With all the talk of Saugerama and hearing that many people are or were fishing up by Everts and the dam and yet little to no reports. 
I am looking to get over there in the following weeks starting with next Wed. and was wondering if any patterns are developing? Any depths better than others? How’s the 3-way bite? thanks
Ah heck Joe, everyone is sick of hearing pool 4 reports. 
The 3 way bite with cranks is becoming more n more reliable as the water temps lower.Depths vary like always depending on flow,stage,daylight,and the baitfish present.Speed can be a huge factor as well.
The plastic bite really took a step forward this week as well.B-fish pro-blue and purple chart were go to colors the past couple cloudy days. Oyster and firecracker were better on the bright days. 
To be honest about everything is working right now. The plastics bite is sketchy yet but as water temps drop that will change shortly. 3 way and livebait or stickbaits either one is working. I think the vertical jigging bite is there too it is just no one is using it. The guys anchored up on the sand drowning minnows are catching fish. Best depth for us was around 20 feet give or take a couple feet. We caught plenty of fish every day last Wednesday through Saturday—just not the right fish on Saturday. Now is the time to hit the river and I think it will get nothing but better the next couple of weeks. With all that being said if you are a Pool 4 rookie please do not come expecting to fill the boat with fish. Pool 4 does have a learning curve and there were people there every day last week struggling to catch decent fish. The fish are there right now but it is called fishing and not catching for a reason It is a great time of year to work on techniques and presentations because your bait will be in front of fish—to get them to bite is up to you
Good read Rich I’d also like to ad to that. The blade bait bite is going very well also. The guys who took 1st on saturday were anchored up pitching blades and it paid off for them very well.
While I was pre-fishing on friday I found the walleye bite to be on fire. I boated nice walleyes in “almost” every piece of water that I fished and not one of those eye’s was under 18″, couldnt catch a sauger to save my life though that was a great day. I also got into a batch of slab crappies last friday pitching blades to a NICE current seam.
Stop by Everts and see what colors are working best
thanks for all the info fellas. I was looking for something to feed my craving as I haven’t been able to get on the water for a few months with the birth of my 2nd son and extra work. I always enjoy getting on THE RIVER and have had some good days the past couple of NOV’s. I am looking forward to trying some new techniques and honing others. 3-ways will be our starting point and go from there.
Speaking of crappies, we got some real nice white crappies down there last NOV (12-13″). I hope to find some of those as well.
We’ll be by Everts eary next wed morning.
thanks again and keep em coming.
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Ah heck Joe, everyone is sick of hearing pool 4 reports.
We Yoopers never get tired of those Deano!
3-Ways is a great starting point as you can cover water & find areas you might want to specifically target pitching later.Learning the water as you go!This is how I started fishing P4,by covering lots of water, watching & learning new spots as I moved along.Have a ton more of water to cover so I will fish it whenever I get a chance! Tommorrow I am thinking sounds good. Hey I have a chance,rain or shine make the best of it & enjoy the day on the water. 
Catching fish would be just a bonus. Best of luck fishing! WHITE TIP
pool 4 rookie here making first trip next weekend for a couple days, now you guys are scaring me 
mostly fish pools 9&10 for eyes mainly with hair jigs, sounds like I may need to add to my tackle supply as well as learning a few new techniques maybe I’ll learn something new this trip hope it quits raining by then 
Even with the miserable weather today,the bite was phenomenal!
You should have a great trip!
Don’t panic there Chippee. If you are a good hair jig guy you will do fine. The hair bite seems to work most of the winter—sometimes they like them with meat and sometimes without. The plastic bite should take off gangbusters soon and if you can fish hair you can fish plastics. This time of year is definitely fun on the river. I am headed down in the morning for a couple of days so I will know more by Sunday evening.
you’ll be the first to know how we do Dean as we have reservations with you on the 1st and 2nd, looking forwards to meeting you and hopefully some other ido ers see ya that sun morn. 
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Even with the miserable weather today,the bite was phenomenal!
