Erick,

That is my main concern. I like having the unit mounted to a ram mount on the floor of the boat in front of the trolling motor pedal. I think that it is better protected there when trailering. If the unit can’t receive a good signal there I will probably go with the 520C with external antenna.

Thanks for the input.

Pool 8 Lax,
The boat is a 2005 New, never been in the water. Trailer w/brakes, 115 Opti, 75lb, Motorguide wireless, 2 extra seats & poles, 2 bank 10 amp on board charger, X52 lowrance = total damage before taxes just under $20,000. I may have to jump to a 80lb thrust TM. Seems like a decent price to me.

Thanks for the replies guys!! A couple questions for you. I was considering putting a 75 lb thrust wireless Motorguide on the bow. I like to pull three ways slowly up current around the wing dams on Pools 12-14. Do you think that TM would do the job? Also, I am not a prop expert for sure. The dealer quoted an aluminum prop for this set up. What are the advantages/disadvantages of aluminum vs. S.S. on this package?

Thanks again!!

Northwoods,

I have taken two trips to the Clearwater-Pipestone chain in the last four years. We stayed at True North Outposts on Clearwater. The owners, the Mosbeck’s are great people and the accomodations are very good. The fishing and scenery is excellent. The smallmouth, walleye, and muskie fishing is top notch. We targeted smallmouth during the day and walleye in the evening and after dark. We had several 60-80 smallmouth days with many 3-4.5 lb fish. The first day of our first trip I caught a 48″ muskie on 6lb line, spinning tackle, and a tube jig. We caught many walleye in the 22″-26″ class. We fished Clearwater, Pipestone, Jackfish, and Despair. There is so much water to fish that we probably only saw 1/2 of the available water over the course of two weeklong trips.

Congrats. Very nice fish!! The weight of a 27″ female walleye at this time of year is probably around 8lbs. I caught a 27 incher three weeks ago that weighed 8.2 lbs on my digital. On Wednesday last week I caught a walleye that taped out at 26-3/4″ and weighed 8.0 on the same digital scale. Both of the big girls were released.

Forget the bait. Go Plastic. Ringworms, paddle tails, superdoo’s, & 5″ Kalin Grubs. Once you have some positive results and confidence in plastics you won’t go back to dipping your hands in the minnow bucket this time of year.

Joe,

I was out on Pool 14 yesterday morning. I hit the water about 6:00 a.m. and fished for about 4 hours. The action was not fast and furious but I did catch some decent fish. I fished sand and rip rap and all of my fish were caught vertical w/ paddletails or superdoos. Most fish were coming from 15-22 ft. of water. I got quite a few short strikes and several paddletails coming back with no tail. I can not get a shallow pitching bite going at all this Spring. I probably caught a dozen or so. The biggest was a fat 23″er. I kept 3 around 15-1/2″ for supper last night. The rest were released for someone else to catch. My Lowrance showed a surface temp of 43 degrees. Good luck if you get out this weekend! Congrats on the freebie kitchen pass.

Congrats! That is a thumper.

I upgraded to a 24 volt 73lb thrust bow mount trolling motor last year. I purchased two Trojan deep cycle batteries and I think they are awesome! I think I could run the trolling motor at medium speed for two days straight and they wouldn’t be drained. I’m impressed for sure.

I would suggest heading down river a ways and try fishing some wing dams, points, rip rap, sand flats, etc. I think there are always fish you can get into down river away from the crowds. You just have to do some exploring.

It is hard to go wrong when you purchase a Shimano spinning reel from the Sedona model on up to the more expensive. Over the years I have purchased many different brands; Diawa, Quantam, Browning, etc. Over time I have gone back exclusively to Shimano. In my opinion they are the most reliable and durable for the dollars spent.

That’s why I avoid the “dam” area for the most part in the Spring and Fall. In my opinion there are plenty of walleye and sauger and usually bigger fish to be caught down river away from the crowds. I like to concentrate on wingdams, sandbars and rip rap for the most part this time of year and have that water to myself most of the time. If you see illegal activity don’t hesitate to turn those “poachers” in. Word will get out and hopefully it will make fisherman think twice about breaking the law.

Jeff,

Any word on the walleye fishing in Bellevue the last couple of days? I fished up there Monday afternoon before the weather turned to crap. I caught one really nice 21″ sauger along with some smaller walleye and a few white bass. The fish weren’t biting great by any means. I noticed other fisherman catching some walleye but nothing with any size.

Thanks

Congrats!! That is one heck of a walleye! Was the fish caught on plastics or livebait? It is somewhat amazing to me also that the Wapsi can produce such a beast. I need to do some more exploring on the Wapsi in my area. Also, congrats on the release! Great fish to have a replica made!

I was fishing for smallies with a Rapala x-rap suspending jerkbait. The muskie came out from under the front of the boat and hit it with about 10 feet of line out. Pretty intense!

It seems that every world record fish is being reviewed right now. In my opinion, all of this research on past records is just raising credibilty issues with any record catch that is recorded. Just depends on what you are looking for. Groups trying to discredit the records are more prevelant obviously, then people trying to support a current record. Anyway, since we are on a muskie topic a thought I would share a picture of a 52-1/4″ muskie that I landed in the Minocqua, WI area this May. Not a record of course, but probably the biggest fish that I will ever catch in freshwater.

