The biggest walleyes come from the Columbia, but Bob Roberts shows that lunkers are in other waters, too. Photo by Terry W. Sheely.

Hard as it may be to believe, the nationally recognized walleye waters of the roily Columbia River do not have an exclusive lock on Washington's finest 'eye action.

Agreed, the biggest river in the Northwest is still the odds-on favorite to produce the next official world record. It already produced several walleyes that "unofficially" shattered that record, but they weren't weighed and recorded on a certified scale.

The river owns every Washington and Oregon state record ever posted, routinely attracts headlines from Portland to Kettle Falls, and sucks up most of the tournament trail fishing pressure. But it's also big water that can be tough to read, finicky and sometimes downright dangerous. It requires a big-water boat, top gear and well-above-average fishing skills.

National celebrity that it is, the Columbia is no casual fishery for a family hungry to fish away a weekend and sizzle walleye fillets.

OPEN YOUR EYES
Flanked by pastoral public parks and shade trees, Moses Lake, on the other hand, is fat with unsophisticated walleyes that require little more than a night crawler with a spinner blade, bottom-walker weight and a decent breeze to drift the family car-topper.

At Scootney Reservoir, an overlooked hour-glass-shaped impoundment in the wide-open alkaline country southeast of Othello, 45 percent of the fish are walleyes that average just under 1 1/2 pounds, with a free campground made for family fishing fun.

The locals around Billy Clapp Lake think they're sitting on the best walleye secret in the state. It's tucked into a coulee between the wheat field sprawl west of Wilson Creek.

And those are just three of Washington's "other" walleye honeyholes on the edge of the spotlight shining on the Columbia.

Washington has several dozen waters with surprisingly decent walleye potential. And then there is another boatload of truly hot prospects. Most of these lakes and streams are just far enough off the well-pounded walleye trail to qualify as "local secrets."

All of them are located on the semi-arid, sun-washed east side of the Cascade Mountains. Most are in the Columbia Basin.

To narrow the chase Washington-Oregon Game & Fish has trimmed the list to nine proven producers. Recommendations came from top Basin fishermen and biologists.

MOSES LAKE
Dave Graybill's outdoor radio program and newspaper columns are delivered throughout the Columbia Basin. His news contacts keep him up to speed on what's hot and where.

Graybill said Moses Lake is the hotspot now.

"Moses Lake is my walleye destination of choice," said the Leaven­worth walleye aficionado. "Moses has had a population explosion of walleyes over the last few years. I'm not sure what to attribute that to exactly, but there is such a big population of walleyes in the lake that fishing is really productive and quite a few are really nice-sized fish."

There are so many walleyes in Moses now that the WDFW decided to expand the opportunity for anglers to catch them by reducing the minimum size. It was 16 inches, but the minimum size is now 12. They also increased the daily limit from five to eight fish. You can have one fish more than 22 inches.

Graybill said this fishery starts up in late April or early May.

"Then I'll fish it right up to July 1 when the salmon season opens," he said.

Moses has a reputation for delivering small walleyes, and while Graybill agreed the big lake has its share of "eaters," it also has a thriving population of big fish.