I have always wanted to hit pool 4 this time of the year and have skipped it because of the boat traffic. I am going to take some vacation days and was wondering what day would have the least amount of boat traffic and what is the best tactic. From the stories it sound like on the weekends you can only use your hard water rods and vertical jig since there in not enough room between boats for a 7’ rod or to cast.
Sent ya a PM!
It’s not so much day of the week anymore as it is weather. Find a cloudy day when the temp is cooler and you will have much less traffic…Sunny and 50° and you’ll realize nobody goes to work anymore no matter what day of the week it is. For me, fishing has ALMOST always been better when the weather isn’t beautiful. Having said that, I always enjoy a nice warm day down there this time of year even if it is a zoo.
It’s a zoo. From here on out, it will be a zoo. Plus side, there might be a boat out there selling brats.
I’ve been going to P4 in the spring for only about 10 years, and yes it can be busy, but not nearly as busy as Rainy can get at times imo. The issue is Evert’s and the Back Channel being the only launch options until Colvill and Baypoint open up. Once they do, it’s no big deal, as you only have to deal with boat traffic if you want to fish in the community up by the dam. Plenty of good spots and big fish elsewhere. Some of my best days were downstream without a boat in sight, while hundreds were stacked up by the dam.
Come after Mothers Day. LOL!
Once Bay Point and Colville open, it’s a piece of cake launching and loading.
It’s a zoo. From here on out, it will be a zoo. Plus side, there might be a boat out there selling brats.
I’ve been that guy!🤣
The befuddled game wardens asked for a fire extinguisher and then bought a burger! 🤣🤣
The damn area represents less than 5% of the Pool 4 fishable water. If 95% of the people focus on less than 5% of the water you could say it can get crowded….. I believe you will enjoy the other 95% part of the pool and find it quite civil !
damn area
<<that wasn’t a typo. 
The damn area represents less than 5% of the Pool 4 fishable water. If 95% of the people focus on less than 5% of the water you could say it can get crowded….. I believe you will enjoy the other 95% part of the pool and find it quite civil !
Very true!!!! 
figure only a small percentage of the eyes migrate to the dam area as well. Find the right habitat for the day and there will be 20 other spots to duplicate it
Very true!!!! figure only a small percentage of the eyes migrate to the dam area as well. Find the right habitat for the day and there will be 20 other spots to duplicate it
But where would we get all these bad bite reports from if people migrate away from the crowds at the dam
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Randy Wieland wrote:</div>
Very true!!!! figure only a small percentage of the eyes migrate to the dam area as well. Find the right habitat for the day and there will be 20 other spots to duplicate itBut where would we get all these bad bite reports from if people migrate away from the crowds at the dam
just apply the 90/10 rule and you’ll get plenty of “bad” reports
I’d be interested to get a report from today. We’re planning on going tomorrow and hoping mid week keeps a few of the crazies away.
Anyone know how parking is at Everts or the back channel ramps? We’ll be down sometime around 8am or so. I assume we’ll be doing some walking from where we have to park?
Lots of regular parking at the back channel this morning @ 6:15ish. Not sure what it’s going to look like at 8.
Is there any risk launching at back channel river wise? I have heard there are some hazards on the way to the main channel but never launched there. If there is, are they marked?
Closing dam 100ish yds up stream from launch. It’s marked on maps. Use your eyes to find deepest section, or stay to the right as you head up stream through the closing dam. It can be navigated high or low.
^ trim up your motor to be safe. There’s a tree laying on the right side of the closing dam.
All you guys that go out in cold water. How do you get the water out of your impeller for the drive home? Last year I went out early and had to replace my impeller because the water froze inside it. I put the motor down and drained it all the way at the ramp, but some was still in there I guess. Just curious.
Even if there is some water in your impeller and it freezes, if you don’t turn over your engine until it’s thawed out, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Some folks turn the kill switch to off and turn their motors over a few times to move out any water that’s still in there.
