Hope everyone was able to get out and enjoyed the weather (and dodged the rain best they could).
I caught a ton of walleye and sheephead Saturday through Monday, but none of the walleye were bigger than 14″, and all the sheep were gigantic. So…yeah…it was fun to be out, but I wouldn’t say I lit em up (unless you count the sheep). I was mainly trying live bait/crawlers.
Anyone else have luck?
Typically, when you are catching sheepshead you want to increase your speed to catch walleye.
Something to try next time.
Good tip. I did vary my speed, but obviously not enough. Went up to 1.7 to 2 mph.
Two weeks ago I was catching them going 3-4mph down and 2-3mph upstream.
Don’t be afraid of speed for walleyes
There were a TON of boats out on Friday and even Sunday!
Unfortunately I wasn’t one of them….BUT Tom at the new bait shop sent a can of Spam along home with the FW for me! SCORE!
Typically, when you are catching sheepshead you want to increase your speed to catch walleye.
Something to try next time.
You must be referring to pulling cranks. Or are you implying to pull live bait rigs upwards of 3 mph?
Glad you finally got into em Shockers! I tried today but got drenched on multiple occasions. I was really counting on the storms missing me but they did not. Only a couple 14″ walters trolling cranks around points.
I was pulling live bait crawler harnesses.
I think I caught the same 14” walleye 6 times.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>
Typically, when you are catching sheepshead you want to increase your speed to catch walleye.
Something to try next time.You must be referring to pulling cranks. Or are you implying to pull live bait rigs upwards of 3 mph?
I’m referring to speeding up regardless of the presentation.
But yes, I was pulling cranks at those speeds.
I did that because pulling spinners at slower speeds wasn’t cutting it 
So you’re sayin give cranks a chance? Heh, heh.
I chatted with a few guys over the weekend who pulled cranks and they weren’t doing any better. But there’s always one guy….heh.
Gotcha! Before the storms hit, water was almost 70 degrees yesterday. It’s warmed up a lot since my last trip down.
Pool 4 fishes so differently than any other body of water I’ve fished. For me pulling cranks, I often have to be absolutely flying and sometimes trenching the bottom. When using live bait, I like to work faster than most other places as well. Some days can have doubles and constant action. Some days are almost all saugers vs walleyes with others being a mix. Some days the sheepies are all over the cranks while others I don’t catch any. Some days it takes live bait to get eaters, and others live bait results in solely sheepies. I think fish move considerably more on the river than they do on lakes, making one day’s pattern completely different from the next.
It sounds like you caught fish, but shorts. I’ve heard far worse reports than that. My experience is that the smaller fish are often more agressive. Finding pods of fish usually results in a hit, but the big girls are lazy at times. Another theory is that year classes of fish under 15″ are just that much more plentiful out there by summer with the harvest of larger fish. Pool 4 had pressure in March and April that I’ve never seen before with favorable conditions and all of the Covid crap.
Boy, if my ‘luck’ was better than most I feel bad for everyone else!
I definitely caught lots of walleye. But like I said…all short. And, I realize everyone is jealous of my mad sheep skills – I caught 3 that were enormous. Caught a couple bonus perch that were nice sized, and tried to work those areas in case they were schooled up, but just caught one or two.
Bucky you’re quite right about Pool 4, btw. You think you have it dialed in one day, and the next….nope.
Bucky you’re quite right about Pool 4, btw. You think you have it dialed in one day, and the next….nope.
That’s just fishing everywhere. Just when you think you have it figured out, the fish will prove you stupid.
I was in SD this weekend shooting dogs and rattlesnakes, but i did have a buddy on 4 who also struggled..so it is what it is.
True. Though I must say, Pool 4 certainly consistently ‘challenges’ me more than other places.
I mean, when I fish ND (Sakakawea), it’s not necessarily Canada-good, but it’s sure a lot more sure thing it seems like. Hope you enjoyed the dawgs and snakes. Did that a few years ago in N.D. Good time.
I always tell my friends that Red lake spoiled me for life. we used to go there for years around opener and catch 50-100 walleye a piece per day depending how long you wanted to stay. all between 16-23″ fish. P4 humbles me more times than not but that is the fun part for me.
Remember fisherman are the biggest liars! Not me tho…..If you ran into my BIL and asked him how he did at the launch, he would tell you opposite. If you struggled, he would tell you he limited in an hour. If you crushed em, he would tell you he out did you. I always let the other guy talk first! Good times
I was out Friday and missed 1 fish. water was mud fished for 3 hours and had enough did stop in and met Tom at new bait store happy to hear we have options!
I caught 3 that were enormous.
My last trip to the Zumbro handed me two sheeps that were huge. maybe in the 9-11 pound range. Ugly things they are.
Scratcher, were you down in the lake or more river areas with the mud water?
My last trip to the Zumbro handed me two sheeps that were huge. maybe in the 9-11 pound range. Ugly things they are.
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That’s for sure. One I caught had an eye that was damaged. Like some mutant sheep. Freaky. If I’d been nearby an eagle’s nest, he may have been dinner for the birds. But now someone else will get the ‘fun’ of catching him.
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