What's Working? – Pool 4 Update

I fish Pool 4 multiple times per week from Maiden Rock to the Southern most end. In the past couple of weeks, the eye/sauger bite has been more difficult to come by.

Pulling cranks on lead has put short saugers in the boat, but the fish seem extremely scattered. Early on in the season I was catching 3 or 4 walleye to every sauger, now the ratio has flipped. Pulling lead can also be difficult with the amount of grass in the water.

Crawlers drifted on jigs or lindy rigs near sharp breaks have also put mainly short sauger in the boat and a variety of untargeted fish (more catfish than ever before).

Crankbaits casted along the rocks has really only put smallies and pike in the boat. In years past I’ve caught my biggest eyes up shallow on cranks in the evenings, but it hasn’t produced lately.

Through May and June, the eye bite was pretty consistent with good numbers of 2-4lb fish. What is/is not working for you right now? I’ll gladly share and swap any ideas/reports via PM with anyone.

Tight lines!

It’s definitely slowed down for me. I fish the same basic area as you it sounds like. I don’t pull lead core very often. Primarily bottom bouncers/spinner rigs with crawlers etc., with some cranks occasionally. May/June were pretty decent overall. But starting around mid-July, things really slowed down for me. Some I blame on my lack of skill and mayflies. But it’s definitely been tough bite for me. I haven’t seen much action from other boats, though I’m sure someone is finding them. The few decent fish I have managed have been shallower than I’d expect to normally find them, so I wouldn’t be afraid to try shallow with whatever technique you’re trying.

That’s not what I was hoping to read…heading that way tomorrow. I always struggle to catch walleyes this time of year though.

Shoot me a PM if you want to swap and share specifics. I’ll be giving it a go today as well

Any updates on Lake Pepin? Looking to get out there this week/weekend and would like to throw some boards on and cover water. Any particular depths to focus on?

I’ve been out 2-3 times a week since April. Until the water cools to ~65 degrees, fish will remain somewhat spread out. I’d stick with tactics that let you cover a lot of water. Most of the sauger I’ve landed have come in close to 20 feet along bottom transitions. Most of the eyes have come shallower in 12-14 feet. Watch your electronics for schools of baitfish.

If using boards, be sure to check them regularly as there is a large amount of floating/suspended pieces of grass in the water. I prefer long-lining cranks when possible as it’s the easiest (vs. leadcore or boards) to tell when your bait has debris on it. If you happen to find a school of fish, crawlers on a jig or slip sinker rig will entice some to bite.

Colors have been difficult to pattern. I’ve only had a handful of days on P4 where a specific color pattern jumped out as the most productive.

Best of luck

Was out Monday and man was it beautiful out! Didnt see the sun all day and just the right amount of wind. Zero trailers in the lake city access and only a handful of boats throughout the day. Water was about 72 so its trending in the right direction.

Started out right out front and did a little drift with the ol jig and minnow but no eyes just a small channel cat. Daughter was pumped as she was able to add to her species list so that was nice. Took off to chase some perch on the Wisconsin side and got a handful of nice perch, crappie, sheep, and a random gill so once again she got to add to her growing list.
I mostly fished points jigging but no takers vertically. Drop shot with crawler was the clear cut winner for putting fish in the boat. Lots of shad surfacing everywhere and marked huge schools in many areas.
Was a nice mixed bag overall so I can’t complain with the last couple trips being pretty slow.

Appreciate the info…will post the results!

Any preference to launch’s on the WI side?

Don’t ignore the river areas close to either end of the lake as well. You might be surprised !

Anyone think this rain will affect the bite? I’m going to launch at everts tomorrow and hit a bunch of spots. Probably troll cranks, jig, and pitch wing dams a bit.

Any updates from last few days? Matt? Others?

Tough day yesterday. Ton of water coming into the system and it was dirty. Lot of debris coming down.

Bigger issue was the wind…
Just couldn’t stay on any spots with the nw wind.

Caught just a few with one keeper dragging jig and crawler wherever I could find current seams. No fish trolling.

I tried pitching the dams but even with spot lock I was getting blown all over. Being by myself I didn’t want to risk getting blown onto one of them.

Couple days of stable weather would be good.

I was out on Tuesday night after work. I was attempting to catch Crappies.
It was a bad attempt.
I marked a lot of fish but only caught 1 crappie, 2 perch, 1 smallmouth and a small sauger.
Hoping to get out again tomorrow morning

Fished most of the day saturday Lake City south very slow to say the least. Tried raps, crawlers shallow, deep no eyes and very few small saugers. Still a great day on the water with the wife and kids.

Was out on Saturday as well…transitioned quickly from trying to fish to just cruising and beachin’ with the wife and kids. Nice day on the water regardless.

holy s-word it was rough out on pepin yesterday. fishing was rough too, one perch and one crappie. I think i will head out of red wing next week and try my luck up river.

Anybody got any updates? It was a perfect day with heavy fog covering most of the river from maiden rock and on down. Only 1 sauger and many other species to the boat. I’m beginning to think there is way too much bait in the water. At a few times I thought the shad were going to jump in my boat.

I kind of agree with the bait comment. I don’t think I have ever seen this many minnows and shad in the water before.
Does this mean that we should see a much better size average in the near future since all of the 10-12 ” saugers have plenty of food.
I don’t think I have caught more than 2-3 Walleyes over 16″ this year

Pool 4 has always been home to the 10-12″ saugers and walleyes. The 15″ minimum on walleyes, and no size limit on saugers really impacts size structure. Once a sauger hits about 13″, they end up in someone’s livewell. The same can be said for any walleyes that pinch out to 15″.

I have a good friend who frequents one of the local cleaning houses out of curiosity – and volunteers with cleanup. He tells me horror stories of the larger 5-6lb fish from March through May (when they are easier to target), as well as the “limits” of 12-13″ saugers offering as much yield as panfish.

There are medium and larger fish to be had in the system, but the community spots get pretty worked over during this time of year. I have generally found that if you are having steady action of dinks – a move is required. Don’t be afraid to think outside the norm as well. Some of the largest fish I’ve caught were in ~ 3′ of water. The first break around all shorelines and the marker can lines get worked heavily by the weekenders from May through September.

In my limited experience, the slowest fishing on Pool 4 takes place from the bug hatches (Mid July – End of August). I’ve always assumed it was due to the fish spreading out and the abundance of larger forage in the system. That’s just a guess though!