Pool 4…….Where have all the walleyes gone?

We have pretty much figured out how to catch as many polish walleyes (saugers) as you would want to, but would like to get some walleyes. Have the walleyes not come up yet? We were fishing in 10-22 fow and that should not be too deep for the walleyes. The flow was slow enough that they should have been up between the wingdams. The water temp yesterday was around 42 degrees and could not get a walleye to bite. We use mainly bigger plastics, all different colors and live bait. Caught well over 30 saugers all the way up to 20″ but no eyes…..

Fishing mostly in the wing dams up by the dam.

I am not looking for a secret spot, just some advice.

One of the guides told me once that the walleyes are there they just are not as aggressive as saugers so you are more likely to catch saugers. I have also heard that early morning or late evening hours can produce more walleyes.

johnladick. I like to put my efforts away from the dam. sooo much river to fish. way more walleyes down river, and way less boats to deal with, my .02.

Yeah man I don’t quite know either. It seems like I hear one thing and then the opposite happens for me. I was out that same day and caught my stringer of sauger too. I’ve learned a lot from Pool 4, but mostly that I can’t pattern crap because it changes every time I’m out there. I love that stretch of river and have had days where I’ll catch mostly walleye, others when it’s half and half, and then sauger fest all day. Plastics!!

How far down are we talking here? I troll cranks in May on the big Pepin water, but don’t fish much in between Lake Pepin and and the dam. The can line or further up river? I’d love to know more about that big beautiful river!

Matt Amundson wrote:

How far down are we talking here? I troll cranks in May on the big Pepin water, but don’t fish much in between Lake Pepin and and the dam. The can line or further up river? I’d love to know more about that big beautiful river!

High bridge, Red Wing, Hay Creek, back channels has a number of spots, clam beds, look for any current seems, ect..

FDR

I caught mostly all sauger on sat. and sunday slammed mostly walleye that were very aggressive on meat 18 fow

All over. With low flow they can be wherever they want. Caught the first eye that was milking today.

Where have all the walleyes gone?…

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Plenty of fish…A long ways from the dam!! OMG there’s a lot of water on pool 4.

5-9′ current seam, Sunday.
Pitching Plastics
I didn’t have a boat within a quarter mile all day.

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And does anyone remember the days from the 80’s 90’s and early 2000’s? I’ve said it before (Brian Disagree). The river is not what it was back then. Dig up old reports off this site when it first got going. The river back then was a whole different system.

Ahh, the good ol’ days…

Brian Klawitter wrote:

Ahh, the good ol’ days…

Its almost the pits being old enough to remember them. lol

wow

WI spring hearing will have a vote on lowering bag limits and having a slot limit on the river during spring spawn for walleyes. Trying to protect the fish.

Biologists are starting to recognize that there is a decline in the Mississippi fishery finally.

Pull them aside and they will discuss it. Not openly on forums yet.

As I have said, and others disagree, the fishery has changed from the “old days”.

I say keep more flathead catfish! Sorry Brian.

I was just reading a 15 year study today about continuous fishing on P4.

But I think Andy hit it on the head. They all moved to Ohio.

Maybe BK should drag his camera around the river and post the video. That will usually show a few walleye!

bigpike wrote:

Maybe BK should drag his camera around the river and post the video. That will usually show a few walleye!

No, there isn’t any fish in Pool 4. I would fish somewhere else. Dead Sea…

Soon it will be just me and the scratcher.

****
Just a couple-three short years ago everyone was complaining about the lack of sauger… and when they did catch one, the lack of size. P4 is doomed.

Didn’t that new president of ours sign some executive order to make P4 great again?!?!

Evan Pheneger wrote:

Didn’t that new president of ours sign some executive order to make P4 great again?!?!

riverruns wrote:

WI spring hearing will have a vote on lowering bag limits and having a slot limit on the river during spring spawn for walleyes. Trying to protect the fish.

Biologists are starting to recognize that there is a decline in the Mississippi fishery finally.

Pull them aside and they will discuss it. Not openly on forums yet.

As I have said, and others disagree, the fishery has changed from the “old days”.

I say keep more flathead catfish! Sorry Brian.

There has been a decline. It’s a situation where by the time people stop denying it and it’s mutually agreed on by everyone, it will be irreversible.

