Pool 4 Walleye Report 3-22-04

It happened again! There must be something in the air this year because another bass guide gets big fish honors this week. As you can see walleye fishing on the Mississippi River is starting to take form. Sand flats, sand flats, sand flats and rip rap are all seeing the big fish right now.

My trips this week didn’t see as many numbers this week but we made up for it in the quality of fish. The first few hours in the morning still has been the best time for my boat. Best areas still have been sand flats no matter what pool you are fishing. This is a pattern I swear by every year, during low water and it never fails to produce some dandy fish. Here is my brother with his big walleye he took on pool 5 just before all that white looking stuff fell.

I have been receiving a lot of email lately asking me how does one locate sand flat? Or better yet what are sand flats? Sand flats are all over river system. They can be areas near a dam, areas on corners of the river or areas between wingdams. There are a few reasons why sand flats are produced. High water or high current areas, structures, barge traffic and islands all play major roles in the making of sand flats. I believe high water/high currents play the most active roll in sand flats. High water moves sand with in the river stopping at most bends and structures within the river. These areas are located on the main channel of the river. Barges also take an active roll in making sand flats. Most barges power their engine up and down to swing the barge around the corner. When powering up they create tons of pile up on the corner. These are areas you definitely want to key on. Once that barge swings that corner the power up even more creating a wash board effect. Could the wash board areas be considered a type of current break? HMM! Yep, especially in high water. Another key area is points on top and bottoms of river islands. Most islands within the river system used to be bigger. With the erosion over time sand is washed down stream and piling up at the next bend or structure. Don’t forget channel edges. Most channel edges are made up of sand. The channel is always being cut, especially between main channel wingdams. To narrow it up even more and put all them together. Wingdams on corners in the main channel where barges power their engines up and down would be areas I would want to concentrate on.

Best presentation for me has still been B Fish N Tackle ringworms. I know these have been beaten to death but this is what has been putting fish in the boat. This week big fish honors went to the purple with white tail and Pro Blue ringworm colors. These last three fish I took on pool 4 this last weekend.

Pool 5 update…….More and more walleyes are being seen up closer to the dam. Most people looking for numbers are still keying in on the main channel buoy lines. Vertical jigging Super doos and FisherFlick jigs have been the best bait. For quality walleyes one will want to concentrate on wingdams and sand flats.

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