Guided Walleye Fishing Trips

Walleye fishing in the Pacific Northwest has vastly become one of the hottest destination fisheries in the United States. Stott’s fishing team offers guided walleye fishing trips year-round. The Columbia and Snake Rivers offer killer fishing as well as Potholes Reservoir. Walleye were introduced to this part of the country in the early 1960’s and since have flourished in our river systems. Abundant food sources and plenty of structure creates perfect conditions for growing trophy sized fish. We catch lots of 2 to 4 pound fish that are best known for the excellent table fare. Most important, our anglers choose to hire our guide service to chase the potential new world record. The current Washington State record, weighing just over 20 pounds was caught right in our back yard. Matter of fact, most of our trophy walleye come from this area of the Tri-Cities.

Pacific Northwest Strong in Walleye Numbers

Guides and Tournament anglers believe that the next world record will come from this same area we fish. Walleye populations on the Columbia are growing stronger and stronger every year. In fact, Washington and Oregon Fish & Game removed a daily limit on walleyes.

Stott’s walleye fishing guides aim to provide opportunity for harvesting this tasty white meat while protecting the future of trophy sized fish. We do recommend releasing walleye in the 26 – inch class. In the hope that you catch a trophy, we’ll be happy to take measurements and pics for your taxidermist. Our walleye trips are great for anglers of all ages and experience levels. We can combine the trip with sturgeon, bass, perch, crappie and even salmon depending on time of year.

40 Years Combined Walleye Fishing

Stott’s fishing guides have been chasing Columbia River walleye for a combined 40 years. We are committed to providing great opportunity for catching fish year around. Our experiences taken from of our Great Lake techniques are used on our rivers and reservoirs of the Pacific northwest. The Columbia River walleye fishing is great from January pre-spawn through November. Beautiful Potholes Reservoir fishes until ice on. In January, walleye migration starts as the fish move toward the spawning areas. Walleye start to become very active when water temperatures reaches the lower 40° and fish begin to spawn in upper 40° degrees temperatures. Spring time of the year, we will be fishing the Umatilla Pool around the Tri Cites area. There’s great fishing all the way down river from McNary Dam to the John Day. We also fish hard around the Irrigon, Boardman, Patterson, Crowe Butte and John Day areas.

Excellent Fishing on 29k Acres

The 29,000 acres Potholes Reservoir fishes excellent for eater sized fish but can also produce fish into the teens. Post spawn on both fisheries is a great time to catch lots of fish targeting more the males. Fishing through the summer months can be enjoyable with nice warm weather and schooling fish. Temperatures can reach the 90’s so if you’re interested in swimming with a 10-foot sturgeon, combine your walleye with a sturgeon trip. Fall walleye fishing on the Columbia can be challenging as the Hanford Reach salmon fishery is in full effect. Millions of shad line the river and there is no shortage of feed for the walleye. Best option is to pull crankbaits at night or fish Potholes for some excellent fall walleye fishing.

Catch Trophy Walleye Pre-Spawn

We get asked the question a lot, when is the best time of the year to fish. My answer is this, pre-spawn you chase trophy fish and catch 15-20 eater sized walleye with your group of 3 to 4 anglers, post spawn through the summer months we can expect more numbers and fewer big fish. With all our guided trips we supply the bait & tackle, beverages and cook our anglers a tasty, hot BBQ lunch. We guarantee at least 8 hours of fishing, cleaning and bagging your catch, and a great overall fishing experience.

Experience

Steelhead

Wrangle

Salmon

Check out

Sturgeon

Catch Some

Bass

Get Your Fishing License

Idaho

Washington

Walleye fish on the

Columbia River

Walleye Fishing On The Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest and forms most of the border between Washington and Oregon. Our walleye fishing guide services operate on 150 miles of river section that mainly focuses on the Mid-Columbia waters between Priest Rapids down to the Umatilla Pool of the Rufus area. The Columbia’s most popular locations are around the Lake Wallula area of the Tri Cities which provides most of our pre-spawn fishing. Lake Umatilla offers us excellent fishing opportunities which is just down river from the Tri Cities. Depending on weather and water conditions, we will move around according to the best fishing opportunities. There are numerous boat ramps that we launch from starting at McNary Dam, working down through Plymouth, Irrigon, Paterson, Blalock Island, Glade Creek, Boardman, and Crow Butte.

