POOL 12

Going out Monday finally for the 1st time this year.What kind of walleye bite should I expect?

It has been tough for me. Have not pulled up an eye or a sauger yet this year down here. I have not been fishing all that much either. How did you do?

I fished the lower end of pool 12 Sunday for awhile caught a few gills a cat and a short walleye,walleye was caught on a mini mite and piece of crawler.Now that is what you call finnesse fishing I guess.I didn’t get to fish any wingdams like I wanted to I was still getting the bugs worked out of my new (used boat).Iwas surprised to have caught a walleye on such light of tackle behind wood in the middle of a running slough.But it made me I got my 1’st eye of the year on the 1’st trip to the river this year,it’s only going to get better

The pool 12 walleye bite has been great during the month of May. We fished Saturday, Sunday and Monday and did well all 3 days. There are lots of bigger fish in the protected slot to be caught. Many in the 24″ to 25″ range. You have to put them back but they are a blast to catch and make for some interesting photos. I did go out last evening (Wednesday) and the bite had all but died from Monday. I attribute this to the full (blue) moon which means a better middle of the day bite. On Monday most of the fish I caught were before 5 pm. After that the bite slowed considerably. Last night I was only able to muster up one walleye and my buddy caught one big sheepy. I’m hoping to get out this coming weekend as I have both days off to fish or whatever.

Eyehunter

Ended up last Monday w/4 eyes in the boat all at the 13″ size. tried live rigs in AM wit no results and had our luck on cranks during the aftnoon.

I fished both Saturday and Sunday dodging raindrops. We did well on Saturday with 8 legal size walleyes making it to the livewell. On Sunday the bite seemed a little off from Saturday but we still managed to boat a few nice fish.
This weekend we fished a few mid-pool dams that I had not yet taken the time or gas to visit this year. Our biggest fish of the weekend was a 24-3/4″ fish taken on Sunday.

Eyehunter

Nice report Eyehunter! how are you catching them?

Andy,

Most of the fish we caught this past weekend took the long line on a 3-way DBQ rig tipped with a crawler. Up until this weekend it seemed a good 50% or better of the fish were hitting the drop jig. Crankbaits are also working but I did not fish them this past weekend.

I fish pool 12 at DBQ at least 3 times a week or more during May and June. This is the time to get out an catch numbers of walleye that you only find in the spring. I don’t keep most of the fish I catch but this year it would be a challenge to catch a limit of legal size fish because of all the slot fish in the river. It is not unusual to catch 2 to 3, 20″ plus fish in an evening of fishing and many of those 20″ plus fish have been in the 22″ to 26″ range. They are fighters when they get that big. I’m convinced the protected slot limit is working here on pool 12. There should be lots of 7 to 10 Lb fish in this pool in a few years.

Eyehunter

I should’ve known it was the dbque rig. thanks for the report. i would love to give it a shot this weekend as i’m going there for a wedding. probly not a great idea…

Sorry I haven’t been on line in a couple days. I almost always work the upstream side of the wingdams. It is the upstream face and top of the wingdams that the most actively feeding walleyes will be located. Sometimes they can be found all along the upper side and top of a dam. Other times you will find them in breaks on the dam or out on the ends of the dams. They tend to get out of the current in the deeper water behind the dams when they are not actively feeding. I position my boat above the dam and work it back and forth keeping my drop jig either on the bottom base of the dam or slightly out in front of the dam. My longline will wash up on the face or top of the dam. The only time of the year that I’ll work below a dam is in the late winter/early spring when I’ll work the edges of the channel. Walleyes sometimes stack just below the outside end of wingdams at this time of the year. I vertical jig or cast jigs for these fish. Spring and early summer means 3-way DBQ rigs or casting cranks which is when I work the upstream side of the dams.

I only made it out once this week. Made it out on Wendesday evening with a buddy. We fought the heavy south wind. Only managed 3 walleyes and 2 of them were under 15″. Missed several bites though. It was one of my worst night out in a while. I’m hoping to hit it this weekend probably both Saturday and Sunday mornings if the fishing Gods will allow it.

Eyehunter

My youngest daughter has to go to a wedding tonight here in DBQ. She is more than likely going to stay with a friend tonight as well which is why I’ll be able to hit the water early tomorrow morning! I’m hoping that it is not too-windy or choppy as my lower back is a tad bit tender as of late. I have a buldging disk and a ruptured disk in my lower spine that sometimes become inflamed for one reason or another. These are part of the injuries I suffered in a car/semi accident almost 9 years ago. It has not bothered me for a long time but this past week has made up for it. Sitting in the front of the boat running the trolling motor on a day with lots of waves and wake is not good when my back is this tender. I’m sure I’ll survive.

Eyehunter

Eyehunter,

I also fish a lot of wingdams using Dubuque rigs just as you describe. For my longline I typically use 8 lb Trilene XT with a #4 Octopus hook and bait it with a fathead, leech, or crawler. My long line is typically about 42-48″ long. My dropper line to the jig is typically 12 lb Maxxum that’s about 10 – 13″ long. In your experience, how critical is the length and diameter of your long line, and the hook size?

