I was wondering how the fishing has been around pool 11/12? Planning on fishing Thurs night and am wondering if I should wait until day to fish or not? Any suggestions and/or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time for your time and consideration. You may PM if you like. Thanks again, Jeweler
I fish night alot on pools 8 and 9. Most my larger eyes come from the dark 
I have been out bye 2am the last couple of weekends picking up some eyes in the 14-19″ range. Not the pig I am looking for but it will happen. They seem to be starting about 1hr before the first hint of light. My past experience has taught me as the water warms the earlier the bite starts before day break. The best part with fishing nights, no boat traffic to stir things up.
Good luck fishing 
Jeweler,
I haven’t been out on pool 12 since last Sunday and then for only a couple hours. I have talked to a few people that have been out this week and the bite has been tough. The river is rising once again and looks to come up another 3 feet or so before the crest. It is cresting up around the LaCrosse area whch means we will have a good week yet of rising waters. Just hope that our friends to the north don’t get a ton of rain for a while. There have been a few walleye caught during the day in off current areas near spawning areas but they are few and far between from what I have heard. As far as the night bite goes I wouldn’t have a clue. The moon is almost in the new phase. My experience with night fishing is that I have had the best luck when the moon is in or close to the full phase but that is just my experience.
Don’t let me stop you from going out at night. There are plenty of shallow rip rap areas and lower-current wingdams to explore that should hold feeding walleye at night. The sauger bite has just died over the past couple of weeks although there have been a few caught from shore up by the lock wall at Dubuque.
If you do get out let us know how you end up doing. Just be careful as the current is fast and getting stronger every day. Lots of debris floating down with the rising water which could make night time navigation a challenge. The gates are still down on the dam at DBQ but I understand they raised them last week at Guttenberg, Lynxville, and on up the river. They don’t raise the gates at the DBQ dam very often like they do at other dams.
I have the upcoming weekend fairly free but I doubt if I will be chasing walleyes because of the river conditions. I might try for a few crappies in a couple backwater clean sandpits. With the record setting warm temps these sandpits might have warmed enough to get the crappies going.
Eyehunter
Thanks guys. I appreciate the info. I will talk it over with my fishing partner and see what we come up with. If we do decide to go, I will let you know monday(soonest I will have access to internet). Thanks again and keep up the good posts! 
For what it is worth, when I lived in Winona I sometimes got into good night bites for walleye and sauger. I did so pre-spawn, post-spawn, and summer.
If there was a definite pattern to when a night bite was going to be good, I didn’t find it. Sometimes it was bad on low water, and good on high water, or good after a cloudy day, and bad after a sunny day–sometimes the reverse. 
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. Sometimes it was bad on low water, and good on high water, or good after a cloudy day, and bad after a sunny day–sometimes the reverse.
What????????? 
Is the float over by Dubuque open at night? I have heard of night fishing up on the Lynxville float and that sometimes that bite is pretty fair to good.
You’re right, eyehunter. Flows well upstream of us are near 100,000 CFS. I’m gonna spend most of my free time doin’ yard work and trying to get some beets and peas planted this weekend. I might head to Lake Macbride and see what’s going on over there with the crappies with my oldest boy, its just 15 minutes from the house and the motor restrictions are not in effect yet. This $2.19/gallon gas crap is gonna keep me close to the house even if my wife doesn’t… 
Regards,
Joe
Flows at DBQ exceeded 100,000 CFS yesterday and the river is within 3-1/2′ of flood stage. My dad told me last night that the river is supposed to crest at Prairie du Chien today which means we are still a couple days away. Luckily the rain that fell last night didn’t get much further north than DBQ. It was not a heavy rain where I live but there were pockets of heavier rain here and there. What fell at my house soaked right in. The forcast says that it will be dry in the upper Mississippi basin area for the next several days so hopefully once we get a crest the river will fall and I can get out and find a few post spawn walleye.
I have fished Macbride for crappies several times in the spring. Those fish never seem to shut off. We did very good down there a couple years in a row right after ice out. It is the only place I have ever seen crappies swimming on the surface on their sides. We figured they were doing this because the top few inches of water must have been warmer. That was the best explanation we could come up with. Consider yourself lucky on the $2.19 gas. We have been paying $2.229 in DBQ for a week now. I know I won’t be straying too-far from home. Luckily I live only 6 or 7 minutes from the closest boat ramp and I never need to go very far in the boat to find fish.
Eyehunter
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Quote:
. Sometimes it was bad on low water, and good on high water, or good after a cloudy day, and bad after a sunny day–sometimes the reverse.
What?????????
I suppose I could have worded that better. 
I was trying to be brief. What I meant was that sometimes after a sunny day, the night bite was good. Sometimes after a sunny day, the night bite was non-existent. Sometimes after a cloudy day I found a good night bite, and sometimes after a cloudy day it was terrible. I also never found any relation between a full moon or new moon and a good night bite for walleye on the river, either. That is not to say there isn’t one, but it wasn’t clearly the deciding factor.
Gas here $2.35, you guys are getting away easy! 
As far as I know it is open at night. I have seen people still fishing off of it a couple of weeks ago when it was dark. Well I know it sounds weak, but if it does not rain or have 100 mph wind I believe we are going to try it tonight. Anymore advice? THanks. Jeweler
Jeweler,
The only advice I can give you is to enjoy yourselves but be careful. I admire your attitude when it comes to getting out come hell or high water. The mark of a true sportsman for certain.
Eyehunter
Thanks. I will let you know how I do on Mon. Thanks for the advice everyone and be safe!
Night fishing can be very dangerous especially when the water level is rising… I would not advise going out at night it is not worth the risk/reward… It is dark out there rocks and woods cold, snags ” Its all bad “
Mavzer Lives 
Sorry been REALLY busy lately. Did not get to report back about the night fishing. Everything went smoothly except for the fish cooperation. It was an awesome night out and managed to snag a redhorse on accident.
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Night fishing can be very dangerous especially when the water level is rising… I would not advise going out at night it is not worth the risk/reward… It is dark out there rocks and woods cold, snags ” Its all bad ”
……………………………………………………………cold, windy…..trees, bugs…..rain…..snags…..can’t see…..casted on shore….. …I repeat…” “IT’S ALL BAD” How is our buddy “minnow” doing? I’m sure it’s “bad”!!! Welcome back Mavzer!
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