You should have a great trip!
Yes it was good today I had fun!
what size 3-way dropper weights have you boys been useing lately?
Depends on the flow…2 to 4 oz…Right now 2-3oz
Joe, I pulled 4 oz weights today and whacked and stacked a pile of fish.
48 degree water temps and the 3-way and crank bite is on!
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Joe, I pulled 4 oz weights today and whacked and stacked a pile of fish.
48 degree water temps and the 3-way and crank bite is on!
Holy smokes that’s a hand full. How deep are your running?
I was running anywhere from 15-30′ deep.
I prefer to fish fast….1 mph or so….and pick off the active fish. Doing so requires extra weight.
If I were fishing slower, I know I could get by with less weight.
Jason is right on. Heavier weights let you move quickly to find active fish. Usually this is done with the rods in the holders.
I have been out quite a bit in the last week and have used nothing heavier than 2.5 ozs. on any rod in my boat and only 1.5 on the one I hold. Keep in mind I am fishing specific spots and am doing more hovering and sliding versus trolling.
Two presentations that are very alike and very effective but used two different ways.
Good to see you yesterday Marty.
When I think “Marty Hahn”, I think, “master of the 3-way and crank presentation”.
I probably don’t slow down and hover as much as Marty does, but like anything that we do, there are certainly times when a more methodical presentation is what is needed to put fish in the boat. I tend to start fast (1 mph) and then work my way slower until I find the right speed to keep the rods bending. Yesterday, I caught a slug of fish between 0.8 and 1.0 mph….so I stayed in that range until I quit at dark. If I made a pass over a fishy spot without any action at that speed, I would definitely slow down and keep those baits in their faces longer in order to provoke a strike.
I was out 3 of the past 4 days spending about half of the time trolling 3 ways an cranks an agree with Marty. I used on average 2 ounce sinkers for in the rod holder and my speed was 0.0-0.4 at the top speed. Most times the speed i was reading was from me sliding left to right on the edge of the current seam itself. Lots of fish to be had out there colors seemed to change hourly depending if the sun decided to peak its head out.
Blade bite was pretty decent for us yesterday after having an anchor issue Although I did have a heck of a time keeping them hooked up yesterday for some odd reason? 
Brought home a meal of a mixed bag of eyes and saugerslast night and plan to be back this week to play around with some more!
Stop in to see Deano down at Everts an pay attention to what he has on the counter he has them laying there for a reason and no need to call and ask about the bite it is on and will be for a while!
Marty has really been putting on a clinic the last few days. I watched his boat work over the sauger and he is the master at 3 waying stick baits. The plastic bite is starting to take off and vertical jigging paddletails will put fish in the boat.
I’m hopefully heading down this weekend instead of chasing roosters.
Is there an advantage to using three-ways versus a bottom bouncer? Is it mainly so that if you snag you don’t have to replace the whole rig?
I think it is just a river thing. I actually ran a bottom bouncer last week and it worked fine but I did shorten the bottom wire up some. Out on Oahe I tried 3 ways and they didn’t catch fish near as well as bottom bouncers. In my feeble old mind they should have similar results but out there it sure made a difference. I wonder if it was because with teh clean water the weight kicked up more silt.
Marble, some of us cool cat guys have run three way bell sinkers and use a lighter test line on the weight. Snag up, sinker breaks off.
I know that the Mille Lacs guys don’t like dragging anything on the mud flats as it turns off the fish.
On a similar note… watching the saugers sit tightly to the bottom makes me think that a bait 3 inches or less from the bottom would be right in the saugers nose. Even if they aren’t actively feeding a person should get a reaction bite once in a while. If the bait runs higher than four inches, it’s going to be too far above the fish for it to grab.
Since I know nothing about walleye/sauger fishing, I’m open to correction.
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Since I know nothing about walleye/sauger fishing, I’m open to correction.
One inch above will not stop them from eating as most fish with eyes towards the top of there heads feed up.
And I’m not quite sure you are a member of the “Cool cat guys”
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