First timer for Potholes, any advice for a first time walleye trip?

[mmullins]

I have the boat and now its time for my first walleye trip. Taking the family over to Mardon for a couple nights in late June. Would really like to hook into some walleye. Any advice, Ive done some research and it looks like there are a few way to fish Potholes. I am planning on using wedding bands tipped with a night crawler and using my kokanee trolling rods and reels. Do people have luck with hoochies and smile blade? If anyone has any advice or if I am way off base please let me know.

[carlyoungs]

If you go on wdfw website they have a section for how to fish for eyes in potholes. We used bottom bouncers with different colored spinners that were tipped. Caught a couple nice ones and plenty of perch on the same set up.

[hunthard]

Ask them for help in the store, they will show you what has been working and where to go, we got into them real good last year.

[daddysprad]

Blade baits and deep divers, second pole with slow death roll set-up.  Check out the fishing reports on:  http://www.northwestfishingreports.com/LatestReports.aspx

[JJB11B]

bring a few extra dozen worms if you plan on using spinners, I went through 2 dozen worms the other day in a few hours fishing from a bank near the potholes. walleyes bass crappies were HUNGRY

[mmullins]

Thanks for the help so far! I am looking on getting some gear from Amazon. What size of bottom bouncer would you guys recommend. Was thinking 3/4 oz?

[BigGoonTuna]

i think 3/4oz is the lightest i use over there.  if you plan on fishing the deeper water, 1 1/2 - 2oz might be a good choice.  i like to keep a few different sizes on me.

and ditto on the extra worms, i think i paid the meseberg's mortgage payment last time i was over there, the catfish were pretty thick in the dunes.

[hunt_fish]

I'd stick with buying 2 ounces, we fish up to 4 ounces depending on how bad the wind is but by the end of June most of the time the wind isn't bad.  We use slow death hooks also like Daddysprad said, they give the worms good action and if you do that just use half a worm so you don't get short biters if you're using one hook.  Bring your crappie gear too, if you want to, early mornings and sometimes in the evenings the crappie bite well off the dock.  I usually start going there to fish off the dock around that time unless the perch start schooling up earlier in June.

[aaronoto]

Macks Double Whammy tipped with a night crawler is all we ever used. It was a combo that produced some big fish!!

[Bullkllr]

i think 3/4oz is the lightest i use over there.  if you plan on fishing the deeper water, 1 1/2 - 2oz might be a good choice.  i like to keep a few different sizes on me.

and ditto on the extra worms, i think i paid the meseberg's mortgage payment last time i was over there, the catfish were pretty thick in the dunes.

At some point in that process, we figured out the watered grass areas around the resort were full of crawlers. Never paid for bait at the store again.

[mmullins]

Alright. 4 more days of work to go before the big trip. Leavin. Thursday afternoon and plan on launching the boat early Friday morning. My plan is to head over to the crab creek channel and target walleye using smile blades with slow death hooks tipped with a crawler. Biggest question is the lake. I'll be launching from Mardon and will be heading east/north east to get to crab creek. Is there dunes I need to worry about running into headin up there or can I motor up there?

[lokidog]

The biggest walleye I have ever caught, 32" and 10.2 pounds, was caught there on a bottom bouncer weight with a stickbait of some kind on the SW end. We caught smaller ones another time but I was with some other people and can't honestly remember what we were using.

Good luck!

[Bill W]

on bottom walkers a good rule of thumb is 1 oz of lead for every 10 feet of depth.

[mmullins]

Would running a sliding swivel with a cannon ball dropper (like trolling for salmon) work as well? I bout a couple 2oz and 1 1/2.  But if I get hung up j have plenty of cannon balls.

[Ridgeratt]

Would running a sliding swivel with a cannon ball dropper (like trolling for salmon) work as well? I bout a couple 2oz and 1 1/2.  But if I get hung up j have plenty of cannon balls.

I run my bottom walkers off of slider's that way I am in direct contact with the lure and not feeling the spreader, But every one has their preference.

It also allows to make a change on the size of bottom walker quickly.

[BigGoonTuna]

i'd just get walkers.  trolling a cannon ball dead slow on the bottom is gonna get you hung up.  in fact, i might have to try using a walker for salmon in some shallow estuary fisheries...

[Bill W]

Would running a sliding swivel with a cannon ball dropper (like trolling for salmon) work as well? I bout a couple 2oz and 1 1/2.  But if I get hung up j have plenty of cannon balls.

You'll snag up too much with a cannonball dragging on the bottom.

