Over and under for Redwing next week, 200?

With the warm weather arriving Sunday, how many boats do you think there will be between Everts and the dam? Last Tuesday I would estimate there were around 100 boats.

Wow I would have never guessed there would be 100 boats during the week.
That has me rethinking my decision to go this Tuesday and Wednesday.

under…..once the public launches open at baypoint and colvill, easy 300 on a warm weekend

Over…easily.

I’d say next weekend realistically you could see 300-400 boats fishing that stretch with a couple hundred on each of those weekdays as it will be above 50.

I’ve resorted to either not fishing Pool 4 in early Spring, or waiting for those 25 degree March days and having more success with less traffic in the colder weather. The number of boats is probably 10x what it was 15 years ago on a decent day. I don’t go fishing for that chaos.

As long as Tom Boley keeps making videos down there showing everyone how EASY the bite is we may see boat numbers like never before. Social media is turning Pool 4 into a circus

I haven’t fished Redwing in the spring since probably 2005. Weekends have always been a circus but you used to be able to fish Monday-Thursday without to much hassle. But I am talking the 1990’s. Back when Tony used to sit in his old blue suburban and collect the launch fee at Everet’s until he got enough to go to the casino. Probably less than 20 boats during the week in February and early March. I can’t handle those crowds that you see now. You can try to get away from the boat crowd on the water but the landings are horrible. Not for me anymore. Buck’s estimate of 300-400 is probably right.

woody-1961 wrote:

As long as Tom Boley keeps making videos down there showing everyone how EASY the bite is we may see boat numbers like never before. Social media is turning Pool 4 into a circus

Yep I’d have to agree! I’ve been shown videos of him and heard that when your fishing up there all you hear is him babbling to the camera… 🤦‍♂️ Is what it is, that area is no secret, pretty much a community hole anyways!

Don’t know why Boley should be singled out? Every fishing show in the midwest, including IDO, has filmed shows making it look like walleyes voluntarily jump in your boat on p4.

I did get a laugh out of his recent video on snapping blade baits in his buddy’s green flat bottom, they did a camera angle that showed the boat’s registration was expired.

woody-1961 wrote:

As long as Tom Boley keeps making videos down there showing everyone how EASY the bite is we may see boat numbers like never before. Social media is turning Pool 4 into a circus

Since 2001.

The RRR Freeze Your Butt tourney was won now where near the upper 2 miles of pool 4. Just saying.

Think we all have to admit, the internet has become a sort of “cancer” for hunting and fishing. Be it websites, YouTube, etc., it all has had a great effect on boat numbers, how quick boat numbers show up (over on the Fox river, it can be a matter of hours for the landings to fill up post a good fishing report when in the past it was days to weeks), well as fishing success – as all one has to do is watch a YouTube video and not only learn techniques, but exact locations. Add to this mix more reliable boats, hot rod electronics and GPS and the “internet” has now become the “tipping point” to take the average Joe fisherman, who might experience occasional success, and now he regularly puts fish in the boat. All I can say is, “THANK GOD” for the foresight in lowering the bag limits and one over 20″. There has always been a ton of pressure on pool 4, but the internet, especially video work, has added a vast increase in angler success to that pressure. Unfortunately, as evidenced by the vast number people who fish the scour hole and kill fish after fish and the rampant keeping of snagged fish I saw last fall above the first wing dam and snag current seam, more stringent regulations are going to be needed as anglers will never police themselves. Things always look good and rosy until a “tipping point” is reached, then something crashes – that is what happened to our big saugers, and will probably happen to them again. That being said, I too enjoy the internet, the videos and information learned – but progress always comes at a price.

It’s funny, I didn’t know (or watch) Tom Boley’s videos until this thread came up.

He needed to blow his nose in the last video! Ghesh!!
Otherwise it’s the same video that’s been posted by 100’s on this site, other sites and YT over the last 20 years.

For full disclosure, he’s my cousin. OK…kidding. Never met the fella.

docfrigo wrote:

Unfortunately, as evidenced by the vast number people who fish the scour hole and kill fish after fish and the rampant keeping of snagged fish I saw last fall above the first wing dam and snag current seam, more stringent regulations are going to be needed as anglers will never police themselves.

Anglers not policing themselves is the most disturbing portion to your post Doc.

By the sounds of it, and the number of boat wakes I counted in Red Wing, I’m guessing there were over 200 fishing Sat and Sunday.

I’m happy so many got out to enjoy it!

My neighbor went out and said it was his last time going prespawn on a weekend. They did decent, but said some of the spots he’s never dealt with traffic on were crowded. He was literally miles from the dam. It was also about a 30 minute process at the launch waiting.

The scour hole thing has been an issue forever. It’s mostly little fish with many saugers, but a majority of those released end up dying. I think doubling the restricted area downstream of the dam would do more than any bag limit reduction for protecting the future year classes (especially saugers). This change would cost next to nothing other than signage, would be easier to enforce than bag limits, would positively impact survival of smaller fish, and would make things safer for anglers with many having little river experience. With the recent cooperative effort on Pool 4 to change the limits, this would’ve been a great opportunity to look into as well.

docfrigo wrote:

– that is what happened to our big saugers

We’re short on big sauger?
Hmm