Is it even going to be worth it this week?

I know the weather is supposed to be great but by friday the river @P4 will be just below flood stage. Have never really fished those conditions before. I have a 90 minute drive to even get there just wondering if there is any decent fishing in those conditions or if the bite shuts off?

Think of large river walleyes like pregnant women in a park on a windy day.

The ladies want to get out of the wind to rest and eat ice cream and pickles. So if I want to locate a pregnant woman (no jokes please!), where should I look?

I would look for a park bench that is protected by trees, out of the wind that has a 31 flavors stand next to it.

Although the normal cliche is “fish the willows” in high water, fishing closer(er) to shore will produce some very nice fish.

Yesterday there were around 7-10 boat pitching to the rip rap shore line on the WI side at the Y. Pitching is going to be your “best” bet for larger fish whether it’s to willows or rocks.

Keep in mind this is all coming form a catfish/sturgeon guide who seldom partakes in the activity known as walleye fishing.

PS if you haven’t, watch Sunday’s episode of In-Depth Outdoors on youtube. I haven’t seen it yet but with James and Dean in a boat, there’s going to be some good education spilled…along with Dean’s coffee.

The only thing slowing the bite is the water temp has come down with the melt and the water has dirtied a bit. That should stabilize over the next couple days and I would expect the bite to really pickup.

Pool 2 was fast, cold, and dirty yesterday. Made for a slow bite but that should change quickly.

What were the water temps on Pool 2 over the weekend?

I would get out if i could. The river gets this high most years around the spawn so learning to fish it now will pay out dividends in the future. Most of the fish will be in slower water near shore so you can eliminate a lot of unfishable water very quickly. Anchor up on a good looking area and pitch some jigs or soak some bait. Keep hitting spots until you connect with fish. You can also jig or drag jigs through current seams as James and Dean did on the show sunday. Probably not going to catch a lot of fish, but the size of fish can be worth the effort. Plenty of 8-10 lb fish caught over the weekend during the MTT. Check out the weights on their website. With the water rising more fish will keep coming up river.

DaveB wrote:

What were the water temps on Pool 2 over the weekend?

We had 37-38 saturday morning. The online gauges for St Paul shows the river hit 42 yesterday evening. Probably will hit 44 today.

Only go if you have a strong desire to catch your personal best walleye ! If your expectations are for #s and the fry pan, stay home !

Either way, I cant think of any better therapy than hi water pool 4 fishing !

I might have bias though……

I was from the dam to the confluence around 5pm yesterday and temp was 36-37 so still cold. Didn’t see any 40’s at all.

Thanks guys!

L/D 3 04/23/18 6:00 674.57L Water temp 43
04/23/2018 current flow is 41,900 cfs

Pool 4 from the dam to the begging to Lake Pepin last Thursday and Friday ranged from 37.8 to 42.7 if I remember right.

Matt Moen wrote:

I was from the dam to the confluence around 5pm yesterday and temp was 36-37 so still cold. Didn’t see any 40’s at all.

The online gage is in downtown St Paul at Robert st so that is probably why you didn’t see that warmer water.

Here is the value as of 9 am:
Temperature, water, degrees Fahrenheit

Most recent instantaneous value: 41.5 04-23-2018 09:00 CDT

Thanks everyone. Still leaning towards getting a guide this week but either way I will get out on thursday or friday

I got to see the rollers open yesterday morning. Wow….that was interesting navigating the debris field.

Walt put this big fish in my boat this morning
28 3/4 inches

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Great fish!

I only ask here cuz this is a fresh thread and I searched and found mixed results and don’t feel it requires a brand new thread.
I know years ago if fishing the MN-WI waters of Miss you could have 12 total possession over 2 days (6ea day) if fishing on our Wisconsin license, now the DNR site shows 6 total. So I’m assuming it’s now same as MN regulations and a total of 6 possession total even over 2 days correct?

Dan, in the inland WI regs, it explains what the word “possession limit” is. It’s a blanket statement that covers all of WI UNLESS otherwise listed.

Just to double check myself…I’ve sent an email to the WI CO and will post his response.

Brian you are correct, I have him on a voice mail that the “Possession Limit is a 2 day daily bag limit. He also stated you need to fish Wisconsin waters, unload and load your boat and lodge in the state of Wisconsin.

Denny O wrote:

He also stated you need to fish Wisconsin waters, unload and load your boat

Well that part doesn’t make any sense unless I would have yesterday’s limit in my cooler in the boat.

I know..don’t shoot the messenger.

From CO Kyle WI DNR:

I have not been made aware of any change and have not seen anywhere on the dnr website that shows the wi possession limit has changed on the boundary waters.

Confirms what Denny said.

Well as luck would have it I have an extradition for the end of the week so no fishing for me

I was fairly near the dam in slack water and had readings of 42 – 43 all morning till early Sunday afternoon

I’m planning on making Sunday an all day river outing…. was going to hit the St. Croix but seems like ice could be an issue. Probably hit p2 since it’s my home turf. Hopefully we see stable conditions so the bite picks back up. I think pool 4 will be a see with the nice weather.

Who else is out this weekend?

I might be, will be watching levels and flow. Went by hidden falls today, only a couple feet of ramp peeking out up top. Couple of small boat trailers in the lot.

Matt Moen wrote:

Who else is out this weekend?

The bite will be hot so obviously its my weekend to work this weekend but I will be out and about from shore on Thursday and Friday (assuming Wolves lose game 5). Have never fished Pool 2 when the water is up so it might be fun to explore a little bit.

Thinking about making the trip to Redwing on sunday. Thoughts??

William wrote:

Thinking about making the trip to Redwing on sunday. Thoughts??

As long as you dont mind crowds!

Matt Moen wrote:

Who else is out this weekend?

I’ll be out Saturday for sure, pool 6/7, provided the launch parking lot isn’t underwater. Already needed knee-highs for the docks last Sunday night, its up 1.5ft since then. Water levels at action stage today, up to flood stage by Monday or Tuesday. Flow at 80k, 110k by sunday.

Brings up a question…. what’s everyone’s preferred optimal flow? Is there one? Ie is it just “higher the better” to push the fish into slack water?

I was out Saturday by pigs eye and out again on Sunday by the ford dam and we got skunked tried everything and depth, I saw one fish caught between both days, current was ripping and the temp was 41-42 degrees.. I will probably wait to get back out once the current slows a little

Sunday was a gong show out there. I only stayed out for a short bit but we need a little stable weather which we have. Current and high water is ok but I think the fish need a couple days to acclimate.