Over the weekend the water temps I found varied from 54 to 62 degrees depending on location with the main river being the coolest. The warm weather and rain is warming the water nicely. Wind was not nearly the factor it was last weekend but still was a little gusty at times on Sunday. I didn’t check the official stats but this pool seemed a little low for this time of year but still a good spring level. The flow appeared to be little on swift side.
I spent about 4 hours each day on pool 12 with two goals in mind. I wanted to expand my knowledge of the pool and fish areas I had not been to before and to work with my up and coming Jr. Bassmaster, Austin (age 8). He still hasn’t convinced me he is ready for tournaments but I’m amazed at how he soaks it all up and improves his ability. Kids are the future of fishing so take time to get you kids out. They are never too young.
We found good numbers of Largemouth, and a couple of Smallies in the rocks. 90% were taken on a white Strictly Bass Lures’ Water Mutt. This is best described as a swimming jig with small spinners attached. This is unique product that I am just beginning to use but it is amazing how it catches fish that are slow to hit either a spinnerbait or a jig. The shallow backwater lakes we checked were unproductive as we didn’t find grass or pads yet. I’m sure there is some to be found but being still fairly new to this pool I was unable to locate a patch. With the water warming and forecasts of sun the lakes should be green soon so keep checking them. We also found a few on the wood up the Galena River that would hit a Green Pumpkin Candy colored Invader Jig. The water in this river was about 4-5 degrees warmer than the Mississippi but most of the fish in here are in the 13” range.
Nice job, Ken! And, you’re right, kids are our future!