 1.6 mph. The fish are holding in the 4-10 foot depth range. Most fish are running 14-18 inches with walleye up to seven pounds reported.
The perch have finally arrived. It not hot yet – but the quality of fish is there. We have received several reports of anglers catching perch in the 9-11½ inch range. Anglers are using worm as well as crappie jigs and Trout Magnets with maggots.
The Crappie fishing is still good on the dock, in the dunes and up Lind Coulee. Trout Magnets in brown and small crankbaits such as the Rapala Rattlin’ Rapala in the RNR04 size have been the top baits. Day dock fishing at MarDon is only permitted for registered guests at MarDon Resort. Day use dock passes are no longer available.
The dunes continue to produce quality largemouth bass. Top baits have been chatter baits; buzz baits, jigs with craw trailers and spinnerbaits. Most have completed their spawn and are holding a little deeper — in the 5-10-foot range — but will come up for top water baits.
The smallmouth bite has been good on the face of the dam and up Lind Coulee. The smallmouth have been hitting Flicker Shads and hula grubs fished on football heads. The smallmouth are holding in depth ranging from 3-15 feet. Be sure to stop by the MarDon Store for the most up to date fishing information.