LaCrosse help!!!

My folks just got a permanent site at Pettibone Resort/Campground near LaCrosse. I plan on spending some time there this summer, and was wondering if anyone had some info. as to where I could take my dad out for some walleye fishing. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

THERE ARE PLENTY OF WING DAMS UP AND DOWN THE RIVER FROM THERE AND ALSO IN THE WEST CHANNEL THAT THE RESORT IS IN, NOTE IF YOU GO NORTH IN THAT CHANNEL BE CAREFUL OF THE CLOSING DAMS ON THE NORTH END.I’M NOT EVEN SURE HOW TO GET THROUGH THEM TO GET TO THE MAIN CHANNEL, GOING SOUTH FROM THE RESORT THEY HAVE THAT CHANNEL MARKED FOR THE ISLAND GIRL BOAT CRUISE’S.

GOOD LUCK AND THIS IS A GREAT AREA TO FISH, AND DON’T FORGET THE SMALLMOUTH IN THE AREA THEY ARE ON A TEAR NOW.

Thanks alot! Will have to start there- do you normally use live bait around wing dams?

ALSO, I FORGOT TO PUT THIS IN MISS. RIVER MAP

BE PATIENT THIS TAKES A LOOOOONG TIME TO LOAD.

LIVE BAIT WORKS BUT YOU WILL SEE ALOT OF PEOPLE ON THIS SITE USE RING WORMS AND SUCH , I USE ALOT OF THEM WITH GREAT SUCCESS,YOU WILL GET MANY TIPS FROM HERE AND GOOD LUCK , I WOULD GIVE YOU SOME TIPS NOW BUT I HAVEN’T BEEN OUT FOR OVER A MONTH BECAUSE OF A FAMILY SITUATION (LOST MY MOTHER) WE WILL TALK IN THE FUTURE.

You can use live bait or artificials on the wing dams. One of my favorite ways to catch Eyes is to anchor above the wing dam and cast cranks right over the top of them. You’d be surprised at some of the fish you catch. I’ve had Walleyes follow the crank like a Musky and hit right at the surface. How many times in your life have you seen Walleyes before they hit (especially on dirty river water).

You can cast crawlers, leaches, minnows or willow cats at the faces of wing dams too. I like to cast small jigs with ringworms in front of the dams too.

Just experiment and find what works for you, everybody seems to have a different approach to fishing wing dams. Most catch fish. Give them a try, you shouldn’t be dissapointed.

P.S. The wing dams directly next to Pettibone have produced many fish for me in the last few years. That would be a good place to start.

So sorry to hear that-a death in the family is never a good experience. I’ll use what tips you’ve given me so far. Thanks again- I’ll let you know how we do.

If you are new to the Mississippi River the best advice I can give you is hire a guide for a day. You will always catch fish, but during mid-summer your best bet is to learn from the pro guides. Or, if you plan to start fishing soon hire a guide for 1/2 a day, perhaps now and in mid-summer.

Finally, I am not a guide, live north of Milwaukee, WI. and after having fished the Mississippi since the late 1950’s, know a GOOD guide can be invaluable.

My favorite way to fish the river starts about now, until late summer. We usually troll deep diving crankbaits in relatively shallow sloughs, 5-12 feet deep. usually, they have sand or some type of hole or structure that is attracting the walleyes. We usually do quite well. Right now, we have been getting good amounts of eyes down at goose island in front of the swim beach trolling cranks. No mammas, but you can fill a limit easily. I agree with Garvi, check out the bass first!

Bass?!? Come on guys- I want to catch something that fights, like a walleye, NOT a bass!!LOL!!

Pool 8 is large. You will never cover it in a year or years
Wing dams will produce fish all year long. As Cade said, the sloughs will be hot this time of year also. I like trolling crank baits and pulling crawler harnesses this time of year.

Hope to see you on the water!
Bret

Bret,

I knew I couldn’t be the only guy pulling harnesses here. I’ve seen very few others pull them on 8. I’ve lived and fished here my whole life. I usually troll cranks upstream then pull harnesses downstream. Have you had much success trolling harnesses upstream? I’m from Rockland, we should compare notes some time.

Pulling crawlers this time of year can be a hoot. I will pull them up and down stream in the sloughs to find what the fish want. I think it depends on what they want for action from the spinner. A fast spin against the current or a slower spin with the current.
I also like pulling them along wing dams, you never know what is going to smack a crawler

I picked up a bunch of pencil weights when I was at a tourney last year in Oshkosh. These are great for trolling rigs on the river. I’d rather lose a $.25 pencil weight than a bottom bouncer and a harness. I think the only reason I don’t troll them upstream so much is because I never had a kicker or a bow mount set up for trolling that slow. Now I have a 9.9 and a decent bow mount and could probably get away with it.

You know what kind of results you get from trolling them upstream at 2+ mph with a 1-1/2 oz bottom bouncer.

finman-Another option for learning the water is to ask some of us for an open seat. I have met many members on here by doing exactly that. I have also shared my boat with members. A lot of that happens with members of IDA I fish mostly walleye, but also bass, panfish, and dabble in cats. When you get down here, let us know. Pettibone is a nice campground and very well kept

Man, why use a bottom bounce when you can increase your catch percentage 3 fold using a 1-2 oz dropper with plastic or a cat when pulling harnesses?

Where to start, I suggest you start with the wingdams right outside pettibone first. Pull those harnesses, cranks what ever you’re fancy in front of them and you will catch fish. Then try all other dams on the pool and you will find the ones that consistantly produce the big mommas that your looking for. As you can see, there is to much traffic on this site to get into specific dams, I will leave that up to you, but there are definately a handfull of them that consistantly procude 6-10lb fish yearly for myself.

Goose, STAY OUT OF THERE TOO, there are no fish down in there. All I can say when you fish there, fish the TIMBER! Pull those cranks through that stuff and you will be supprised.

I don’t blame you for not wanting to fish for the Green Grass Carp either. This is coming from a converted, I hate to admit it, bass fisherman.

Good luck and have fun doing it.

Tolden

I went to college at UW-LaCrosse and fondly remember hitting the Bikini Yacht Club docks to fish for giant smallmouth. Tiny 1/8 oz tube jigs fished slowly along the rocks around the dock pilings and rip-rap shoreline WILL yield 4+ lb smallmouth.

Ignore the bikini girls and the beer and you’ll be rewarded.

Boys just got back from fishing Goose Island didn’t even need to take a shower got at least four or five a day. Sad to say with the high water the eyes were few and far between current was so fast and with the floating debris the crank and crawler trolling didn’t produce like last year caught the bigger eyes on ringworms. Alot of small saugers on the cranks. I don’t feel bad spoke to the DNR shocking crew in the afternoon and they had only shocked two eye’s all day!!!
If those big sheeps and big green mean smallies were eyes it would have been sweeeeet!
Fished the barge (Genoa)one day with the father in law lots of sheeps, 20+ sturgeon a couple of cats saw only three eyes but they were in the 20’s. The west shore was giving up alot of gills. Chippman