DanWi,
Lift, hover, drop for the most part. Pretty much the same way that I work ringworms, k-grubs, sassy shads, etc in current.

DanWi,

Thanks for the info. I have also had good luck using the 4″ flukes on jigs. I hook them so the flat sides are up and down on a plain jighead and I have great luck pitching them to riprap and sandbars for walleye, sauger and smallies. They really smack em! I think the key is in the way that the fluke spirals on the fall when rigged this way. Must look like an injured/dying baitfish.

I got out Monday morning for a few hours and struggled to catch any quality fish. I tried to force feed them plastics without a lot of success. For me the ringworm, superdoo, sassy shad bite is not happening yet. I fished a few sandbars/flats without success. Also tried pitching to rip rap with no results. I ended up going up to the dam area and caught 8-10 small walleye and saugers along with a handful of white bass. The bite was not fast and furious for anyone it seemed, but the guys vertical jigging with minnows were outfishing me for sure. I’m too stubborn to take minnows with me and on Monday meat was the ticket for the most part. I keep thinking that the plastic bite should heat up any day now. By the way, the grass is still somewhat of a pain in the ___ still!

Any scoop from pool 14 over the weekend? I am thinking about hitting the water early monday morning in the Clinton area. Is the grass situation any better? If the grass is going to be a pain I made head up to Dubuque instead.

Thanks for any info!

I was not able to figure them out. I landed only three fish. 15″ walleye, 14″ sauger, and a 3lb flathead. The three fish that I did land were caught pitching ringworms in 8-10 ft of water. I tried vertical jigging ringworms and superdoo’s around wingdams and sand points with a few short strikes only. Also threw some cranks around the front of a couple of usually productive wingdams with no success. There is a ton of grass flowing making it difficult to fish everywhere that I tried. I assume other fisherman were having similar results as most every other boat was off of the water by 6:00. I’m afraid the fishing will only get more difficult when the river jumps up later this week. What do you think John?

I got out on pool 14 for a couple of hours on Tuesday afternoon this week. The action was not fast and furious, but I did manage to catch some decent fish. Two walleyes that measured 21″, three walleyes between 17-19″, an 18″ sauger and several walleye/sauger from 11-14″. All of my fish were caught on plastics. Vertical jigging with superdoo’s, ringworms, and shad tails in 15-24′ of water produced 1/2 of the catch. Slowly working Dubuque rigs upstream in 10-15′ with the same plastics produced most of the better fish. Best areas for me were sand flats between wingdams and riprap shelves. Good luck this weekend.

Congrats. That is a Great Fish. Did you get a length/girth measurement? What was that sow caught on plastic, meat, or stickbait?

I also made it out for a few hours Friday afternoon. It was a great day to be out. I managed to boat approx. 20 walleyes/saugers. Largest walleye was 21″ followed by a 17″ and a couple of 16″ers. The rest were between 13-15″. All were released. A majority of the fish were caught vertical jigging superdoo’s and ringworms in 18-24′ of water adjacent to 30’+ sand holes. Several flurries of peak activity during the afternoon which resulted in 4-5 fish in a couple of minutes. Best colors for me were junebug, purple/white tail, and catalpa orange. I also tried pitching some riprap before dusk with no takers.

John,

Have you heard if any of the ramps in Clinton are open yet?

BomberA,

I lived in Quincy, IL for ten years before moving back to Iowa five years ago. All of my fishing time was spent in NE Missouri. I never bought an Illinois license while I lived there. I really miss the bass fishing that NE Missouri has to offer. I still try to make a couple of trips down there every year. Mark Twain is a very good bass and crappie lake, but on the weekends can be a real zoo with all of the tournaments going on. There are many smaller lakes such as Hazelcreek, Route J, Labelle, Fox Valley, Deer Ridge, Henry Sever, Ewing, Long Branch, Thomas Hill, etc that offer excellent bass and crappie fishing. The toughest choice for me and my buddies was deciding which one’s to fish. Often we would hit two or three lakes in the same day. By the way, Hazelcreek located north of Kirksville has some pretty good muskie fishing also.

Thanks for the “heads up” concerning Wednesday. I was considering taking Wednesday off of work to go fishing. I don’t like the thought out being out with 30-40 mph winds.

Yep! That was me. I really wanted to stay longer, but had to travel to Des Moines for work Wednesday night. I was in the pocket when you caught that walleye that is shown on your report. Nice fish. Did the fishing get better after I left around 2:30? I will have to introduce myself the next time that I see you out! I will be out next week for sure.

Rooster,

I was out fishing the dam area on Wednesday also, but I don’t recall seeing you. I fished from 10:00 till 3:00. I was in the Tracker ProTeam 185. I had a decent day catching most of my fish vertical jigging superdoo’s, shads, and ringworms in 16-20ft of water. Nothing over 20″ but a great day to be out. What boat were you in?

Rooster,

That was probably a good decision to wait until tomorrow to go out. The wind seems to be getting worse as the day goes along. It looks like Friday should be a decent day to fish. I may try to get out in the early morning for a few hours. Pitching ringworms, k-tails, and sassy shads is what I will be doing. I will post a report when I return home. By the way, thanks for the welcome.