Pool 16 Saturday

I am going out this Saturday.
Anyone else going out?
Slip in at Sunset early morning.
Should be a good day on the water.

I’m leaving 4 am Friday morning for P14. Never been there before so maybe a little hard for a new comer. Either way good luck to ya.

Smack em, Smackem.

heading out as well…putting in at marquette and heading to the slough. you hitting the wingdams?

Can you give us a report when you get back? I can’t get out till next week.

Sure can.
Last weekend went out from Sunset. Went to the Slough, what a zoo. Opted to go downriver. Fished outside bend wingdams adjacent to either deep water, sloughs, bays. I think the eyes and saugs are preparing for winter quarters in the back bay areas, sand, gravel and clam beds (J. Pitlo, 1993 Survey).
Essentially trolled up staying in contact with the bottom.
Slip drifted 1- 3 foot of the bottom on the slip drift.
Most success was on the slip drift on the upside between 1 -3 feet.
Worked the upriver with three way and cranks on the edge of the wings. Slip drifted downriver with electric bow over the dams. Worked the upside of the wings also. Mainly used roundheads in chart, orange and gold. Tipped with Berk Gulp in 3 inch emerald shiners and chart/white minnows.
Caught a total mix of 10.
Caught 3 saugers. One on a crankbait, Reef Runner in orange back with yellow belly. Hitting bottom. My Humminbird showed fish tight to the bottom during the troll adjacent to the wind and channel and alot of active fish mid depth on the slip away from the channel edge. Two on jigs all on the upriver side of the wings. Caught 7 eyes. 2 were caught on the 3 way Dubuque rig. Chart 3/8 topside of 3 way was a hook and Berk Gulp emerald shiner. 2 were caught on flatlines. 3 were caught on slip drifted. Chart and orange was the jig color. Slip drift fish were in mid depth.
Just not enough time in the day. Glad the shortest day of the year is 3 wks away. Hope we have a mild winter. Really do not want to put the boat on jacks quite yet.
I have a snafu today. Might not be able to go out Sat more than likely on Sunday.
Will advise.
Do you guy monitor or modulate on a vhf channel?
When I fish on Lake Michigan they do. Just wondering. It is like a big family on the water there. I tried some of the fishing club scenes. Did like a few! Quad City In-Fisherman has some pretty good speakers and yearly outings.
As always keep your line wet and tight.
Out.

Thanks for the great report. I have a question for you. What do you mean by “Slip drift”?

Thanks

slip drift?
When you fish in a river with current you can allow your boat to “drift” with the current. For example. If the current is 6 mph the boat will drift with the current at 6 mph barring heavy winds. However when you slip drift you incorporate a bow mount electric trolling motor. It works like this. Again if the current is 6 mph you engage your electric trol. motor power to the setting needed to not drift with the current but less than the current.
For examply if the current is 6 mph you would drift at say 2-4 or 3-5 mph. This way you suspend over a spot, fish it thouroughly reduce your power setting drift find anothe area, increase your power setting to suspend fish, etc.
This works well but requires multitasking. Watching the electronics, jigging, varing the power setting. If that is to complex do it the old fashioned way anchor, slip line, secure the line, jig, slip line, secure the line, jig.
Hope that helps.

how’d you do. we got out at 1. nobody up around the slough had been having much success. wasn’t a zoo at least. about 7 or 8 boats in all. 4 boats out by the locks. we caught a few…some shorties and a few keepers..all saugers…all full of eggs…which hasn’t been the norm in the slough as of late. the females must be moving in. caught a 7lb’r 3 nights ago.

I made it out for a couple hours on Thursday and Friday, and although I caught fish both days, Friday was a lot more fun. The weather was pretty wicked on turkey day, but I managed to catch a 23 inch slot fish, 3 12-13 inch saugers and a couple 16-18 inch saugers(all released). Was only out there for about 3 hours due to the weather and a hangover that was starting to get the best of me. Friday I caught a few saugers up in sylvan at the dam, but the action kind of fell off, so I decided it was time for a change in tactics. Went out in front of the l&d for a short few, and then on downstream to check out some wingdams. The first wing I worked marked a pile of fish on the tip, so down goes a paddletail and BAM! Fish On! A fat 16 inch white bass. Remembering that I was down to only one quart of fillets at home, I decided that now was a good time to stock up. I pounded fish for the next hour, catching my limit, and throwing back just as many. It sure beat dragging jigs around hoping for a bite. Don’t get me wrong- I love walleye, but cut the red out of a white bass fillet, and it makes for some pretty good table fare. Most of the fish were about 14-16 inches, and were an absolute riot to catch. So, with a livewell full of whites and a couple saugers thrown in, I gave up on catching any more walleye/sauger, and went home to clean fish. Both days the majority of the sauger/walleye, and all the whites were caught dragging/jigging a black and pearl sassy shad plastic/ with a black jig head. I did catch the slot fish and a few other sauger on a variety of jig/ringworm combos, the more effective of those would be a purple jighead with a chart/pepper ringworm.

Slipped in at Sunset Sunday. Could not Saturday – committments!
On the water at 0800. Marked fish in Potter’s Lake just before exiting. I fished for about 15 minutes figuring they were bait fish. Alot of nibbles. Well, wherever there are the baitfish – there you will find the predators. Did not score.
Fished the wingdams. Set up around the 280 bridge. Ran planer boards with Storm Jr. Thundersticks. One glass with purple back the other orange back with yellow belly. One sauger hit the purple Jr. Hit on the outside edge of a wingdam near the channel over a washed out hole.
Jigged with 1/2 ounce tipped with a 3 inch Berk emerald shiner, then chart/white. Notta. Tried ring worm in chart with a paddle(Charlie Brewer Sliders). Nope. Three way rigged with Yum sassy shads; black back with glitter, chart and black, blue/white/orange – notta.
Spent about 4 hours on the water.
Still was successful because I learned something.
Will be out next weekend.