Don’t fish with your motor out of the water in cold weather. If it’s in the water it won’t freeze. (36 degrees).
Even if there is some water in your impeller and it freezes, if you don’t turn over your engine until it’s thawed out, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Just to elaborate on this. You need to put the boat in the water, trim the motor down until fully submerged and wait several minutes before cranking the motor over.
-J.
Was down yesterday. I would rate it 7/10 on the zoo factor. A couple of the community spots were bonkers but there was open water to fish. We launched at everts and the line up the hill started by 7am…I was there a bit before and launched by myself without waiting.
Fishing was OK…scratched out some keepers which seemed to be the general report. Most guys fishing blades or jig and minnow. A few people Dubuque rigging.
Water was only 36…clear and cold with a lot of ice coming down.
Overall a great day with the weather and everyone was behaving. I don’t think I’d try it on a weekend though.
Was down yesterday. I would rate it 7/10 on the zoo factor. A couple of the community spots were bonkers but there was open water to fish. We launched at everts and the line up the hill started by 7am…I was there a bit before and launched by myself without waiting.
Fishing was OK…scratched out some keepers which seemed to be the general report. Most guys fishing blades or jig and minnow. A few people Dubuque rigging.
Water was only 36…clear and cold with a lot of ice coming down.Overall a great day with the weather and everyone was behaving. I don’t think I’d try it on a weekend though.
This is the time of the year to work on weekends, and take a day off during the week when it comes to fishing. I’ll be staining like mad and cutting brush while things dry in the beautiful weather all weekend, in hopes of getting ahead far enough to put in the boat in late next week’s 40 degree temps with less traffic.
All of these reports about the weekend are making me worried about going down this Saturday, but it’s the only time I have, so I’m going for it. And I guess I fish Tonka on the weekends in July, so maybe I just like the crowds.
Unless you have a grudge against yourself I would stay away on weekends for awhile. Even Mondays are crowded right now, although everyone has been friendly and well behaved. No problems in my experience this year, your results may vary.
All of these reports about the weekend are making me worried about going down this Saturday, but it’s the only time I have, so I’m going for it. And I guess I fish Tonka on the weekends in July, so maybe I just like the crowds.
Get there early. Get to whatever launch you want to use at 530-6 and you should be fine. Fishing the crowds isn’t that bad as long as you know what to expect. Further away from the dam there will be less crowds and can be great fishing. But the crowd isn’t at the dam because there are no fish.
I fish alone and launching and loading can be stressful this time of year.
I fished pool 4 for the first time in March yesterday. I too was a little apprehensive because of all the reports I’ve read about it being a zoo there. I launched at Everts mid afternoon and was able to park in the lower lot. The community holes to the north, especially by the dam were somewhat crowded but not too bad. The water was cold (chunks of ice as big as 2′ square floated by. All reports I heard was that it was still “slow”. I confirmed that! I managed to pull in a medium size walleye on a blade bait and several 13″ sauger on jig/minnow. Crowd thinned out significantly by dark.
Fished a few spots that weren’t holding high numbers of fish (yet) and zero boats yesterday with two friends. 3of us had our limit after a few hours. 18-23″ sauger. Nuttin under, nuttin over. Released a few more before going home.
0.2 to 0.4 mph side to side.
Pulsars & moxies
Decent day for me considering I hadn’t gotten the boat wet since November.
Impressive sized fish for males. Chuuuby!
I fish alone and launching and loading can be stressful this time of year.
i find it stressful right at first light since EVERYONE is launching. many times i wait until around 9 or 10 and everyone is already on the water. and yes they bite all day long, not just in the morning.
We ended up getting there on Saturday at 10:30am. We launched in the Hager City launch. There were several people leaving the same time we were coming so we got a parking spot without a problem. It was really really crowded on the river, but everyone was super calm and cool. It was kinda neat to see. We managed 6 walleye in our boat and left by 6pm so we weren’t trying to figure out loading in the dark. All in all, it was a great experiance.
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