Last summer one day my buddy out fished me about 5:1 and the only thing I could see that we was doing different was he was using a longer long line (about 5.5 – 6 ft.) made from 14 lb Vanish and a #6 Octopus hook. He thinks the invisibility of the Vanish fluorocarbon makes the difference but I tend to believe that the real reason was the thicker diameter line (about 0.013″ vs. 0.010″)and perhaps heavier weight of the Vanish was causing the long line to run along the wingdam in a different location. Perhaps the thicker diameter caused it to be washed up the face of the wing dam higher (or perhaps lower). Several years ago I was fishing with my dad on Pool 12 and I was out-fishing him about 7:1 catching short walleyes until he switched from a #1 octopus hook to a #4. We just switched long lines and he started catching them and I stopped catching them.

Any thoughts on hook color or beads above the hook? I often add a single red bead above the hook.

Thanks,

Boone

I’m usually trolling cranks or casting them and my luck varies greatly. lately i’ve been trying live bait but just dont trust that I,m doing it right.With the Dbq rig is a 5/8 jig heavy enough or should I go bigger? Not real good but sure love getting out their

Saldydog,

If the boat is moving very slow, a 5/8 oz might be heavy enough depending on the current and water depth. A 3/4 oz or even a 1 oz jig might be better choice with the flow rate we have right now. Basically if you can maintain good bottom contact (i.e. bounce the jig along the bottom) with a line angle of 45 degrees or less entering the water, your jig is heavy enough.

If you start near shore and slowly troll your way across the upstream face of the wing dam towards the channel, generally you’ll have to move the boat slightly farther upstream from the wing dam in order for the jig to continue to bounce along the front base of the wing dam. If you’re occasionally tapping rock but not getting snagged excessively, you’re doing it about right.

It really helps if you can see the ripple line created by the wing dam. The ripple line is most pronounced when there is an upstream breeze.

Good Luck,

Boone

Boone,

I typically use 8Lb mono for my long line, usually Trilene XL but recently I’ve been using some super mono (Fluorocarbon) and so far I like it. The length of my long line or leader is usually about 6 feet in length. This allows my long line to wash up on the upper face or top of the wingdam I am fishing. I usually put one small orange plastic bead on it to give it a little more buoyancy. I use a No. 2 Ocotpus hook. A No. 4 is too-small and too-easy to pull right out of the fish’s mouth when trying to set the hook.
When determining the length of your long line try not to let it exceed the length of the pole you are using. I typically will use a 6’8″ baitcaster when working a 3-way. The long line can’t exceed the length of the pole or you will find it difficult getting the fish to the surface to net it because you can’t reel in past your 3-way swivel.

The bite on pool 12 was slow on Saturday morning. The high pressure must have shut the bite down as we only managed a couple short saugers and a couple small walleyes. I waited to go back out until yesterday (Sunday) afternoon and found a much improved walleye bite. I caught 4 fish in excess of 21″, one 17″ walleye and 2 or 3 14-1/2″ walleye as well as a 4 Lb flathead and a channel cat also in the 4 Lb range. I ran into a buddy and he had 5 fish over 20″ but only one legal size fish. I caught all my fish on the 3-Way DBQ rig except for the last 22″ fish which took a jointed shad rap while I was casting a shallow area on the inside of a wingdam. Tonight is Monday Night Fishtogether (Summer version of Monday Night Football) so I’m looking forward to popping a few hefty walleyes.

Eyehunter

Hot days Hot eyes.Got out Saurday 9 eyes in the boat.This doesnt happen to me. 1 legal 3 over 20″ 1 at 24.5″ and a nice fish.Tried Dbq rig w/no luck and went to trolling wallydivers and bombers.Caught most fish forward trolling and near the channel.What a Day! My youyngest boy(20)caught (the biggest) and remarked that he finally knew what it felt like to be me and he was surprized to see me fish like him.Again what a day!!

I fished on pool 12 this past Saturday morning and did quite well. I ended up with 4 legal size walleyes, a 21″ a 24″ and a 25″ walleye as well as a couple short fish. My buddy didn’t fair quite as well with one legal and a couple short fish but everybody has off days. He was getting bit but just wasn’t able to get good hook sets. Most of the fish took the crawler on a 3-way DBQ rig but I did pop a couple nice eaters pulling jointed shad raps in front of a long wingdam.

I went up to pool 10 on Sunday and fished with my dad up in the Lynxville area. We pulled onto a good looking wingdam and I popped a 4Lb northern right away followed by a 16-1/2″ walleye. Both hit the drop jig on my DBQ rig. Then my dad’s trolling motor battery died and we were forced to use his big motor to work the dams for a while but did not locate any more walleyes. Then my dad wanted to catch a bunch of little bluegills for his garden ponds so we threw out the anchor. He caught a good dozen gillies while I tossed a crank. I caught all kinds of fish casting the crank. Several bass, a few nice stripers and another 4Lb northern. It was really nice to spend father’s day fishing with my dad.

Eyehunter

I was just wondering about the 3-way rig, do you guys cast to the front face of the dams, staying out 20 feet or so, or do you vertical jig the rig slowly working the front edge of the dam, or do you troll the rig along the front face of the dam. Thanks for the help.

w4383, I’ve done pretty much all of the things you mentioned, but when 3-waying I almost always “slip” across the face of the dam and around the end with my trolling motor. Casting 3 ways with crawlers can be very frustrating!