Celebrating FRESH NEWS: MarDon’s Fisher offers support to anglers

OTHELLO — Each week I get an email from Pete Fisher at MarDon Resort with a column letting readers know what fish are biting on, the depth they’re biting at and sharing a success story of someone who tossed a line into the Potholes Reservoir and came back with a fish worthy of a proper fish story. 

This week is no different with Fisher telling me that the reservoir is at 1041.2 feet, up 0.37 feet from last week and the reservoir is a little more than five feet below full pool with a water temperature of about 38 degrees. While the colder weather has fish going deeper into the reservoir, Fisher has a bit of advice in this week’s FRESH NEWS column.

“Slow your presentation down for walleye,” he said.

Walleye fishing continues to be fair and the fish are sitting at 20-40 feet of depth and the top technique — presented slow of course — is jigging with blade baits, Jigging Raps, Shadow Raps and drop-shotting 4.00’ plastics or trolling a Slow Death Hook. 

In a recent conversation, Fisher said he’s been throwing lines in the water for more than four decades, much of that time in Grant County, and said the last eight years of fishing on the reservoir have been prime.

“The reservoir is super healthy,” Fisher said. “And that’s the cool thing, is — I’ve been fishing for at least 42 years, and the reservoir’s as healthy as I’ve seen it.” 

While Fisher is focused on the reservoir these days with it being right outside of his door at MarDon, he said all of the county is great for fishing.

“Grant County is just beautiful,” Fisher said. “It’s got a variety of fishing environments. You can fish small lakes, small ponds (and) catch good fish. You can go back in the cat tails, go hiking around, it’s all about finding the right conditions.”

The northern part of the county above Soap Lake, Banks Lake, Billy Clapp Lake and others all the way up to Grand Coulee Dam each have great fishing opportunities for bass, trout, walleye, perch, crappie and catfish, among others. 

This last week in the reservoir though, there was the usual success story.

“One report of Largemouth fishing came in this past week. An angler found a big school of big

Largemouth — up to 7.4 pounds! He was using a quarter-ounce jig head with a 3.50-inch swimbait. Best bet would be to jig a blade bait in 20-35 feet of water, use a 3-and-a-half inch tube bait on a 3/8 ounce jig head or a 3.50-inch swimbait on a quarter-ounce jig head,” Fisher said. 

Fisher said he hasn’t gotten word of smallmouth being caught in the last week, but there’s still a chance on the face of the dam and the rock humps near Goose Island.

Trout were caught in front of State Park and off Medicare Beach though and Fisher said he recommends number five or seven Shad Raps of Flicker Shads, Wedding Rings and Needlefish on the boat, but Rooster Tails, Vibrax spinners of five-inch curl tail grubs near the shore. Another near-shore option is fishing the bottom with Power Bait. 

Winter weather has the Seep Lakes looking slow, but crappie and blue gill are biting near the face of the sand dunes.  Fisher suggests anglers locate a school and use a slip bobber

set to a depth matching the top of the school while using Bobby Garland Baby Shads or DS Fry on a thirty-second-ounce Moon Eyed jig. 

For more up-to-date information if you can’t make it right after the weekly column comes up, Fisher is available at O’Sullivan Grocery & Tackle when he’s on shift to offer a bit of advice and ensure you’ve got the right rig to catch whatever finned delicacy you’re looking for. 

For my part, I’m grateful to Fisher for his column which helps our readers enjoy the great outdoors here in the Columbia Basin. 

If you’re looking for a license, information is available online at bit.ly/FishGrantCo. 

R. Hans “Rob” Miller may be reached at editor@columbiabasinherald.com. He wishes all of our readers a wonderful New Year and the best of luck in 2024, whether that’s with a pole or not.

    Local angler, Gary Thompson, with a big Potholes Reservoir crappie in September.
  

    Patty Cushing caught this nice Largemouth bass at the Potholes Reservoir this fall. Bass, crappie, walleye, trout and several other species provide sport to anglers around the Columbia Basin.