Thanks for the kind words from all of you.  That spot is a community hole up the snake.  We hit it in prefish and caught 3 fish off it in 10 minutes.  We decided not to run up the Yakima but instead focus on the snake and area's below the snake.  Like Rob said, we hit 14 spots throughout the day.  Including this hole 4 times.  It was a matter of having confidence that good fish were there, just having the patience to figure out what they wanted.  It was a jerkbait that day.  The day before Rob banged 2 real quick on a drop shot and I nailed a 5lb 8oz on a crank. 
  It is a stark reminder of tourney fishing that when you get 9 hrs to fish, make sure you FISH all 9 hrs, because you never know when your magic moment is going to come.  It is real easy to be focused in that first few hours.  The part that separates good from great anglers is the ability to keep your focus throughout the whole day.  Keep working hard, staying focused and adjusting.  Thanks for the great weekend Rob.  That was way to much fun.

Mark

Actually no. The current was strong in the morning, but was down in the afternoon. But I heard that they were backing up the lake. So I am guessing they had McNary closed which killed the current flow.

Very nice, guys! Way to go. What a pig, and a great finish.

Did those fish turn on once some spill gates were opened?

Chris

It really became our main spot because in pre-fish we caught 3 fish there and one was a 5-8. I know....sucks to catch it the day before, but kinda of an accident. Anyhow, it had a little bit deeper water than anywhere else around and the current just seemed to hit it right. We threw reaction baits as well as dropshops to see how the bite was. Cranks and jerkbaits are good cold water reaction baits, even better than a spinnerbait in my opinion. We did catch some on a dropshot in prefish but not the next day. And in the river, the fish can turn on like a light switch. Switching through baits until they show you what they want is the key.

Mark threw fast baits and I followed with slow baits. Once he hit the first 2 fish, I immediately changed to the same bait in different color and followed with a 4 and 3 1/2 pounder. And it was a spot we knew had fish, and that we just had to hit it at the right time. It's hard to go back to a spot 3-4 times in a day with no bites, but it payed off that day.

Rob - Thanks for posting that info.  Maintaining mental focus can be difficult, but experiencing or even hearing about it can really help others - me included.  And Mark - Wow - THAT is an incredible smallie!  More details - what made you main spot your main spot?  How did you approach it technique wise/ boat positioning?

Thats awesome Rob, and Mark !  Here's the pic I saw posted on another site.  FATTY !!

Rob,

Your new nickname should be Rob "Iconelli" Maglio. Way to go!!!!!!!!!!

Russ

This isn't a chance for me to toot my own horn, but rather to share our tournament experience to you. This is a perfect story as to why it's never over till it's over. We have all been there when things aren't going right and the fish aren't biting etc. I start getting that "Well the day's over, I suck...blah blah blah...") Well Maderos and I fished an Open in Tri-Cities since we didn't get in the Potholes (Invitational). We pre-fished friday and found fish in several scattered areas to include a 5-8 smallie. So on Saturday we had confidence that we good do well.....

Well about 7 1/2 hours later we found ourselves with no fish and almost in that give up attitude. I recognized this and really tried to remain optomistic. With an hour of fishing time to go, we hit our "good" spot for the 4th time. In about 45 minutes we put a little over 16 lbs in the boat (our 5 fish limit). Mark caught a 6-8 smallie for big fish of the tournament and we ended up in 4th place, just a pound out of second. I told Mark how I needed that kind of finish as it was a new experience to me. I think it will strengthen me mentally as a tournament angler.

"Never give up" is a serious tool we all need to have in our mental tacklebox.