Northwest Reel Life September 2024 Volume 4 Issue 1 - Flipbook - Page 13
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
