Pool 4 Fishing Report

For all of you who are going out this weekend check out the latest fishing report at the Rochester Post Bulletin Newspaper, since I won’t be going . Please share your reports when you get back, if you would.

Or, you could read this thread or this thread. Real reports from real people who actually went fishing in the past few days.

Anytime I see someone claim a nearly 15 lb walleye, from Pepin in the middle of the summer, I start questioning their credibility.

I agree 14pd 11 oz eye is hard to believe this time of year.

I heard he caught it right down there were the unicorns go to water!

Heard he had an even bigger one on that he lost right at the boat ,too. I saw that and wondered where is that bait shop located at anyway? Never heard of it

Quote:

---

Anytime I see someone claim a nearly 15 lb walleye, from Pepin in the middle of the summer, I start questioning their credibility.

---

Jason isn’t that a 15 lb that you are holding in your last report, maybe not. I think I’ll go by any of the reports I see on this site.

Close Mark, that was just a baby at 11 lbs

That bait shop must be on Lake Tobin not Lake Pepin.

I usually catch a 15# evry Friday night. 15# x 16oz/lb = 240oz divided by 12oz per bottle = 20 beers. Yeah 15# are common. I may have had a few bigger ones but don’t remember many after about 10# worth.

For info on Dave’s bait and bullets check out this.

Last post.

I doubt Slayer meant to threaten IDA by posting a link to the PB’s report…

If there really was a 14#+ walleye caught, I’d love to see a picture! Of course, I’d be as surprised as anyone if one that big came out during the summer.

Sorry you can’t get out this weekend, Slayer. I’m sure you’ll find some reports next week about what you missed! I’d bet that this mini-cold front will slow them down a bit until it warms up.

This whole thing brings up a question I have had for a long time. Basically where do the big walleyes go in summer?? I’m sure they don’t go on vacation . Seriously if there are very large walleyes that are caught in the spring and early summer where the heck do they go in the hot weather? They still have to eat.

I think there are two interconnected issues regarding these large fish, especially the lake fish:

(1) There is an incredible amount of food in the lake now. Shad, YOY stripers and sheephead. It’s hard for a SR5 to compete with all that chow. There are giant balls of bait most everywhere in the lake now…enough to darken your entire locator screen.

(2) I think that most people ignore that a significant fraction of these larger predators suspend in the summer. The reason that we don’t contact large #s of them is that they are not relating tightly to structure (drop-offs, humps, etc) like they are earlier in the year. So, if you want to catch them, you end up trolling a grid around the lake until you contact a few. But, there’s a lot of lake out there, so it takes time to find them!

Fish can’t suspend in the current, however, and those resident fish in the river still gotta eat. Those two issues make the river fish easier to locate and to catch, IMHO, than the lake fish as the summer wears on.

The other thing to consider, airpart, is that big, female walleyes are significantly heavier in the winter/spring when they’re filled with spawn. A fish that weighs 10# in March could weigh 7-8# right now.

Thanks for the answer. A very intelligent well thought out response. It does make sense. I only wish that I could get up there and try for the suspended eyes, my only fishing this summer is suburban Chicago park district ponds with my 4 year old granddaughter. Actually that has been as much fun as catching big eyes!