I have a P4 Question

Now I’m going to be the FIRST to admit that I know NOTHING about walleyes or saugers….BUT…

Since there’s about 11 miles of open water from the dam to the lake and from the back channel to the dam is about 3 miles or just under 1/3 of the fish-able water…why does everyone head to the dam area when they know (most) of the fish are on the shall we say sardine size?

Yes I understand the dam stops the upstream travel when the water is flowing over the top of the rollers…but wouldn’t there be pods of better size fish staging all the way up from the head of the lake?

I was going to post this question the other day, but was called away. Just was reminded about it again a few moments ago.

It’s just another one of those walleye night mares I have thinking that if I talk about it, it might go away.

Sardines with crackers are great to eat Brian

I heard its the place to go during the wintering months to practice your hook setting for spring fishing.

Consistancy… hard to argue with some of the most consistant River Rats showing them selves up there on a consistant basis from what I see

I worked the head of the lake back up to the dam yesterday, all I got below the bridge was cold and lonely… Managed a few decent fish at dark on plastics (HARD plastics )

Thats a very good question..”BK” I believe for the most part its a confidence thing therefore the lack of!!

I can remember not to long ago about 7years when I got on the river I felt and was totaly blind, lost and clueless. And I remember reading on IDO, about how guys would talk about cracking the code or getting the golden key to the river. And this key if course for me came with lots of time spent on the water..not saying I got it figured out by no means but im always confident that when I do hit the river I can put a pattern together and make it happend, and if it doesnt thats when the learning starts again. I believe 90 percent of the people just go fishing and 10 percent go with a game plan and stick to it, with most of the 90 percent setting up shop at the dam…

I heard this before… There are three stages of fishermen…. (1) the one who whats to prove he can catch a limit (2) the one who wants to prove he can catch big fish….. (3) and the one who can and does catch fish on exactly what he wants too!!

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Thats a very good question..”BK” I believe for the most part its a confidence thing….or the lack of!!

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I think that most people don’t understand the mechanics involved between the river and the larger fish and simply don’t take time to learn this aspect. They hit the water and head to where the masses are thinking that this has to be where the fish are. The small fish are there, yes, but you won’t find a large fish in the midst of this mess other than randomly. To get larger fish one has to target larger fish and that demands a ton of water time, an intimate understanding the of large fish and the river where these brutes lie ….all things the average angler isn’t willing to invest the time in and more than willing to settle for catching ho-hum dinks.

I think confidence becomes a narrow window once the better fish are found. Finding the fish is experience, confidence is believing in a bait to catch them.

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Thats a very good question..”BK” I believe for the most part its a confidence thing….or the lack of!!

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I think that most people don’t understand the mechanics involved between the river and the larger fish and simply don’t take time to learn this aspect. They hit the water and head to where the masses are thinking that this has to be where the fish are. The small fish are there, yes, but you won’t find a large fish in the midst of this mess other than randomly. To get larger fish one has to target larger fish and that demands a ton of water time, an intimate understanding the of large fish and the river where these brutes lie ….all things the average angler isn’t willing to invest the time in and more than willing to settle for catching ho-hum dinks.

I think confidence becomes a narrow window once the better fish are found. Finding the fish is experience, confidence is believing in a bait to catch them.

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Very well put sir.

What amazes me more, is why do you see a huge population of Iowa’ns on pool 4. Dont they have walleye or sauger there ?

I ask that all the time too.

I like folks from Iowa,they don’t seem to have thier heads as far up thier butts as Minnisotans.

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What amazes me more, is why do you see a huge population of Iowa’ns on pool 4. Dont they have walleye or sauger there ?

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Not sure about Herb.

I was told a long time ago that Minnesota sucks and Iowans went wherever the breeze took them.
I do know some decent fellers from Wisconsin though.

My take on things is when the good walleye bite comes its better on pool 4 up, unlike the further south you go. Theres good bites on lower pools but the better bite is in the upper pools for size and numbers, especially for big suagers. Theres times when the lower pools put out a fabulous bite but a consistant better bite on average is in the upper pools. I’ve fished Guttenburg and Belleview a few times and stopped going because its just hammer handles. Pool 4 up is the only place where I’ve heard of a consistantly good sauger and walleye bite every year. I talked to a guy who fished Muscatiene Iowa and broke the state sauger record a few times in one day, If I didn’t know the guy I would have doubted the story but I knew him and he had them weighed but a local dnr officer, this happened about 15 years ago. Ive heard of very good bites on the lower pools but thier rarer then the upper pools, thats why alot of guys go north to fish the upper pools. Some I’ve talked to say they think the bites better because of the clearity of the water and better spawing areas because they aren’t silted as bad every year.

cause that’s where all the fish are we go there 4 therapy then we go on the hunt away from the crowd,

mat03z, I’ve read and reread your post way too many times now trying to figure out what you actually meant by your comment. Some times the written words come out much different than what the thought was originally.

