Potholes Reservoir is one of the few places in Washington that you can have a fairly good chance at a 2+Lb crappie. Ask any crappie fishermen about his favorite place to fish and Potholes will rank in his top 3 places to fish for slabs. I always had pretty good luck at Potholes as a child but didn’t learn how to actively catch the crappie here until my late teens. I'm positive crappie can be caught here year-round like any other body of water but I would rather fish lakes close to home during the winter due to lower catch rates in the winter and I don’t like crossing the snowy passes unless I have to. So with that I will share some of my knowledge of the crappies in this lake with you and maybe even a secret lure of mine that is sure to put a few slabs in the boat if you give it a try.
Most of my crappie fishing on Potholes begins in the early months of summer as the crappie wrap up their spawn. They can be caught off their beds too but I will refrain from speaking about spawning locations as people have at one time over-harvested the crappie here as they did at Moses. Anyway, the best places to catch crappie in the early summer months BEFORE the water level is lowered is in front of and in the brush at the entrance to any in-flowing water with current (Frenchmen's, Crab Creek, Lind Coulee etc.). Start in the deeper brush and beaver huts, then work your way up to brush in maybe 4ft of water. If that doesn’t get you bit it's time to get to work looking for small schools of fish holding on drop-offs near these areas or sticking close to structure that breaks the current if you're further up Crab Creek or Lind Coulee.
As the water level drops down in the summer the crappie will feed mostly at night. The key to catching these fish is to find out where the small perch are hanging out at as this is what most of the larger slabs will be feeding on. This is why walleye and trout trollers catch huge crappie in the summer at Potholes, all of the predator fish in this lake feed on perch, most walleye and trout fishermen troll perch colored baits because they know this! While we're talking about trolling, let me let you in on a secret slab catcher: Baby Hotlips. This is one of the most deadly slab crankbaits on the market. This lure when trolled in known crappie hideouts is without a doubt the best trophy lure you can use. Every summer 7 out of 10 of the trophy crappie in Potholes are caught by walleye & trout fishermen trolling the face of the dunes or Frenchmen's Wasteway with what? That's right perch colored Baby Hotlips!
If you have kids or would rather not camp you can always stay at Mar Don Resort. The dock here has some great fishing in the summer for crappie, perch, bluegill, trout, walleye, catfish and last but not least bass. I never make a trip over to Potholes without stopping by the store to see what's biting and what areas the fish are using at the time. If you have never been to the big reservoir give it a try this summer or fall, you just might find your new favorite crappie hunt.
Key to Potholes Crappie Success
