This past week’s success on Pool 2 has still proved to be consistent from my last report. A good morning and evening bite with sporadic action throughout the day. An angler willing to put in the time this time of year down here, will be rewarded with some very hefty fall river walleyes. With a few tips and tricks, you can cut down the amount of unproductive time on the water to put yourself in productive waters as much as possible.
What are the tips and tricks you say? Well my pursuit on the river this time of year is mostly searching the wingdams with the most flow in a normal fall river stage, but right now levels and flows are up a bit from where they should be and this has fish scattered on the second, third and even fourth wingdam in a consecutive stretch of the river. This is good bad as I see it. Good news is that you have a good chance of scoring a fish on each spotwithin the first 15 minutes of the spot and then moving on to the next spot. Bad news is that you will need to cover some water right now to best optimize your success.
Dave Nelson of Roger, Mn hopped in with me last Friday for an all day trip on a cold 35 degree rainy hunt for big fish. Our day started out early jumping on a couple wingdams that have been productive for me to get us rolling on some numbers of fish. The morning started out hot with about 10 fish right around daylight and then the bite died off a little and gave us a indication that we best stay on the move to be productive and we did just that. Dave is shown here with a very nice walleye that drilled a 4” YUM ribworm dressed on a BFT 1/4oz unpainted precision jig. Beautiful fish Dave and congrats! The rest of the day proved a few fish here and there. About midday, we stuck around some big fish spots and worked them over for that one big bite and got bit twice and lost both fish unfortunately. I had a fish to the surface that was 27”-28” long and Dave set the hook into a fish that gave some very heavy head swings but we never got a look as she shook the hook as well. We ended the day with about 25 fish to show for our efforts of jig pitching. Lots of fish in the 21”-23” range to add to the excitement. Thanks Dave for spending the day with me and look forward to doing it again sometime!
Sunday I was joined by good friend Dustin Stewart for a day of nothing but big fish hunting as well. With the high sunny skies that were forecasted for the day, we both had an inclination that we should experienced a good lowlight bite and then things were going to slow dramatically….well sure enough, by about 9:30am, the fish put the brakes on us big time and we scrounged here and there for an occasional bite and fish for the next 4 hours. By 2:00pm, we started to get some well anticipated clouds to roll in and finally give the fish a shove in the right direction. Although the bite was not fast and furious the rest of the day like the morning bite was, we experienced 3 very heavy walleyes to make it to the boat to give us a smile on our faces as we both agree that quality over quantity was all we were looking for. We ended the day around sunset with about 18 fish all between 18”-27” range. 3 fish hit the tape at 27” on the nose. 2 fish weighed 8 pounds and the third fish weighed 9 pounds! Thanks again Dustin for finally coming up and joining the day with me….I owed him a trip up here as he has been nice enough to welcome me down on Pool 4 when I was boatless due to some motor repairs.
With water levels slowly declining and flows dropping as well, we are still seeing fish scattered throughout most of the wingdams but this should change very soon. In about 7-10 days, flows should be settling down very to really see fish stacked on a couple key locations on the river, that means putting the odds in your favor all day long. Pitching YUM Ribworms and BFT’s Precision jig heads continues to be the best ticket going for these cold water walleyes. Water clarity has improved dramatically over the past week to give us about 18” of visibility. This will help the bite but will also be subject to lowlight stronger bites versus a sunny day good bite.
For right now, most all wingdams we stopped at throughout the last 2 weeks have proved fish at some point in time, so my advice is if a spot looks fishy keep an eye on it and fish it a couple times throughout the day for picking off the active fish.
Good luck!
Awesome just awesome, THANKS FOR THE GREAT REPORT AND PIC’S
Nice fish once again Steve. Looks like I need to change what days I pick to fish. My last few trips have been sunny skys wich was just great about 3 weeks ago. You could only see about 6″ deep at that time. Now it looks like the clowdy days are keeping them a little more active.
Have you heard any news of a sauger bite on 2 yet?
Thanks Jeff….Got an open seat up here sometime if you are ever up this way!
Mike,
I could not comment on any sauger bite at all at this point. You know me…..pitchin shallow or nothing!
I have seen very little traffic on the middle to lower part of Pool 2 in the last several trips out. Looking at the ACOE site, the water levels and flows are dropping each day respectively and that should start to stack those saugers more and more. Water temps are in the high 30’s. LAst year at this time conditions were considerably different from stage and flows. My guess that vertical bite will take off soon.
Great report Steve,Thanks !! You make a guy want to go no matter how cold it is
Steve, my wife keeps on me to clean out the boat and move it over in the garage to make room for her car now that it’s starting to snow. Keep posting reports man, you are my ammunition to continue this holdout on the garage space. I’m hoping to get out maybe wednesday/thursday morning if i can. Is the access at willie’s iced over yet or are you still putting in there? Any resolution to the 494 issues raised last week?
So, I am not the only one who had to park the boat outside in order to make garage room!
Steve you can count on it.
Same goes for you when your in my neck of the woods 
I’m still holding out on the garage space as well. This is one mountain worth climbing in my marriage. I’m sure I’ll pay in another way. Maybe Holidazzle or some Christmas shopping trip or…..
Ah- the sacrafices we make for harmony! But, the price we pay! Guess, I either need to get a new wife or a bigger garage.
Steve,
Just wanted to thank you again for taking me fishin
. I need to get up that way more often. A change of pace from pool 4 is just what the doctor ordered. It’s hard to beleive we only saw 3 other boats on the water all day 
. Pool 2 is one magnificent fishery, can’t beleive is doesn’t get more pressure 
.
Steve,
Boy you guys sure do get alot of nice big walleyes over there.
Another awsome report. Yours and Jarrads report from pool 4 as well.
I have to admit. As far as reports go, its pretty hard to compete with you guys on the Mississippi. Not only are you guys excellent fisherman, but your fishery is 2nd to none as well.
Makes my sauger reports from Lake Wisconsin look like a poor mans lobster or something.
Great job! I know I’ll never get tired of looking at pictures of walleyes like that.
JWB
Joel,
Thanks for the awfully nice words. Those fish are what keeps me going day in and day out in this kind of weather and feel that we are truly blessed to have this quality of fishing here on the river. I definately do not take it for granted and find myself giggling like a little kid each time we have the opportunity to get one those nice fish to the boat side.
You are always welcome to hop in up this way if you ever make it up here, I will save a warm seat for ya! I would love to swap a trip with you sometime to chase some of those nice saugers you boat over there. A change of scenery some times refreshes the mind!!
Keep up the great work Joel….thanks again!
Come on Steve-pool 2 haugers would EAT those WI things!
Steve,
Thanks for the offer.
Maybe I’ll be able to get up over there next year. Doesn’t look like I’m going to run into any extra free time this year anymore. Life just keeps getting busyier and busyier.
Can’t even imagine what it would be like if I actually had kids yet to.
Give me a few days heads up and your more than welcome to jump in my boat if you ever manage to tear yourself away from those pool 2 fish.
Hey DaveB – Stop poking me with that fork man!
I know you guys get and awful lot of nice saugers over there but the current Wisconsin state record sauger came out of Lake Wisconsin, not the Mississippi river.
Despite that, if I really thought my wife and I could make as good of a living in the area surrounding the Mississippi River, we would have already moved over there.
JWB
Don’t believe a thing Dustin says. The fishing on pool 2 is average at best.