What a rollercoasters spring we’ve had here in Minnesota with lots of ups and downs as us anglers just hang on for the ride. Prolonged periods of cold weather, snow, and frozen water has really thrown a twist in what I would consider our normal spring fishing patterns and sometimes I think the walleyes are just as confused as we are. Times like this can truly test ones patience and perseverance is key to great success. It’s been a humbling spring for me with more skunked trips than I care to mention but makes successful trips that much more gratifying.
It seems that finally within the last week we’re seeing consistency in water levels coupled with rising water temperatures and the fish are reacting favorably. I’ve been finding the majority of my fish in fairly swift moving and shallow (sub 5ft) water. Fish don’t seem to be hanging out in any spot for too long as they’re dropping back from spawning grounds. Those fish are here one day and gone the next so don’t live and die by your spot. Most my trips are after work (3-4hrs fishing max) so staying mobile is very important.
I’ve been using 3 main techniques for catching my fish – Pitching hair jigs, casting crankbaits, and SLOW trolling cranks (VERY slow). When looking at a current swept shoreline you’ll see many small eddys and current breaks but which ones hold fish? I’ve been searching by slow trolling small cranks very tight to shore. I’m only moving .4-.6mph against the current and the boat is only 5-7ft off shore. You lose a lot of cranks but it’s proving to be a good search tool, even in swift muddy cold water. See a nice eddy or hit a fish trolling? Spot Lock the boat and pitch hair and cranks there! 3/16oz Jimmy D’s Walleye Weenies jigs in chartreuse and kelly green have been my Go-To jigs. Trolling I’ve been using the new Storm Smash Shad . If you haven’t used these baits, you’re really missing out. Not many baits that will run true in that swift current for the price – they have earned significant real-estate in my Plano boxes to say the least!
Overall I’m pumped with what I’m seeing and it’s shaping up to be a great year on Pool-2. Barring any extreme monsoon downpour rains, we might see a normal late spring/summer on the river and it’d be warmly welcomed by many. Do be careful out there as there is a lot of small debris coming down the river with the occasional stump and full-size tree. Our post spawn bite should only improve as temps continue to warm and the flow slows.
See ya out there
Pete
Also – I’ve got to tip my hat and give a long overdue plug for the guys over at the Skeeter Boat Center. No I didn’t purchase a Skeeter and no I didn’t buy a boat from them. A few months back I replaced my small 14ft boat with a beater 16ft with a 40hp Yammy I got off craigslist. Sometimes a 20ft Ranger is just overkill for my fishing and it’s nice to have a very economical fishing boat. The price was right but this boat/motor was very used – rode hard and put up wet. Motor needed some carburator work as it wasn’t running quite right so I figured I’d see if they could do anything to help.
In what I would think is about the busiest time for a boat dealership – these guys truly outperformed themselves. I had the boat dropped off and a call saying it was fixed before anyone from another dealer/shop even got back to me! I would maybe expect this service had I purchased a new boat through them, but dropping off a beat-up problem motor they’ve never touched or worked on and still receive that service had me in AWE.
Ever since they tuned it, it’s been an awesome motor and probably the best running outboard I own.
Dean, Eric, Jason, and all the guys that helped work on it – You rock. Thank you!
Windy today – best numbers day I’ve had all year but size for our boat was lacking.
See ya out there!
Pete
Pete
Great info-laden report! And that first fish in your opening paragraph looks like it had pre-spawn girth. Gotta’ love those river eyes.
Great report Pete. Taking those risks and donating a lot of tackle can be tough on the wallet. But the risk/reward is obviously paying off! Graet job on that skinny water
Pete
Those Storm Smash shads work great when cast as well. I’ve caught some dang nice fish on them out on Green Bay this spring on the #7’s. Fleet Farm has them for under $5. http://www.fleetfarm.com/search/?q=storm+smash+shads&searchSubmit.x=0&searchSubmit.y=0
I couldn’t agree more. We hit one spot today and I had 5 fish to the boat casting a blue Storm Smash Shad to Dad’s 1 fish (like the chunky 23incher in my last post). Literally back to back to back of ‘FISH ON’!
