This past Sunday I fished pool 16 all day and I’m happy to report the fishing improved over last weekend. The best part of the day was the first 90 minutes of the day. The sky was overcast with a good breeze. Then it rained for about 20 minutes and the skies cleared. This changed the fish significantly. I was able to catch 4 good keepers, all in the 2 to 3 lbs range, before the rain came. These fish were holding tight to stumps in a slack water area inside Andalusia Island. They were all taken on a white/chartreuse 7/16oz Strictly Bass River FINatic spinnerbait. I continued to catch fish after the rain on the spinnerbait and on a Watermelon Yum Hawg Tail but the size dropped into the 12-13 inch range and the frequency slowed. Several anglers others reported a slow day but they started fishing a little later so it might have just been the weather.
This pool, while still a tough one does produce keeper bass but I believe it is much more popular to the eye guys. I believe the number of bass is increasing, but it is one of the slower ones to recover from the 93 flood. I will continue to keep an eye on it for you because; even though it is considered a poor spot for bass it is becoming one of my favorites.
Water temp was from 72 to 75 degrees
Good to see that your day on 16 was a good one. I was talking to a friend that was out on Sunday and he had been fishing Little Velie Chute and Patterson Slough with good success. Next time your down this way, give me a call. Maybe we could get together and swap lies.
Ken, thank you very much for your report. I’ve just started fishing the Mississippi River for bass. I find it very tough. I get intimidated by so much water to cover. I get conflicting information regarding the best pools to fish. You mentioned pool 16 isn’t that great. Which pool(s) are the best? I just got done fishing pool 18 near New Boston the last two mornings and only caught two bass (both on spinnerbaits too). Is pool 18 good?
18 Is supposed to be a good pool but I’ve only been on it once. I’ll probably get there sometime this weekend so I can try to find something before the upcoming tournament there.
I’d guess your trouble is probably less to do with the pool and maybe more to do with learning to fish the river. I know I had trouble for about a year until I started catching consistantly. It is just different that what most lake fisherman are used to.
If you like give me a call and maybe we can get together this weekend and we’ll try to conquor 18 together. Learning to look at the map and eliminate poor water would help you a good deal as well. There is a great deal of water and only about 30% will produce.
16 is not that bad of a pool. I catch good numbers there but keepers can be hard to find. If you are interested in tournaments check out my website listed below. I run draw tournaments where you could go as non-boater and gain good experience fishing the river. This would probably be one of the fastest ways to gain river skills.
Ken, sorry I missed your return call last night. I had a family emergency come up and just got home. I’m still fishing pool 18 around New Boston in a new Bass Tracker PT 175 Saturday and probably Sunday morning. Maybe we can compare notes on the bass that we catch.
Also, I checked out your website and I really like the setup of the tournaments that the local chapters run. I think I’d really like to join by next year, but I need more time on the water, especially the Mississippi, first.