September and October are my favorite times of year and one of my favorite places to recreate is at Potholes Reservoir, located between Moses Lake and Othello in Eastern Washington. This is a large irrigation reservoir fed by Crab Creek, Lind Coulee as well as Winchester and Frenchman’s Wasteway. At full pool, the lake has 28,000 surface acres of water but after a long summer of dropping water the lake definitely “fishes smaller”.
While there is not as much water to fish, particularly back in the sand dunes area and Crab Creek, there is still plenty of lake to fish and at this time of year, the fish are biting as they beef up for the long winter ahead. Let’s run through some of the species you can fish for here and some effective ways to catch them:
BASS:
Bassmaster Magazine ranked Potholes Reservoir as the ninth-best bass fishing destination in the Western United States this year and for good reason. There is a healthy population of both largemouth and smallmouth bass in several age classes. The largemouth tend to be bigger, averaging two pounds and getting up to 7-plus pounds. At a typical bass tournament, you’ll need to have a five-fish bag weighing over twenty pounds for a chance to win. The smallmouth run a bit smaller, with one-pound fish being abundant. But I caught a 5.4-pound smallmouth here during September so big smallmouth are around.
At this time of year, the baitfish have moved out into the main lake, and so have the gamefish that are after them. Pete Fisher at the MarDon Resort Tackle Shop and the owner of Fisher Brothers Baits says fishing in front of the dunes on the main lake is the best place to go. The fish will be suspended around sandy humps and Pete says fishing a football head jig with a hula grub trailer is an effective way to catch these fish, which are primarily largemouth bass.
If you want to go after smallmouth bass head towards the face of O’Sullivan Dam or into Lind Coulee at the south end of the lake. Personally, I enjoy using deep diving crankbaits here this time of year which are effective for both bass and walleye. One of my favorite lures is a Berkley Digger crankbait, which dives to depths of 14 feet. When it comes to fishing near the dam, Pete Fisher likes to use perch colored ¾ ounce swimbaits or topwater plugs with white being a preferred color.
WALLEYE:
The walleye bite can be spectacular in the autumn months. These tasty fish tend to be found off the face of the sand dunes or the mouth of Crab Creek. As Nathan Lafrance says, “If you aren’t sure where to go, just look for the line of boats out there, easy to find.” As for how to catch them, Nathan recommends trolling diving crankbaits at a depth of 10 to 12 feet. Nathan says other lures to try are a jointed Berkley Flicker Shad #7 or a Bill Lewis Walleye Precise Walleye Lite crankbait.
PANFISH:
The autumn bite for panfish is excellent and sometimes overlooked by anglers targeting trout, bass and walleye. There is a combined limit for bluegill and crappie of 25 fish, and the crappie have to be at least nine inches long to keep. This regulation has helped turn the reservoir into a quality fishery and 15-inch crappie are relatively common. Last year, an angler reeled in a bluegill that weighed over 2.2 pounds, nearly beating the state record. The perch can also be sizeable here, reaching north of 14-inches in length.
One person who really enjoys fishing for crappie is Pete Fisher. He has a couple of suggestions about where to find them and catch them. Pete says the crappie, like the bass, migrate out of the sand dunes in the late summer. During the autumn months they will be found at the face (or in front of) the sand dunes on the main lake. Fisher says you can cast or troll Berkley #5 Flicker Shads, especially in a Chrome Clown color pattern. Another way to catch crappie is to fish a small jig under a slip bobber after you find a school of these fish. Fisher prefers a white Bobby Garland shad or DS Fry soft plastic lure paired with a small 1/32 or 1/64th ounce jig head. If you do catch a bunch of panfish, you’ll be happy to know there is a fish cleaning station at both MarDon Resort and at Potholes State Park near the boat ramp.
TROUT:
The rainbow bite really turns on in the fall and the size of these fish are impressive. One to three-pound rainbows are commonplace and sometimes you’ll get them bigger than that. Nathan LaFrance suggests trolling Berkley Flicker Shads or longer minnow shaped crankbaits. As to where to find the trout, a couple of good places are off the mouth of Frenchman’s Wasteway or in the northeast corner of the lake near the mouth of Crab Creek.
RESOURCES:
If you are looking for a place to stay you can camp at Potholes State Park or MarDon Resort, which also has cabins and cottages for rent. The resort also has a tackle shop and The Beach House bar and restaurant. The Potholes Bar and Grill is another nearby restaurant that is close to the entrance of the state park.
If you have never fished or hunted Potholes Reservoir before, consider booking a “Cast & Blast” trip with Ross Outdoor Adventures. These trips are only offered in October. Shelby Ross and his guides know how to navigate the tricky channels leading into the sand dunes like the back of their hands. They will take you in before dawn, treat you to a fun duck hunt, and finish the hunt with duck poppers cooked up in the blind. After that you put away the shotguns and go trolling for walleye, usually picking up several other fish species along the way. It makes for a fun day and a great introduction to the fall hunting and fishing scene at this spectacular destination.
WEBSITES:
By John Kruse, host of Northwestern Outdoors and America Outdoors Radio
