Way to go Gianni! I too have heard of walleye in the Cedar River, but have been hesitant to put my boat in there for fear of bottoming out. I have taken one walleye out of the Cedar at Urbana a long time ago, but nothing else. I appreciate the posts.

There is an obvious distinction the two different actions- 1)illegally poaching undersized walleyes, and 2)rude behavior by boaters cutting in line and such.

I think we could all agree that in the final analysis it is probably better to not let rude actions ruin what for us is a thoroughly enjoyable addiction.

I think it is also fair to say that most of us get thoroughly burned and ticked when we see poaching- and not many of us would hesitate one minute to call the TIP line.

Re: the 13 inchers that some folks kept- two questions-
1) were they saugers and then legal, or were they indeed walleyes? and 2) what is the fine for under-length fish?

My own two cents- if you poach a buck here in Iowa they can (rightly)take your shotgun, and your vehicle, I would hope that if MN DNR catches you poaching <15″ walleye, they should be able to confiscate your whole fishing rig- rods & reels and boats and motors…..everything…..

I am sure you will get a variety of opinions-

For me- an amateur walleye fisherman as well as an amateur rodbuilder- the top of the line blank for both vertical jigging and pitching plastics would be rods built on either of two St. Croix SCV blanks- their 5S63MXF if you want a 6’3″ medium extra-fast or their 5S66MF which is a 6’6″ medium fast blank.

If you want the ultimate in performance, ask if you can pay for an upgrade on the guides and get titanium SIC guides- the upgrade should cost in the neighborhood of $50-60, but if you are getting the rod for free, why not spend a little for the ultimate- the titanium weighs less than 50% of the stainless steel which translates to greater efficiency and sensitivity at the tip.

You probably couldn’t touch a custom built rod like that for under $300-350, if not more depending on the time involved in putting it together.

G Loomis also has a nice 6’3″ blank which I am currently building, but has yet to see the Mississippi. I really find the St. Croix’s first rate….

I may be misinformed, but I thought that the state record walleye was caught around the I380 bridge some years ago. I had fished that area two or three times a couple years ago and didn’t catch a thing.

Chuckles helped teach me rod-building. Now if he could teach me how to boat a hog like that…..

I have fished both PC and Macbride extensively, and very little on Coralville. Only caught one small eye in PC years ago, but have a friend who is successful there. Have had some success pulling good sized eyes out of Macbride, but again, was informed by DNR that they were likely all stocked fish.

In talking with the DNR guys, they say that in the past they would stock PC with some excess eye fry & fingerlings, but they recently were prevented from doing so from the higher ups. That makes very little sense to me, and certainly frustrated the local DNR guys.

Count me in….

Never had the opportunity to develop these activities in my first marriage. The gal I married a year ago has hunted (deer) and fished (walleyes & crappies, nothing with lips) all her life. She routinely outfishes me, even though I have tried my damndest to catch up with her…
The best thing- I am one of the few men in the US that get brownie points in our relationship for when we go walleye fishing in Canada I’m the one to say, “You know, dear, I would NEVER consider going fishin’ in Canada…but for you dear, I’ll have to go…..” Try saying THAT with a straight face…..
So keep lettin’ them out fish you….

?Whining?? Maybe, just maybe, some of us have other obligations that preclude our making it to P4, yet have an opportunity to try something a little closer to home. We made it to Pool 4 last weekend, but this upcoming next weekend we will have to go to Guttenburg or stay home.

So, any help and information on whether we could launch a good sized boat from any ramp in Guttenburg this upcoming weekend would be greatly appreciated. I know the city used to operate a ramp right next to the lock, bur would appreciate any information coming up this week. If nothing else, we’ll call Beth at Murray’s. Thanks

My wife and I hit P4 Saturday and Sunday. It was great to be back out. We too found the bite slow. We could not hit with the plastics, although that may have been first-time-not-knowing-fishin-plastics- we’d always fished minnows on a slip sinker. We finally put about 5 eaters in the boat (15”-16”) at the dam in 20’-22’ early in the morning on live bait before 9 AM- it’s just that my better half boated 4 out of our 5 (that’s the way it ALWAYS is, and, I suppose, always should be…).

Met Dustin Stewart at Evert’s just as we were pulling out on Sunday morning, and I would like to express my appreciation for taking your time to answer some questions I had. Additionally, Steve at Evert’s could not have been more professional and helpful. My hat’s off to both of you- it’s people such as you two that make IDA the incredible site that it is.

There is a better way…

I use St. Croix rods, and I think their SCV rods, the Legend series I believe, have an incredible sensitivity. However, I cannot afford the $200-300 per rod at retail. The solution??? Build your own St. Croix rods.

First, buy the book Rod Building by Tom Kirkman. Second, go to the Rodbuilding.org web site for more information than you could ever use- for free. Third, see if a local conservation department or nature center ever offers a rod-building course. For example, there is a course starting Feb. 8 or 9 here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that is absolutely excellent- see the announcement in the IDA Iowa forum by Chuckles. Then order your own St. Croix blanks, handles, and guides, and start building your own St. Croix rods.

You will notice a number of things:
1) You can build a much better rod for $150-170 than you could ever buy for $300 (or build a much better rod for $75 than you could buy for $200)
2) You will never buy another rod in your life. Before I would salivate over the premium rods at Cabela’s or Gander, now I smirk .
3) You can customize a rod so easily to match your style of fishing.
4) What else can you do in January and February if you don’t ice fish?

There is however, one HUGE drawback. It is a well known incontrovertible fact that rod-building, like walleye fishing, is extremely addicting. Also, be aware AmWatson, that there is NO known cure……

I took the rod-building course last year, and I feel a word of caution is indicated… it damn near ruined my life. Understand a few things- 1) after taking the course you will never buy another rod in your life- you will build your own, and more importantly, 2) sadly, rod-building is truely addicting, and I am afraid that there is no known cure.
So go ahead- please sign up- the more rod-building addicts we have in Iowa, the sooner I can get a self-help group up and running for rod-building addicts such as myself….

Convinced me…. I’m gonna have to start prayin’ while fishin’ too…..

Bought the video.
Saw the video.
Loved the video.
Now please stop sellin’ the video…too many people start fishin’ the video, and we’ll be looking at slot limits in Pool 4 before we know it……..

Bought the video.
Saw the video.
Loved the video.
Now please stop sellin’ the video…too many people start fishin’ the video, and we’ll be looking at slot limits in Pool 4 before we know it……..

Bought the video.
Saw the video.
Loved the video.
Now please stop sellin’ the video…too many people start fishin’ the video, and we’ll be looking at slot limits in Pool 4 before we know it……..

But most people PAY the retail price of an engine, even if included in a package.