8 Species Caught in ONE Reservoir! Walleye, Bass & Beyond
While Pacific Northwest fall fishing is known for Chinook and Coho Salmon, the Eastern part of Washington State provides a bounty of fall opportunity for several other species of freshwater fish.
These fisheries provide a range of species so broad, it seems to nearly rival the Great Lakes for freshwater species variety.
Due to many of the species being present in the Great Lakes AND Eastern Washington, the techniques used to catch them are very similar. From crankbaits and side-planers to bottom-walkers, same fish - similar techniques, with little details and mods for the day. 
A bounty of fish harvested, while many fish were also released. Shown from left: Bob Loomis, Shelby Ross & Marlin Lefever.
Five Hour Drive and Bass Pit-Stops
With a few Okuma bass fishing rods and reels in the Yakima rack up top, the Addicts loaded up the Toyota Tundra with overnight clothes and bass lures. Driving up the Columbia Gorge from SW Washington, Marlin and Lucas (the author) knew their bass addiction required a stop or two along the way.
The destination itself is known for having top-tier bass fishing, but also is one of the premiere Walleye destinations in the Northwest.
As the drive meandered up the Columbia Gorge, a familiar marina would line up with the trip itinerary. Several times, I've stopped there to fish for Smallmouth Bass from shore.
Mentioning this to Marlin, we swung into the parking lot and opened up the Toyota Tundra's tailgate to root around for bass gear.
Marlin opted to bring 6 totes of bass gear to my single bag. This would prove to be a great idea on Marlin's part, and a bad one on mine - although I could have simply asked Marlin for some tackle...but hindsight is 20/20, and my fish landing to bite ratio was about 1/20.
Usually, this marina is relatively free of underwater foilage, and a crankbait alone can catch several Smallmouth bass easily. This day, however, was more weeded up then I'd ever seen it. Every cast with a crankbait brought in a salad-bar's worth of grass.
A Columbia River Largemouth Bass Caught by Marlin Lefever from Shore
Interestingly, not a single Smallmouth was caught on this bass pit-stop.
While I fished weightless plastics and missed bite after bite in the windy conditions, Marlin ran a topwater frog, as well as a bullet-weight with texas-rigged craw, and pulled out several quality Largemouth.
One place where I found open water I managed a small Largemouth on a jig, but the weightless tactic, though weedless, proved to be the wrong way to fish in windy conditions.
Bites were undetectable with the wind blowing braided line, casting was difficult, and only when reeling in would I notice my plastic had been bit, shredded or moved drastically up the line from a bass.
The Columbia River is one of the most underrated bass fishing destinations in the USA.
Marlin's tactics were spot-on for the conditions, and he caught a bunch of quality largemouth. They may not have been trophy sized, but they were healthy and quality - with one big bass that came off.
It was supposed to be a 30 minute stop, but 2.5 hours later we got back in the truck by dark and started back toward our final destination: Mardon Resort.
Mardon Resort at Potholes Reservoir
Entering the resort, we were immediately filled with excitement for the next day of fishing. Lakehouses within walking distance of the dock are available at Mardon Resort, and we brought our bags and snacks into the one reserved for us. It was clean, well decorated and comfortable!
Mardon Resort offers comfortable and spacious lakehouses within walking distance of the boat launch at Potholes.
A "No bird cleaning" sign on the table spoke to the excellent waterfowl hunting opportunities in the area - and reminds visitors to keep it outside the cabin. I thought that was both interesting and funny, but waterfowl was not our target species...although had we known what we were in for, "target species" would almost be laughable.
Settling in for a good nights sleep, bibs and snacks ready to go, the next days fishing was still a question mark.
Fishing with Guide Shelby Ross and Bob Loomis on Potholes Reservoir
With the sun just over the horizon, we walked a short distance down to the dock. Guide Shelby Ross was readying the large fishing sled for the day, and an angler was catching Smallmouth from the dock.
Bob Loomis had setup this day and arrived ready to fish with us. As we took off from the dock, the number of baitfish and juvenile species was unlike anything I've seen in a Washington lake. Bass, perch, bluegill, crappie and even small Walleye were all over the pilings.
We started the day on Potholes utilizing crankbaits, with two rods hooked up to side-planers. I'd never fished sideplaners from a boat, though I'd edited and read plenty of articles about the technique from midwest authors.
Getting to try something new is always a bonus in my book, so this was exciting to see how sideplaner and plug fishing performed.
The crankbaits were used first so that we could get some fishing in without having to go through numerous nightcrawlers. On the first trolling pass, going about 2 - 2.5mph, we picked up 3 species. First was a Bluegill, then a Walleye, then a Largemouth.
Sean and Marlin getting ready to join Shelby Ross and Bob Loomis on Potholes Reservoir
The Bluegill size was way beyond anything I've seen in western Washington, and I was amazed that they would bite a Walleye crank in the first place! We continued to catch fish, bringing in Crappie, Smallmouth Bass and more Walleye.
Fishing the Bottom-Walkers and Smile Blades
After a good amount of crankbait action, it was time to slow things down and fish a more finesse-style. Mack's Lure makes some of the most popular and effective Walleye lures on the market today.
One of those that we utilize in Salmon and Trout fisheries is the "Smile Blade". Interestingly, this was not only used in front of the Slow-Death rig, but also above the bottom-walker for extra attraction.
This technique picked off fish after fish, trolling slower between 1-2mph. Earthworms were the ticket of the day, although grubs and minnow imitations can be used as well. Interestingly, the bottom-walker rig was picking up Walleye, but managed to catch every other species as well - including a brown bullhead catfish!
Not only was the fishing hot, but we never knew what we would reel in. The goal of 5 different species was quickly bypassed!
As we had successfully landed 7 different species, well above our goal of 5 - Shelby opted to run one last troll fast with crankbaits to target the only species we hadn't caught yet - a Rainbow Trout. It wasn't but 5 minutes of trolling before we had one on and Marlin landed it after a good game of tug-of-war.
The author Lucas Holmgren with a Walleye caught while reeling in rods for the end of the day.
For me, Marlin and Sean - this epic morning of fishing was the most diverse freshwater fishing experience we'd ever seen. It was 8 species, all quality sized! Washington Reservoir fishing at it's finest.
The freshwater fishing opportunities in Eastern Washington are incredible, and really are similar to Midwest fisheries that anglers in states like North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio may be used to. For anglers looking to experience this fishery, it's well worth getting in touch with Shelby Ross to book a trip.
Get Setup to Catch Walleye & More!
The videos above show this trip in detail and one is a tutorial for rigging the bottom-walker and crawler setup. FishUSA offers everything used in these videos, plus a whole lot more! They are fully equipped with the specialty tackle that anglers need and have a reputation for excellent customer service along with it.
Thanks to FishUSA for supporting Addicted Fishing! Check out these special deals and sales from FishUSA here: https://bit.ly/Fish-USA
