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Soda Lake Report
Grant County, WA

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Details

03/28/2015
61° - 65°
Trolling
Walleye
Worms
Windy
Hook & Bait
Afternoon
04/06/2015
1
9633

Well, Potholes was so windy that we went for a drive along the dam and drove out to soda lake. It looked peaceful and protected so we went back to camp and grabbed the boat. hit the water about 3:30 and the wind was pretty bad but manageable.

This seep lake is one that would take some time to learn. We thought we might use potholes tactics (bottom walkers and nightcrawlers) to get to the walleye. That was a mistake. This lake goes from 8 feet to 20 to 4 feet to 90. The structure is insane at the bottom and we snagged a dozen times before deciding it was a good afternoon to crack a beer and troll Rapalas as the sun went down. We did catch one pretty ancient tree limb, which was cool but not our target species. ;)

No bites, but a beautiful lake. There's a deep spot at one end that looked to hold a lot of fish. I'd love to learn how to fish this lake.


Comments

Larry3215
4/6/2015 6:08:00 PM
How is the launch there? We've been wanting to try Soda the last few times we hit Potholes, but havent done it yet.
esew
4/7/2015 12:40:00 PM
The launch is surprisingly good. There's a high and bumpy approach to the first cement block, but once your on the pads it rolls in easy enough. There's no dock, so it's best to have someone in the boat when you launch. We wound up having to load the trailer-man on the rocky outcrop. It's pretty deep right at the rocks so it was fine. The launch was a little shallow and the angle wasn't quite steep enough for a novice launcher. The angle the launch is at puts you right up against a cliff face so lining up to drive onto the trailer when you pull out is challenging especially with wind.

Saw some big walleye carcasses in the water near the launch, so that lake holds them.
outdoorpete
4/9/2015 10:48:00 PM
I used to fish Soda a lot when I was younger....read 15+ years ago. Slowly re-learning it again now. I am not sure which ramp you are describing but it sounds like the north one. At the south end there is a better one...ok...better is a relative thing but it is wider and all gravel though it may be too shallow for some. Also, when the wind is whipping up it can be a pain to launch with one person there. I have done well for smallies up in the north end where the canal flows in. The back eddies were really productive last year. I seem to remember that area was good for crappie back in the day. There is a lot of structure in the north end but be careful of water levels. Soda rises and falls with the canal output. If you show up later in the fall it is a completely different lake by a good 10-15ft. Bottom walkers never worked for me there for the reason you describe but I am not exactly a great walleye fisherman. I did occasionally get walleye pulling plugs along the edges.

Not sure if that helps but good luck!
outdoorpete
4/9/2015 10:48:00 PM
I used to fish Soda a lot when I was younger....read 15+ years ago. Slowly re-learning it again now. I am not sure which ramp you are describing but it sounds like the north one. At the south end there is a better one...ok...better is a relative thing but it is wider and all gravel though it may be too shallow for some. Also, when the wind is whipping up it can be a pain to launch with one person there. I have done well for smallies up in the north end where the canal flows in. The back eddies were really productive last year. I seem to remember that area was good for crappie back in the day. There is a lot of structure in the north end but be careful of water levels. Soda rises and falls with the canal output. If you show up later in the fall it is a completely different lake by a good 10-15ft. Bottom walkers never worked for me there for the reason you describe but I am not exactly a great walleye fisherman. I did occasionally get walleye pulling plugs along the edges.

Not sure if that helps but good luck!
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service

Phone: (509) 687-0709