There is absolutely NO reason any person needs to take 6 saugers/walleyes over 15″ in a day from Pool 4, or anywhere along the river. I’d love to see the limit down to 3 per person, with a 15″ minimum. If you eat more than the 6 fillets from 3 adult 15+” fish…your cleaning skills are lacking. If you want to feed a family, take them fishing, buy a license, and get them involved with a rewarding hobby. I don’t see this impacting area businesses one bit, and would make a better fishery.

I’d also love to see a zone/area immediately below the dams lengthened that makes fishing in the scour holes illegal. The two times I’ve been out recently, it’d be safe to say there were 30-40 boats pulling up dinky fish and releasing them to a certain death. The biggest spring fish I’ve pulled from Pool 4 each year aren’t within eyesight of the dam.

Why the out rage on a limit of 6 walleyes over 15″ when there’s a 25 catfish limit on those WI waters? Don’t matter if they are 5 pounds or 45 pounds.

I think the walleye limit should be raised to 25 per person per day with a 50 fish possession limit. There’s more walleye then flatheads.

I know, I’m going to hell for typing that.

BK, You were headed there anyway, just that now you may have secured your spot !!

As long as I have your sausage to take with me, I’m ok with that.

Brian, we need to limit you to 1 can of Spam per week

First off, I feel your frustration. The spring can actually be one of the toughest times to catch walleyes consistently day in and day out on pool 4. Weather changes, cold water, dirty water, floods (and everything else mother nature can throw at you in the spring) coupled with the fact majority of the walleyes do not spawn by the dam. They go many different directions, many different places, all over the upper part of the system to spawn on flooded brush-weedy material VERY SHALLOW. Saugers, on the other hand, migrate up to the dam and channel edge type habitat for spawning-thus, why the majority of fish caught on pool 4 in the spring are actually saugers. Of course, you can catch some walleyes up there but if you are vertical jigging, your mainly sauger fishing.

In a nutshell, the walleyes have a million places to go before they even get to the dam.

Way different than the Fox River in WI, where they have no where to go but the dam.

buckybadger wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>riverruns wrote:</div>
WI spring hearing will have a vote on lowering bag limits and having a slot limit on the river during spring spawn for walleyes. Trying to protect the fish.

Biologists are starting to recognize that there is a decline in the Mississippi fishery finally.

Pull them aside and they will discuss it. Not openly on forums yet.

As I have said, and others disagree, the fishery has changed from the “old days”.

I say keep more flathead catfish! Sorry Brian.

There has been a decline. It’s a situation where by the time people stop denying it and it’s mutually agreed on by everyone, it will be irreversible.

There is absolutely NO reason any person needs to take 6 saugers/walleyes over 15″ in a day from Pool 4, or anywhere along the river. I’d love to see the limit down to 3 per person, with a 15″ minimum. If you eat more than the 6 fillets from 3 adult 15+” fish…your cleaning skills are lacking. If you want to feed a family, take them fishing, buy a license, and get them involved with a rewarding hobby. I don’t see this impacting area businesses one bit, and would make a better fishery.

I’d also love to see a zone/area immediately below the dams lengthened that makes fishing in the scour holes illegal. The two times I’ve been out recently, it’d be safe to say there were 30-40 boats pulling up dinky fish and releasing them to a certain death. The biggest spring fish I’ve pulled from Pool 4 each year aren’t within eyesight of the dam.

Not suggesting you are not being truthful or overstating this for dramatic effect. But in all my times down at the dam in the last 3 years I have seen 4 boats total fishing the scour hole.

As far as the limits. They are not going to cut them in half. The best hope would be to get it down to 4-5 fish and maybe getting a size limit on saugers.

In the winter, and when the early spring allows, 30+ boats vertically jigging the scour hole tends to be the norm–much to the eagles delight!

Brian Klawitter wrote:

As long as I have your sausage to take with me, I’m ok with that.

Wait a second…

Walleye guys stick to walleye forums and catfish guys stick to catfish forums. Some peoples sarcastic smart a$$ voices are so bad they can be heard through their comments on this site.
Go back and look at what used to be on the site and on the river. The good and great fisherman of the old days don’t post on here anymore