I only fished one day this past week and it was a great day. Once again I traveled to Potholes Reservoir and fished Lind Coulee. The fishing on Potholes has me very excited about the spring walleye season on our area walleye lakes.

I am very encouraged by the action we have had on Potholes Reservoir so early in the season. My last two trips have been better than I anticipated and that makes me think that when the water warms up a bit, it will be very good. I am also pleased to see the size of the fish we are getting. Last year I shot a short video with Shelby Ross, noted guide on Potholes in late April. We got 10 walleye that day, and they were all good “eater” size. These fish are great, and I will be thrilled to get them any day, but this year I have landed fish over 20 inches already.

We have been fishing Lind Coulee on Potholes, which is where many anglers find fish in the early season. A significant number of walleye will spawn in Lind Coulee. We are definitely catching pre-spawn fish.

Potholes is usually the first reservoir to turn on. Then it’s a race between Moses Lake and Banks. Talking to fellow anglers that have been trying Moses Lake, there are some big fish being caught. I expect that Moses will produce fewer fish than Potholes, but more big ones. I understand that walleye can be caught in Moses Lake by mid to late April. I have had my best luck right around the first of May.

I should mention that the water is still very low on Moses Lake, making launching at the Blue Herron Park difficult. Connelly Park is scheduled to open on April 14th. Banks Lake should be very good this year, and the docks are in at Northrup.

I had set up a meeting in Moses Lake for early Wednesday afternoon. So, even though it was last minute, I called my buddy Brian Neilson and asked him if we could fish Potholes Reservoir before I had to be in town. Sure, he said, and off I went to meet him and his friend Mike Wren. Mike had fished Banks Lake earlier in the week and had a really tough day. He checked several spots that had produced walleye for him the previous season and he only marked two fish all day. Brian and I hoped to have the kind of day on Potholes that we had the previous week. We got six nice walleye on our last trip on Lind Coulee.

It was a short run up to the area in Lind Coulee we had fished just a few days ago from the launch at the east end of O’Sullivan Dam. Once again we were trolling Slow Death Hooks and Smile blades baited with nightcrawlers. A color we find consistently effective on Potholes is green. It seems that the walleye in each lake has their own color preference. On Banks it’s blue. On Moses Lake it’s gold. Although the motor oil color can be good on Potholes, we have found the Mack’s Lure Smile Blade, size 1.1 in Green Sparkle is the best.
I looked in my walleye tackle box and found that I have four sizes of Slow Death Hooks. The idea behind the Slow Death Hook is to get a nightcrawler to roll. These special hooks have a bend in them that creates this roll. If you watch YouTube videos on how to rig the Slow Death Hook you will see that it is advised to pinch off the worm below the hook. I like to use a whole crawler and depending on the size of the nightcrawler I will use a different size hook. It is more difficult to get a roll on the crawler the larger they get. The size 1 is a red hook and is best suited for small crawlers or pinched off crawlers. The size 2 can handle a larger crawler and the size 1/0 and 2/0 are used for very large or jumbo crawlers. There is no doubt that having a rolling crawler is the best, but I have found that even if I am not getting a roll the oscillating action that the Smile Blade imparts to the bait, is still attractive to a hungry walleye. I want to also mention that the smaller the hook size the finer the wire. Be careful when removing the hooks so that you don’t bend them.

We got our gear out by about 8:30am and by 8:45am we had a 22 ½-inch walleye in the live well. Not long after we put a 20-incher in along with it. We were constantly marking fish in the spot we were fishing, but the bite was pretty slow. We thought about trying a different area on the reservoir but remembered the old rule: “Don’t leave fish to find fish.”, and it paid off. We put three more walleye in the live well. I needed to feed six people for a family get together and these fish should do the trick. Once again, a great day on Potholes. This week’s photo was taken last Wednesday in Lind Coulee.

If you haven’t heard, the Banks Lake Triple Fish Challenge is on again this year on April 17th and 18th. It’s hard to believe, but it’s the 9th annual event, that is really made for fun for the whole family. The participants in the unique fishing tournament are challenged to catch one walleye, one smallmouth bass and one rainbow trout each day of the two day event. Those who are familiar with Banks Lake know that the lake is full of each of these species, but in the past years no one has claimed the Grand Prize: a four person Achilles inflatable boat with trailer and motor. This will be the year, though—its guaranteed, even if three species are not caught. Thanks to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and the generosity of the local businesses, there are other prizes that will be handed out each day, in both adult and youth divisions. So, mark your calendars for April 17th and 18th and plan to fish Banks Lake. To learn all the details about the Banks Lake Triple Fish Challenge, and even register online, log onto www.grandcouleedam.org.