Lord knows that I rip on the walleye guys and their “pretty” fish along with poking at the bass guys. I’ll even poke at the IA, IL and WI folks from time to time all in fun.

I get poked back frequently as well…as it’s all in fun.

I’m really hoping I misunderstood your comment above.

If you’re asking why folks from other areas are coming to fish YOUR waters…You do not belong on a website that promotes sharing of fishing information.

If you are just having some fun and I’m not in the good ol boy loop of yours, I whole heartedly apologies.

I think it was sarcasm. 90% of the population can’t recognize written sarcasm. I had a similar thing happen on a different board when I made a tongue in cheek statement, and I couldn’t believe how many people jumped on me. Even after I explained what I meant they still wouldn’t let it go. Now if I get bored I sometimes go back to the site and stir the pot, because I guess that is expected from me over there.

Oh, I see.
Well, there ya go.

Herb, Mojo lives down by the river in a van…so…WAIT, so do you!

I’m just waiting for the day all the Minnesotans travel to Iowa to rape and pillage the Big Head and Silver carp populations on the river.
That’ll teach ’em.

Good reasoning Herb,,,

20 years ago I was a “boat boy” at a baitshop in Lake City… At that time 80% of the clientel was “Iowegians”… I loved jumping in the boat with some of those good ol’ boys, I learned alot about fishing and even more about farming … Pool 4 wouldnt be the same without the Iowa mafia jamming up the landings and plowing into the wingdams (joking)…

BK, not ripping on anyone here whether they’re from Mn or outstate. I am just curious what draws people from as far away as Iowa to fish pool 4. I pulled out Iowa only because they represent the the majority of nonresident boats that I see. I dont consider Ws. fishermen because I believe most of them to be living near pool 4 and dont require nonresident licenses.So back to my original question about coming up from Iowa, has nothing to do with me wanting anyone to stay off my water. By the way I dont own any water . except in my bathtub. So lighten up I only want to know if fisherman from Iowa think that pool 4 is much better than what Iowa has to offer ?

On an average it is includeing pools up from pool 4.

Mat, I’m pretty sure P4 is better than Iowa has to offer. I’ve fished down to pool 10, and I can say that in my experience P4 is better, but that fish can be caught on the the pools I’ve fished as well.

I think the dam is a confidence area for many, but there are also some legitimate reasons for the crowds. I know I’ve spent a lot of time up there, and first and foremost it does seem like there are often more concentrations of fish in the area. There are a lot of good pieces of structure between the town of Red Wing and the dam that can be good, in addition to being close together and close to the WI channel landing. If you run south of town, it’s a long haul in the winter when the other landings are closed. I usually make the trip if I’m down for a full day, but if it’s a short trip I won’t. Finally, there are a lot of subtleties to the community spots (which are generally good spots to begin with) that make them extra special to the seasoned guys. Those spots on sports can be the key to finding fish consistently, including big ones — they aren’t just random, though that certainly is the case for a lot of the big ones that are caught each year.

Now, if you’re asking why so many guys vertical jig below the dam on the WI side, I’d guess it’s because they have inexperienced people or kids in the boat, they enjoy relaxing with the small saugers (fishing isn’t just about the catching), or they simply lack the confidence or knowledge to do something else. For some folks, I suppose you gotta start somewhere!

So there’s my $0.02!

See! I’m happy I read it wrong.

There is no other pool like pool 4 because mainly of Lake Pepin. It’s the longest pool on the Mississippi River that makes in mainly a sauger factory.

Now that I’ve said that and po’ed all the P3 and P2 fisherman…I’ll go back and reiterate.

While the inland seasons are closed in March, April and May the P4 anglers are indulging in the only walleye sauger fishing in the area benefiting from the moving water and the warm water discharge. When P2 opens up it’s game on catch and release there as well. P3 stays closed until the border water opener in May.

I think it’s natural for people to “go up North” for better fishing. The many people from IA and IL go “up North” to Pool 4.

While I hung around a resort for a few years, there were many many folks that came from Milwaukee and the Chicagoland area for the chance to hit it just right and catch 40 to 100 fish per day.

…and no, you don’t need to share your bathwater.

I fish the river alot and I enjoy talking with the guys from Iowa there always friendly and have a good attitude as far as fishing up by the dam and areas above the Y when the temps drop I don’t like making long runs also if your persitant you can and will pull out decent fish and catch alot of them in the process