[Elkrunner]

Thanks for the help so far! I am looking on getting some gear from Amazon. What size of bottom bouncer would you guys recommend. Was thinking 3/4 oz?

If you are going to bottom bounce, do not use your kokanee rods.  You need a much stiffer rod with a soft tip.  The kokanee rod will have too much actions. 

[Ripper]

Everything you need to know you can find out at the store. Do not buy anymore gear until you get there or you will be spending more money than you need too. Now the last time I was there a new guy was working the store and I couldn't get any good info out of him so I went to the office and asked for Levi or Mike Leesburg and they hooked me up on the latest info. There are dunes out there that you'll need to know about and they will fill you in. I was there in April and the algae was worse than I'd ever seen it that early. The fish may taste like a dirty fish tank smells so beware. Usually that doesn't happen until late July.

[BigGoonTuna]

i would hit the sporting goods store in moses lake, the name escapes me, but you can get all the advice you need and can buy 3x the gear as you would at the mar don store for the same money.

every time i've been over there i've stuck to the bottom walker and double whammy combo and done pretty well.   i tie my own rigs, just get a couple packs of "stack beads" in different colors and an assortment of smile blades.  instead of the "wedding ring" bead i use a corky for some floatation.

[mmullins]

Thanks for the help so far! I am looking on getting some gear from Amazon. What size of bottom bouncer would you guys recommend. Was thinking 3/4 oz?

If you are going to bottom bounce, do not use your kokanee rods.  You need a much stiffer rod with a soft tip.  The kokanee rod will have too much actions. 

What rod would you suggest? What would be the harm in using the Kokanee rods. Lost fish?

[Bill W]

i would hit the sporting goods store in moses lake, the name escapes me, but you can get all the advice you need and can buy 3x the gear as you would at the mar don store for the same money.

every time i've been over there i've stuck to the bottom walker and double whammy combo and done pretty well.   i tie my own rigs, just get a couple packs of "stack beads" in different colors and an assortment of smile blades.  instead of the "wedding ring" bead i use a corky for some floatation.

Trevor got a new job a month ago.   The walleye info at Tri-State isn't the same now.    For as much as a newbie would need they might as well shop at MarDon.  You'll probably only need one or two bottom bouncers as it's hard to lose them unless you fish around Goose Island.  Pick your color of double whammy or smile blade rig.... I'd go with green or gold and call it good.  If you don't have too much line out and really drag the bottom you shouldn't snag up.  Watch your line angle and if it gets more than 45 degrees you either have too much line out, too light of a sinker if you're not on bottom or trolling too fast.

The only bottom walkers I've ever lost have been around Goose Island.

[DoubleJ]

Protip for bottom bouncer fishing:

To pick up more light hitting fish (shouldn't really be a problem this time of year) take your bottom bouncer and cut off the swivel. 

now take the wire loop the swivel was hooked to and bend it up to be in line with the wire loop that normally ties to your main line.

instead of tying your main line to that wire loop, run it THROUGH that loop and also run it THROUGH the newly made loop where the swivel was. 

Put on a knot-protecting bead large enough that it won't pass through the wire loop and tie your main line to a swivel and then add your spinner of choice with a leader length of your choice.

Doing this will allow the bottom bouncer to slide up and down your main line as needed meaning the fish, when it picks up your spinner, won't feel the weight of the bottom bouncer as much and is less likely to spit out your spinner.

[Ripper]

That's good advice Double J. You can buy or make bottom bounces that are straight with a loop at the top. I used these with a sinker slide, works great and keeps you in direct contact with your spinner rig. Mardon is a little bit expensive but like so!some said, for as little gear as you'll be buying, it's not as big deal. The problem with the Kokanee rods is they are so limber that you will miss some fish. You won't feel them. Unless you are going to get into walleye fishing big time I wouldn't run out and buy new rods. You will be fine. I like 7' medium action rods with a fast tip for bottom bouncing. I also use braided line for extra sensitivity.

[Elkrunner]

Thanks for the help so far! I am looking on getting some gear from Amazon. What size of bottom bouncer would you guys recommend. Was thinking 3/4 oz?

If you are going to bottom bounce, do not use your kokanee rods.  You need a much stiffer rod with a soft tip.  The kokanee rod will have too much actions. 

What rod would you suggest? What would be the harm in using the Kokanee rods. Lost fish?

What kokanee rod are you running?  I tired it with mine and it was pulling the rod dang near all the way over everything time is snagged a bit with the bootom bouncer.  I use a 7 foot med action rod.  Something with a stiffer backbone and a lighter tip.