Pool 4 Questions

I have done my share of fishing on Pool 4. Mainly in the spring. I have a couple questions I hope someone can help with. I spent time pitching jigs and caught several walleyes. About a week later I went back and did the same thing. This time, nothing but smallmouth. Does this mean the walleyes had moved on/out (past spawn, water temp, etc.) or was it just the luck of the draw that day and caused more by current, etc.

Second, I have also trolled cranks towards the head of the lake in the spring and done quite well. In theory, is it better to do this when the fish are pre-spawn and moving towards the dam or may it be better post spawn when they are transitioning back towards the lake and have the feed bag on. Or would both be equally good?

I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks!

Gerty

Hey Gerty,

Not necessarily. Went out last saturday (4/817) and started the morning catching walleye/sauger after walleye/sauger by vertical jigging with jig heads and minnow. Once the sun was high enough everything shut off. Switched to blade baits, rattle, baits, and dragging plastics. Action was still slow. We then started using 3 ways and dubuque rigs and started catching them all over again. The river conditions and the bite can change hourly. Fish are there you just have to find what they are biting depending on the time and conditions. That can mean anything from fishing technique, weight of the bait, bait color, live vs plastic, etc. Water levels, temp, and conditions do play a factor. But if you’re moving around you should be able to get on something. Sometimes it just takes changing up your presentations and experimenting.

Not specific to P4, but river areas I’ve fished in spring really do see quite a species shift as waters warm. One moves in, other out. Summer gets mixed pretty good.

Thanks for the responses fellas. I know things change and trying different techniques to find fish, etc. I was more thinking specific to the spawn in shoreline conditions and if the smallmouth were now using that location does that mean the walleyes were done with it? I know the fish go in somewhat of an order based on water temps.

Gerty, I do not fish P4 very much anymore either. I do believe I know what you are asking. This year is a little odd because of the low water we have. Its really hard to determine the scenario not knowing where you were fishing. To be honest there is a good chance there were still walleyes in the area you were targeting mixed with those bass. If this area was loaded up one day and they were gone the next I would guess it was flow or forage that had them there and made them move. The bait and river conditions can change very fast..

Your second question about the head of the lake… I believe you will see a better bite from post spawn fish. Spawning fish have one thing on their minds. They move out of that lake to spawning areas and will stage in specific areas along the way to feed or rest. So during pre spawn it is very common to find a school one day and they are gone the next.. Once they spawn the females will move back to summer areas right away. Before the males anyways. Males show up first and leave last. The spawn is usually pretty quick for the females.
Post spawn… The fish are hungry at this time. The water is warmer and they will hold in areas for a couple days to a few weeks if river conditions and forage is right for them. The area you speak of can be great if conditions are right. Hungry post spawn fish are a lot easier to catch than pre spawn fish period. Are they as easy to pattern??? That can be a loaded question with lots of correct answers depending on the year and water conditions.

Walleyes spawn in 46-47 degree water temps.. Bass are a lot later and spawn around 60-65 degrees I believe.. Yes there is an order anyways. Walleyes will spawn before Saugers and they also try to use different areas but this also is not always the case. Just what they are suppose to do to prevent cross genetics.

Buschman,

Thanks for the reply! That was what I was looking for. Sorry so late in my reply, I was too busy turkey hunting!