So will you still be able to get into Tilmont? And I read they will eventually do some dredging in Gremore by the time the project is finished. Doesn’t Gremore already have enough “deep” water for overwintering?
I don’t like Winneconne mainly because I’ve only fished it a couple of times. The rivers look great, although I’ve struggled on them. The lakes are bizarre to me…you can eyeball a boat dock and start heading toward it and you’re only in two feet of water a hundred yards away from the dock! Just not used to it I guess.
Clinton…if water is high, Clinton pool is tough. Pool 13 can be good, but in the spring, you’ve got a circus of boats in just a couple of spots. Basically, ranks at the bottom for me…tied with Winneconne. Winneconne is just plain weird, and when you throw in Saturday pleasure boaters, it sucks. Prairie and LaCrosse are awesome. Plenty of water to fish and a lot of fish. Red Wing is good for smallies, but Pepin can be a bear in the wind or with a lot of wave makers on Saturday.
Haven’t heard anything about this. Caught a lot of largemouth and some smallies in June and again in September on pool 10. Didn’t see any sores on any of them.
Not sure where you can get the stuff. I’ve seen him talk at bass club meetings before. Study was done on Pool 12. Bottom line is that he believes LMB (and crappies and bluegills) have VERY specific requirements for overwintering habitat, as the bass often moved miles back to the same small areas for the winter regardless of where they spawned and spent the summer. These include a very narrow temperature range, little or no current, and adequate dissolved oxygen. Anymore, a lot of backwaters are too shallow to provide this kind of habitat. Pitlo will flat out say that if we lose these overwintering areas we will lose the LMB, crappies, and gills on the river. Period. That’s why the Corps has done dredging projects to attempt to restore the overwintering habitat. That’s also why the northern pools are better than the southern ones. More overwintering habitat is left. Also, more vegetation for young of the year bass to hide in. Other interesting things from his studies I remember: Some bass could return to the same stump from miles away year after year. Many bass spent the summer buried in heavy vegetaion, like arrowhead. He has never had a LMB with a transmitter cross the main channel. He also did a study in the Savanna Army Depot on gills and crappies. He captured fish throughout the complex in the summer and put transmitters in them. One ended up in an eagle’s nest (dinner), but the rest of the fish all went to one 40-acre area to spend the winter. Lose that area, and lose the panfish. He’s a cool guy to talk to. I really appreciate his work and wish the Corps and DNR had more money to work with.
Here’s proof (PHOTO ATTACHED). From 1994. If I remember right, fish was caught in Arab Chute on Pool 16.
Caught a 33-incher on a spinnerbait on Pool 16. Photographed and released. State of Illinois stocks muskies in Lake George. Lake George has a spillway into Pool 16. My theory is that it was either caught in the Lake and released in the river or it came through the spillway as a little guy and grew up in the mud.
That’s what I figured…I don’t get up to La Crosse very often. I’ve nosed around Goose a bit, but usually I get too nervous about bonking a stump or dry-docking it on a sand bar. Have caught some nice largemouth off of mud/grass banks but have never found a concentration of bass in the few areas I’ve stumbled into. I’ve heard guys rip the smallies back there sometime.
What kinds of patterns do guys fish in the Goose area? Slop? Wood? Dead water? Current? Sand?
I wouldn’t bother this weekend…the river is very high due to recent rains (just under flood stage in some areas). 14 is tough when it’s that high.
Yes, I think that probably is one of the reasons why. There are more tributary streams with good smallie habitat and populations that dump into the Mississippi up north. Water clarity is better on the upper pools, too. More sand. Maybe more rock. Better spawning habitat. I’d like to see them take off down below. They have been slowly increasing in numbers, but again, keepers are hard to come by.
My experience has been that Pool 11 is about the end of the consistent smallmouth fishing. I’m not saying 11 is as good as 7, 8, or 9, but you can still target smallies and catch some nice ones. Pool 12 has them and seems to have been improving a lot in recent years, but in my opinion, there is quite a drop off from 11. Pool 13 is another big drop off. Last year, I caught some short smallies on Pool 13, which I hope is a sign of good things to come. I have caught one, and seen a handful of keeper smallmouth on Pool 13. I have also caught a few smallies on Pools 14, 16, and 19, but they’ve all been shorties and I can count the numbers on one hand. Once again, the northern pools have it all over the ones downstream. 
I hear you kreading…pools 16, 17, 18, and even 19 are practically on life support now. Luckily, 13 has received some funds (Mickelsen’s, Brown’s, Spring Lake). Pool 12 needs a lot of help, too. I often dream about how awesome the river was in the early days after impoundment. A buddy of mine who has been on the river for nearly 40 years has pointed out spots that used to be good…now you could plant corn in them. I’d like my son to be able to enjoy bass fishing on the river. If the rehab projects don’t happen…he may have to learn to walleye fish or cat fish.
Might have to try the frogg toggs. Price is right and if you use them Mar through Nov…that ought to be good enough for me. You can always wear heavy clothes underneath in cold weather, I guess.
thanks
