This is the time of year when the Mississippi produces a lot of personal bests. Female walleyes packing on weight in the form of chow and spawn reach seemingly impossible proportions. We’ve seen lots of pics of personal bests in springs past, and we are just starting to see them for this year’s spring run.
Yesterday, Dan Meyer, manager of Chippewa Falls’ Skeeter Boat Center and I went on a Pool 4 walleye hunt. If you didn’t know this already, Skeeter Boat Center is hosting a seminar this Thursday at 7:00 pm from James Holst. James’ topic will be this very time of year….the pre-spawn period and the supertanker walleyes associated with it.
But I digress….
Dan and I spent our day “running and gunning”. 30 minutes here…an hour there…looking for our Pool 4 personal best.
We found a few smaller fish that were willing to pop F7s on 3-way rigs. Nothing huge, but nice to get those trolling rods bending again.
We found one area that was absolutely filthy with crappies. And not small ones….nice ones. We didn’t catch anything smaller than 11″. After collecting a few for Dan and his bride Trish to enjoy for a March fish fry, we left in pursuit of our quarry…a pool 4 personal best.
We fished from LD3 all the way down to the head of the lake. 30 minutes here. An hour there.
We pulled 3-ways and cranks.
We dragged plastics on light jigs.
We vertical jigged.
We pitched.
We fished blades.
We even fished (gasp) live bait.
As you probably remember, verstility is the key to March fishing on Pool 4.
And then it happened.
With all the suddenness of a broken shoelace.
I set the hook…it was a snag.
But then the snag moved.
Dan was on the phone…that conversation was cut short.
A headshake.
Then another.
A crowd gathered.
The wardens even turned off their motor so they could have a peek.
Was my new St. Croix Legend Extreme equal to the task?
A glimpse of color.
Another headshake.
And then, she same to the surface.
She slid into the Beckman.
Long, beautiful, and gold.
Ol’ rubberlips. All 20+ pounds of her.
My pool 4 personal best carp. 
Dean, please have my pin ready for pickup on Saturday.
. 
I had trouble keeping the big ones hooked in the area you saw me and I told you that was the spot to work. I dont know if it was poor hook sets or if it was faulty equipment but the heavy fish seemed to spit the hook about 1/2 way to the boat, it happened 3 times 
and no my drag was not loose 
