Pool 4 Walleyes

So I have never really fished the river too much and I just went this past weekend and didn’t catch anything, I’ve fished Lake Pepin and stockholm a little but couldn’t help be a little discouraged with my first outing by the dam. Anyone willing to spare a few pointers for a guy trying something new? What are you using for bait? Are you fishing in 20+ fow in the current? Jigging, drifting, 3-waying off the bottom? I would be thankful for some tips!!
Enjoy reading the post and news! It’s amazing to see all the dedicated guys out last saturday! Good to know i don’t crave the open water alone!! Thanks!! Good Fishing!

Travel up to Everts resort (upper end of pool 4)and have a chat with Dean ,he will suggest what is working there and what technique is producing the best for his customers.He is very helpfull indeed .

Fresh HOMEMADE peanutbutter cookies result in better tips

Also read up on some walleye forums in the area you want to fish , there are a ton of them , remembering things change from day to day

Great point Trumar….The guy’s at Evert’s definitely helped us out for this past Friday evening outing. A friend & I didn’t exactly slay them but we put 6 in the well with 4 of them being 17-20″ and one plump 23″er that weighed 4.5#’s. SLOOOWWWW dragging jig/ringworm combos upstream on a sandy bottom in 3-6 fow was the ticket. We fished from 4-10 pm. Peanut butter cookies?…I’ve got to remember that one, my wife can make them with the best of ’em.

Welcome to IDA Reelwarrior! Nice catch!

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Peanut butter cookies?…I’ve got to remember that one, my wife can make them with the best of ’em.

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Really?

Back to the original post,sat was a tough first day to be on the water for a newcomer,and especially in a crowded area.Sunday with supposedly bad weather forecasted,only had 20+- total boats out and the bite was much better.The late day dragging bite has been as of the past few days and verry few boats to compete with.

Welcome aboard reelwarrior!

The bite this weekend was tough to say the least, so don’t be depressed! Some VERY good sticks zeroed this last Saturday for the FYB Tournament.

I did get out yesterday though, and like Dean said, late and early fishing is the best right now with the clear water. Fishing during the day was tough. I had one sauger that pushed 2.5 pounds dragging B-Fish-N Tackle the new Goldcracker/Chart tail Ringworms on 1/4 ounce BFT Precision Jigs that I got from Dean at Evert’s Resort. We started about 3 PM and it was downright slow! But as the sun started to set, I tossed on a 1/4 oz. BFT “Gold Plate” Blade bait and went on a 25 to 1 fish tear against my partner. The fish were relating to the deeper drop and not as much the first 4-10 feet. Maybe because of how clear the water was, I am not sure. But I gave them what they wanted. The fish were quite small at right around 12″ with a few bigger and a few smaller mixed in, but they were eager to bite. Don’t ever be afraid to try deep and shallow with Ringworms and blades. As the current starts to pick up and defineable current seams start to appear, the fishing will improve GREATLY! Dean does a great job keeping new and older sticks alike aprised of the changing bite conditions. He is a great resource, feel free to use him!

Another shameless plug for Dean…but this is the only place I know of where you can “Try before you buy!” I tried one of his Pflueger Supreme reels, and left with two of them strung with Cortland braid and mono and paired them up with my two St. Croix Legend Elite rods I bought there last year. (Thanks for the tip Dean, that stuff is fantastic! )

Anyways, the bite will improve every day now…Evert’s has a fully stocked wall full of B-Fish-N Tackle. You will hit the water with everything you need for a great day on the water. Bring the camera! The eagles are everywhere right now and pose often riverside in the trees.

First off Welcome to the site. Like others have mentioned saturday wasnt the best day for a newbie to get a hang of the upper pool 4 bite. The bite lately has been fairly tough for most. The early and late bite has been the best, BUT I see that changing soon as the water is getting a little color in it and the flow and stage is starting to increase. The forcasted rain and snow will only help that even more. Your best bet is to stop into Evert’s and get the low down on what is going on currently with the bite. Up to date info is always available there. With that said, you may consider hiring a guide for a day also, if your interested in learning the river more. A guide will cut down your learning curve by a lot.
As for presentations, just about all of them will work at some point or another. Some will work better than others depending on the conditions though. I would say the main presentations for pool 4 would be:
dragging, pitching, or vertical jigging plastics
vertical jigging or pitching blade baits
of course the stand by jig and minnow
vertical jigging, pitching hair jigs
3-waying bait or stick baits

I would say those are the most popular ways of fishing around there so pick which one you are most familiar with and stick with that to start and go from there. Good luck on your next trip and report back on how it goes

The bite Saturday was definitely not up to par. Friday we had a good day with some nice fish and Saturday we struggled. I know we would have had a 2 man limit if we were keeping fish but the size just wasn’t there. I would say for a rookie dragging or vertical jigging plastics would be the way to go. I will tell you the secret to fishing Pool 4—ask Dean what is working and LISTEN!!! There have been too many days when Dean said one thing and I had my mind wrapped around something else and more often than not Dean’s on the money! Another way to up your success is to be observant. Certain boats will be putting more fish in the net than others so what are they doing that is different. Pool 4 has a learning curve and you have to pay your dues but if you stick with the program you will be amazed how rapidly you turn into a pretty good Pool 4 stick. Where you are now is where we all were at one time—the question is how hunry are you to stick some Pool 4 eyes?