Needless to say, it had Dad diggin’ for a blue Smash Shad!
Great report Pete. Good to see you guys out there today. After a few slow trips to the croix last weekend it was time to get back to pool 2. We found a lot of the same as you reported. Everything we caught today was on crank baits. Never did find a lot of fish in any one spot but did find a fish or two on just about ever spot we checked. Back waters held most of our fish but we did get a few towards the main river channel to. Never did try hair jigs today but might have to give that a try next time out. Did try some plastics but only ended up with a few misses on them.
Think you are dead on about the conditions. Flow is great to maybe a little low for this time of year. Get a few days past the cold front that came through over the weekend and we might be in for some prime pool 2 spring walleye fishing.
No real big fish for us today either. Mostly 18 to 20″ers. Still plenty fun fish to catch. Ill see if Joel can get the photos off his phone to add on here. After a slow early spring its good to get some fish dialed in again on pool 2.
Have not seen the smash shad in person yet. They look a lot like a flicker shad. How are they different? Thanks.
I’ve got a lot more experience with the Flickers than the Smash Shads but here’s what I’ve noticed so far. The body on the Smash Shad is “meatier” meaning it casts much better than the Flickers, particularly in the smaller sizes. Both the Flicker and the Smash Shads seem to run great out of the box. The Smash Shad is more durable as it seems less prone to being knocked out of tune whereas I usually have to give the Flickers a little tweak or two after a fish or two or after a snag.
I’ve not trolled the Smash Shad yet as I’ve been casting it instead so if you’re looking for feedback based on trolling experience… I’m not your guy. At least for now.
I’ve done quite a bite of trolling with Smash Shads this year, primarily in heavy 3mph+ flow. (First fish pic in report was caught trolling a Green Fire UV Smash Shad).
Extremely impressed.
I’ll echo James here saying the biggest advantage is how true they run, even at high speeds. I’ve snagged, reefed hard the the rod to pop my baits out, over and over but it still hasn’t required tuning – at least not yet. Unfortunantly I cannot say the same for my flickershads. I’ve got a whole plano box chock full of flickers that don’t run right and when I do invest the time to tune them, it seems they go out of wack again shortly after.
We’ll see how the Smash Shads perform long term but for now I’m extremely impressed.
I do like the flicker shads as they are cheap and catch fish but are lacking when it comes to keeping them tuned. On those days with the wind blowing in your face you might as well just put them away to. Ill have to check out those Smash Shads on my next trip to Fleet Farm. Do they make them in red?
Here are a few we got on sunday.
Something like this?
Fire Perch
Nice fish Pete! Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the bite.
Joel
Hit pool 2 Sunday 5-12.Caught over 40 Walleyes a dozen sheepshead and a couple saugers. Jig and fathead on current seams,15-16 feet seemed to be the best depth.Nothing over 20″ but more then enough action.Did not try the smash shads which I had with me of course,oh well had fun anyhow.Nice fish and great report.
As always, very nice info laden report Pete!
Your Dad’s looking pretty happy too!
Great report Pete
Dean video from Today on choosing the right crank bait rod seems to fit right in with this report. Just ordered myself up a couple of those tide masters. Cant wait to give them a try.
How to Pick the Right Rod for casting Light Crankbaits.
Awesome report Pete, has me fired up to hit the river!
And to buy some more cranks….
Great Work buddy! Thanks for the report
Great report. Have these fish all come from the main channel?
I plan on putting three hard days on P2 this weekend, gonna have to try this out. I have been on a backwater bite for the last three weeks. Dragging plastics in channels connecting the backwater spawning grounds to the main channel has been cutting off a lot of big post spaw females, but I think this bite might dry up with the dropping water levels.
And BTW thank you James for the introduction to dragging, it is quickly becoming a go to technique for me.
Great report Pete. Looks like you guys are having a good ol’ time. Great info as well!
What did you guys have for water temps?
59-61 tonight
Great report Pete!
Still biting good tonight Pete?
We Smashed a few…
Pete
Great report
Great deal on Storm Smash Shads…..
Joe’s Sporting Goods Smash Shad Sale
Nice fish & pictures Pete!