Where’d they go???

OK all you “pool 4 river-rat-fishin’-everyday-dudes” (you know who you are!)… where did all those walldads and sandpike go? I was down on Pepin last evening and fished all the ususal points/locations that produced fish over the last few weeks and NODDA….. NOTHIN’!!! Pretty much got the same report from a couple other buddies who gave ‘er a try yesterday in the p.m. as well. I only had time to fish for a couple hours, and just couldn’t locate (the lowrance was dreadfully void of marks) anything in that time. I’m gonna hypothesize that this infernal heat wave has relocated the wolf packs into either more current or deeper water. Any helpful tips or hints would be greatly appreciated for my next evening out.

Birdboy out….

Birddieboy,

I think this one is a “locked in the vault” topic. Not to say people aren’t willing to share info, but if what your saying is true, I would imagine others are struggling as well. I guess it’s time to switch gears a little eh? A little search and (pop-fzzzzzzz) and destroy!!!! JIm w

Ya, Head for the Mountains……………….

dont know about pool 4, Ive not been down there this summer…. pool 3 was going yesterday…. in 5-7 feet, still in the backwaters…. you want my guess? with the river dropping… they are most likely on the move…. I would check out the wing dams below pepin, they should be going…… on the lake guess as the water clears maybe I would try moving UP lake to murkier water… and maybe try deeper…. pull cranks move faster, cover water… find the fish……

but Im NOT one of your pool 4/pepin experts…. thats just what I would try…..

oh…. and I would be working WINDY shorline points.. they are usually good for something, anywhere Ive ever fished for eyes….

Hey all,

I’ll be making an “official report” for the home page shortly but both Dustin and I have given out the “secret solution” to getting back on fish on pool 4 over the last week in the forum. DON’T fish the lake right now. Not unless you think dozens of shorties and an outside chance at a handful of decent fish are what you’re looking for. Yup, its easy and user friendly to fish the lake but the bite has switched to the river sections to the north and south of the lake. Don’t know why. Doesn’t really matter. The fishing’s been very good to the north and south. Work current edges, eddies, and wingies to get on nice fish. Stay shallow. Less than 7 feet deep. We had a bunch of nice walleye out of Wabasha yesterday…. the SMALLEST walleye went about 18″ and we also scared up a couple mongo smallies while walleye fishing with one specimen WAY over 4 lb’s. Jigs, rigs, cranks…. it will all work. Just forget about the lake for now if you really want to catch a ton of nice fish.

Leeches have outperformed crawlers for me.

Jigs better than rigs.

Cranks better than ANYTHING else! Shad Raps… #7’s.

Hope this helps.

James Holst

Moving Waters Guide Service

http://www.movingwaters.net

Agreed! This is what I am finding in “3” also. Moving water in my opinion carries more oxygen than slack. This time of year, moving, cooler, well oxygenated water is the ticket. Water surface temps are up above 80 deg., moving water is seeming to run about 3 deg cooler. I think that’s all it takes. It’s holding the baitfish as well. Cranks work well here.

Thanks guys!!! The river it is! It sure was nice not having to battle the current (aka “user friendly”) on the Lake, but it ain’t much fun not catchin’ either! I will give the moving water a go on Wednesday. So have you guys noticed the fish have a preference to trolling cranks upstream or down?

Bird out!

I was in Tuck’s turf yesterday and we had better numbers trolling the cranks upstream. However, fish were boated from both directions. We also found that sometimes a little “stop and go” on the crank would trigger a bite as well.

Birdboy

I’ve not been trolling. Casting only for me lately so I can’t comment. I love it when a big walleye inhales a crank when you’re casting in current. Sudden stop…. followed by a series of wide, slow head shakes!

James Holst

Moving Waters Guide Service

http://www.movingwaters.net

Oh BEHAVE!!! You’re driving me crazy! YAAAHHH BABY!!! Big head shakes!!!

Thanks for the info guys. I’m going out in pool 7 (Trempealeau to Dresbach) tomorrow. Throwing crankbaits on wing dams is one of my specialties. If I get a wild hair I might truck up to pool 5 as some of my favorite big fish wing dams are just below Alma. I let you know how I did. I’m beginning to really appreciate this site. :>)