best chance to catch a HOG

so what do you guys think. where would be the best chance for some to catch a HOG this spring? i’d consider anything 8+ pounds to be a true hog.

which pool would you suggest? 2, 3, 4, 5,…? i know i’ve seen a lot of pictures of big ones coming off 4 the last couple weeks. do you think that would be the best, or maybe somewhere with not such a high profile?

i have yet to catch a fish over 6 pounds and would really like to hook into one this spring. so any tips would also be appreciated. (time of day, bait, depth, ect.)

Sounds like Pool 2 is kicking out some nice fish right now. You should read DeeZee’s latest report, and use his advice. From what he has told me, there is a small window of opportunity to get into BIG fish… and I think that window is NOW!
From the sounds of it, a ringworm on a light jighead can be the ticket! Leave the live stuff at home.

Only being familiar with pools 2,3 and 4, I would say they all have great potential for hogs. I think more importantly is where to fish within each pool at given times of the year. At this time of year, the large females are staging for the spawn, and are often looking for easy meals in areas where they don’t have to fight alot of current and expend alot of energy. These areas may or may not hold large numbers of fish, but getting just one hog can often make up for slow fishing. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Usually, it’s a pretty good rule of thumb that if you are catching numbers of smaller fish you probably aren’t in the right location for a true piggie.

Never having been above Lock and Dam 3 I would say the bigger fish that I have seen over many years of fishing the river come out of pool 4 walleye and sauger. But like anywhere else you can still come home empty handed.

Jake,

Pool 2 has a good bite for big fish right now as Rippinpigs mentioned. The fish are in a pre-spawn staging area right now, this bite will last about 2 weeks for big fish and then the males move in this area while the females continue on with their cycle and relocate slightly. Quite q few fish reported from 6-10# with a couple over the 10# mark in the last couple of days.

Pool 9, Pool 9, and Pool 9 would be my first three picks.