Channel & Hard Bottom Flats Walleye Fishing

The Columbia River has lots of channels adjacent to hard bottom flats that extend up to points creating breaks from the rivers current. We isolate on current line breaks and fish structure though-out the flats. Our guides are experienced in the most advanced walleye techniques and will explain the successful methods during the morning briefing. Some of our favorite lures and techniques are pulling worm harnesses, trolling crank baits, blade baits, jig fishing, dipsy & spoons, board fishing, jigging raps and throwing swim baits. We specialize in lite line tackle and use the finest Edge Rods.

Fishing the Best Areas

Our dedicated team of guides are committed to fishing anglers in the best possible water to catch fish. We will move around throughout these areas based on best fishing spots but always keep safety in the forefront. Water flow, Wind, and moon phases will all play into making good choices. If you have a favorite technique, don’t hesitate to let our guides know at safety briefing.

Walleye fish the

Potholes Reservoir

Potholes Reservoir Walleye Trips

Located 7 miles south of Moses Lake Washington, Potholes Reservoir offers 29,000 acres of year around fishing. Most anglers travel to this Eastern Washington fishery for the great walleye fishing it produces but the reservoir also offers a variety of other fishing opportunities such as crappie, perch, trout, large & smallmouth bass. Winter – time on the lake presents some excellent ice fishing and during the spring, Potholes is one of the most productive walleye fisheries in the region. There is no shortage of feed on Potholes with lots of excellent staging areas for spawning walleye.

Find Bait Fish – Score Walleye

Best fishing is where you find perch and other bait fish. There is drop offs and underwater humps, gravel points, ledges that create awesome holding water for schooling fish. Potholes Reservoir fishing changes though-out the course of the year and our guides work it accordingly. We’ll target as many of our spots that we have marked on the fish finder over the course of the day until we find a large population of fish. There are many times we’ll jig fish up in 30-40 foot of water and other times we catch them in 7-10 foot, pulling cranks or casting blade baits. Some of the more productive areas we fish are the rock shelves around Goose Island, mouth of Crab Creek and the North shoreline of Linn Coulee. Road and creek beds sit between the face of the dunes that make for some great blade bait fishing.

Cutting Edge Walleye Techniques

Boards and cranks are very popular when targeting suspended fish. Our walleye fishing guides are very proactive when it comes to changing techniques and staying in tune with what the walleye want. This is a special fishery that if you like catching lots of walleye with a mix of pan fish and bass, you are in for a treat. There’s a daily limit of 25 perch, Combination of 25 bluegill and crappie, and daily limit of 8 walleye in which one can be over 22 inches. Potholes has a beautiful state park with camping and a world class cleaning station with electricity and a fish grinder. Mardon resort offers summer cabins, rental homes, tenting area, lake side RV park, tackle store, restaurant, marina, moorage, and a sports center.

Walleye fish the

Snake River

Snake River Walleye Trips

Our Snake River Walleye Fishing is our sleeper fishery. And, we say this quietly! Because it’s considered off the beaten path, there is very little boat traffic. Most importantly, the Snake River holds big fish! In fact, we’ve boated 15 lb. walleye. The 100-mile section offers our guide service some prime walleye fishing year-round. There are 4 dams located on the Snake river, unquestionably creating excellent habitat for growing big fish. Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Ice Harbor Dam altogether form these excellent areas. The rivers sections have unique characteristics that make for variable fishing techniques. Bays, flats, underwater islands, humps, cliffs, and drop offs all create transition water. Tributaries from small rivers and creeks create perfect spawning areas. Furthermore, we have 5 different locations with boat ramps and parks to meet our fishing clients. Let us know which area is most convenient for your group.

