Pool Four Mississippi River

04/01/12 Mississippi River Pool Four walleye fishing is pretty good. Saugers are not too hard to come by with the last two of three trips being “limit out” events. Yesterday we had a few drifts where all three of us anglers were setting the hooks nearly in unison, that is a blast! Walleyes are now starting to show up more in the mix. Good news is some of them are BIG, I caught a 28” 9 pound 8 ounce walleye Thursday, and my buddy Marty Hahn reported his boat got a 28” walleye yesterday.

Sauger or walleye guys are usually happy bringing in either, but the walleye is gold, and somewhat absent in the last three weeks, I am seeing a trend to where eyes are now becoming more of the catch. I would guess from 95% percent sauger to now 75% sauger, where now one out of four caught fish are walleye. Walleye or sauger, heck it is hard to complain about some plump 14 to 18 inch saugers on the stringer, especially upon their release into the hot grease.

Speaking of fish species, with the river water temp being warm, at 50 degrees! White bass, drum, flatheads, channel cats, and pike are being caught all on walleye and sauger presentations. We watched an angler fight and land a 30 pound flathead on a jig and minnow yesterday…as they say in the river you never know what you’ll catch.

All walleye and sauger presentations are working…I have trolled cranks, vertical jigged, dragged jigs, and cast blade baits all presentations are hooking fish. True the water is low but it is dirty so casting shallow is turning walleye (and 3 to 5 pound pike…). I have trolled in 12 to 14 fow, jigged in 12 to 21 fow and cast in 2 to 12 fow. I am using bright crawdad and bleeding fluorescent olive shad raps, paddletails, ringworms, minnows, and blades.

Keep catchin’
Turk