Pool 4 Blows

Went to the “legendary” pool 4 that I had heard so much about on this forum last Saturday. Put the boat in about 7am and fished until after 5pm. My buddy and I caught the ugliest stringer of fish I’ve ever seen. A handful of whitebass, 2 sheepsheads, a tiny walleye and a skanky little sturgeon.

Not only was the fishing terrible on what looked to be a perfect walleye fishing day (nice chop, overcast, ect), but I was practically stroking off inconsiderate assholes all day. Was it that they thought that 14 foot of river my boat was taking up was the hottest spot in the river, or was it that there were 50 plus boats crammed into one little area that caused the problem? Since when is coming within 10 feet of another fisherman’s boat considered acceptable?

For me, fishing is a way to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, enjoy the beauty of nature and hopefully catch a few fish in doing so. If you want to experience the exact opposite of that, I recommend pool 4.

i agree…….pool 4 sux

Wow! Entirely contrary to my experiences out there. Oh well, I guess you have some good days, and then there’s the bad ones.

Can you tell us why there is a rope tied to the Sturgeon?

Wallace

I’m sure that pool #4 can be very intimidating for a newcomer. Lots of fisherman in close proximity to each other can really test ones patience.

I’ve been fishing this pool my whole life and have had very few problems with other boaters. I must say though that the bad attitude that you seem to be displaying is more a part of the problem than a part of the solution. I find it very discouraging that a fisherman, on his first trip to pool #4, would complain about the number of other fisherman on the water. Many of the other boaters have been fishing here for years. I don’t think you have the right to complain about them.

We learn to fish in close quarters around here. That is a fact of life. We learn good boat control. But most importantly of all, we learn to have a good atitiude and to show a little respect and decency for the others using this waterway. When we learn these things everything works out just fine. Pissing and moaning about the other boaters does no good at all.

My two cents.

Gator Hunter

Well said Gator!

gator hunter said it all with this :

(I find it very discouraging that a fisherman, on his first trip to pool #4, would complain about the number of other fisherman on the water. Many of the other boaters have been fishing here for years. I don’t think you have the right to complain about them.

We learn to fish in close quarters around here. That is a fact of life. We learn good boat control. But most importantly of all, we learn to have a good atitiude and to show a little respect and decency for the others using this waterway. When we learn these things everything works out just fine. Pissing and moaning about the other boaters does no good at all).

I couldn’t agree more.

That fish also looks to be tagged…

Wasup w/this fish?

It takes a little getting used to I have to admit. I was out on Saturday with my future son-in-law. I am happy to add that we caught fish. If you think its croweded when your not catching anything wait till you start pulling in some decent fish. We had a spot all to ourself and caught 4 nice fish (eyes 18″ – 20″) and next thing you know we were dancing with 5 other boats. Everyone kept their boat under control and we just fished the spot till they stopped bitting. Which happened to be when everyone else got there.

First of all, Pool 4 wasn’t intimidating it was disappointing. I’ve been on many fishing excursions in the northwoods as well as in Canada and Pool 4 leaves much to be desired. I have no problem with numerous boats fishing in one area, what I do expect is that other fisherman respect the rights of the boats around them. I’ve been taught and have always believed in the unwritten rule that you don’t come within casting distance of another person’s boat. When I’m holding a spot with my trolling motor and another boater comes within 5 feet of the front of my boat, I’m going to “urine and moan.” If you’d prefer I can bank a spoon off the back of the old [Ooops, did I just say that out loud?!]’s head next time around.

I understand that a lot of people have been fishing this water for many years and I’m sure that is part of the problem. These particular old timers seemed to think they owned the water. Believe me, I follow all the rules of the water to try to help preserve the fishing population for future generations as well as behave in a manner that allows my fellow fisherman to enjoy their privacy.

The only purpose of my previous post was to inform others of the horrible boat traffic and poor fishing (on this occasion) in the “legendary” pool 4. While I don’t doubt some nice walleyes are caught there, I would much rather make the drive north and enjoy a peaceful day of fishing than go back to that zoo.

As for the picture of the fish I posted, that was obtained off of the web. I hadn’t developed the pics of the sturgeon my partner had caught yet, but this one looked very similar. Had never seen a fish that looked quite like it.

Oh yeah, second of all, pool 4 still sucks.

I have never fished pool 4. Just wait until those idiots get their tuna boats out. Those are the real problem. Just when you thought you didn’t need torpedoes or mines.

Lots of walleyes were caught last weekend. In fact so many that it took 53.5 lbs. to win first place in a two day tournament on pool 4. Now thats how I like to see pool 4 suck. Not to mention there was a bass tournament going on also. March and April are the most crowded months of the year on pool 4 as the fish are more concentrated than at any other time of the year. Same goes for any other pool on the river. Fishing close to other boats is a reality when there are so many boats in such a small area at this time of year. The rest of the year you will find the fish more scattered and as a result the fisherman will be more scattered too. Pool 4 is the biggest pool on the river as besides the river part above you have the Lake Pepin part which is large and also more river below Lake Pepin. Thus you have more fisherman. And then in the summer months you have all the pleasure boaters, waterskiers, etc. so there is alot of traffic. Popular place. If you would like to catch more fish then maybe you might want to consider hiring a guide like James Holst or one of the other guides in the area and they can show you the where, hows to and short cuts to learning the river spots for any possible future trips. Everts resort, right on the river, can set you up with a guide and a place to stay. There are different tactics for different parts of the year that take walleyes and other species of fish. They would be able to show you the best methods for the time period you are here. I hope your next trip finds you with alot more fish to show for your efforts and is a more enjoyable trip for you. I would like to welcome you to the site. Thanks, Bill

best…post…ever.

Wallace, maybe you would have better luck on Pool 4 if you fished back by “the line.”

I agree with these guys, why did you tie a rope around that sturgeon?

DOOSH DOOSH DOOSH BRBRBRBR BRBRRBRBR PANTHER BRBBRBRBR

Pool 4 is one of the best walleye fisheries in the world for numbers and size of fish available… all within an hour of Minneapolis / St. Paul. That said, Wallace is entitle to his opinion and his right to return to Canada for his walleye catching.

Since this thread is unlikely to offer anything of value to the readers I’m going to lock it up… and throw away the key.