Central Ferry Walleye – Lake Bryan

We access the Central Ferry boat ramp for meeting clients and our launch site. The upper area of the Lake Bryan section has lots of flats and transition water. Small creeks dump in and make for prime bait fish water. Down river we find deeper channels with ledges that border flats. Just above the Little Goose Dam holds the deepest water. This is important for wintering walleye! This section has very limited fishing pressure and holds good numbers and big fish

Lyons Ferry Walleye – Lake Herbert

Undoubtedly, Lyons Ferry is the most popular section on the snake river system. Also known as the Lake Herbert area, this section holds big fish. With this in mind, you’ll find a little more fishing pressure. We break this section into halves, both equally having excellent fishing. Up-river towards the Little Goose Dam has faster river current. We find schooling walleye on flats inside current breaks. The pre-spawn hot spot is at the mouth of the Palouse River. Steep cliffs with humps and structure hold big walleye. Down-river towards Lower Monumental Dam is prime fishing. The rivers banks have numerous fingers with humps perfect for holding bait fish. Our trips are accessed from the Lyons Ferry Marina boat ramp.

Lower Monumental Walleye – Lake Sacajawea

The Snake has many turns and bends to it’s winding waterways. Our guides consider this a fairly narrow and shallow presentation. Under-water islands, bays and heavy structure line the rivers bottom. This section is super stealthy holding big fish that is just off the Columbia. The deepest spots are near the Ice Harbor Dam which is considered wintering walleye water. The Lower Monumental area creates perfect habitat for pitching swim baits and other plastics. We can access either Fish-Hook Park or the Levey Landing Park for meeting clients. There is very little fishing pressure on the Lake Sacajawea section.

Ice Harbor Hood Park Walleye – Lake Wallula

Walleye anglers fishing the Columbia love to access the boat launch at Hood Park. Also, considered the Burbank Heights, this section still belongs to the Snake river. The Snake typically fires up a little earlier than its big brother, Columbia River. Especially with the water temperatures being a bit warmer. Pre-spawn, we’ll hit the upper Strawberry island area, fishing the narrow channel. Under-water stumps and narrow flats next to shallow bays make up most of this section. The Burlington Northern bridge fishes well on both sides as well below the route 12 bridges. Fishing this section offers us the luxury of accessing the Columbia river.

Snake River Fishing Techniques

As noted, Snake River fishing is super diverse. The Snake definitely will test a guide and his knowledge base. Although we love to fish crankbaits and crawler harnesses, other techniques play a part. Casting swimbaits, jigging blade baits, and finesse fishing is part of our arsenal. We feel really froggy in saying, cutting edge technology takes up space in our guide service. On every guided trip, we’ll share our thoughts to what the best techniques will be for catching fish. With this being said, the walleye will let us know!

Walleye Fishing Techniques

We chase walleye year-round on Pacific Northwest’s premier rivers and reservoirs. The Snake and Columbia rivers offer spectacular trophy walleye fishing. Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir create dynamite destination trips. Although we have 60 years combined walleye fishing experience, our guides continue to raise the bar. Walleye fishing requires patience and in-depth attention to detail. Each season offers different conditions that effect lure and bait choices. We have learned that preparation and process get tested often.

Innovative Approach to Choosing Techniques

Stott’s guide service delivers the most innovative approach to choosing technique applications on our fisheries. Crawler Harness, Blade Baits, Swim Baits, Crank Baits, Soft Jigs, Ripping Raps, Jerk Baits and spoon fishing are all essential baits to catching walleye. Our Columbia River fishing covers Tri-Cities, Umatilla, Boardman, Irrigon, Crow Butte, Hanford Reach, Lake Wallula, Lake Umatilla, McNary Dam, John Day, Rufus and Kettle Falls. Snake River fisheries consist of Lyons Ferry, Lake Sacajawea, Lower Monumental, Lake Herbert, Little Goose and Lake Bryan.