What a gorgeous day to be outside. After completing my manyly tasks for the day, I had two and a half hours before family dinner. Time enough to see if any fish were hungry. I tried a more remote stretch of the Maquoketa mainly as a scouting mission. I started out in a promising riffle to run area with a nice sand and pea gravel bottom. For some unknown reason nothing was home in that perfect area. I pitched cranks, jigs and even drifted crawlers all through that area with zero success. I probably burned too much time in that one area but it was just unbelievable that I couldn’t get a hit in that area. I finally peeled myself away from the spot that looked like it would hold 40 walleye and smallies and went to a rocky flat which was waist deep with a few depressions 4-5 feet deep. I was casting a jig upstream and bringing it back just over the rocks when it stopped abruptly, fish on. A short while later a nice 16 inch Walleye showed itself. After unhooking and admiring the fish back it went. The Maq Walleyes are very colorful and healthy looking, this fish was very chunky. Following the same pattern I slowing worked my way around the rocky flat and caught and released 10 more Walleye 10-16 inches. And caught and released 5 Smallies 14-16 inches. Nothing on cranks or crawlers today, they liked the jig. I tried a variety of colors but electric blue fleck was by far the best. Why do you think the fish were all in that rocky run instead of the sweet looking honey hole? Following baitfish or crawdads maybe?
September 25, 2006 at 12:23 pm
#1322907
