Gentlemen, start your kicker motors! 
This first stretch of warm summer weather has kicked the Lake Pepin trolling bite into high gear and anglers should expect this bite to remain steady, if not strong, for the next 4 – 6 weeks. Prior to the warm up the bite out on the lake was rather sporadic with the majority of the fish being caught in 12′ – 18′ of water. The big change over the past week has been an improvement in the consistency of the bite as well as a move by the walleyes from the deeper water into feeding positions in 7′ – 10′.
Water levels are above normal and clarity has been in issue influencing our movements out on the lake. Water clarity on the north end of the lake is quite murky / dirty with the clarity improving markedly south of the Rush River on the WI side and Point No Point on the MN side of the lake. We’re finding our most consistent catches in areas with visibilities in excess of 18" so paying attention to changes in water clarity from one area to the next can be critical to success.
Over the weekend I fished with Tony "walleye kid" Nigon and his buddy Jake from Zumbrota. At only 16 years of age these young guys are already very accomplished walleye anglers and Tony will almost certainly be a tough tournament angler in years to come given his drive and determination on the water. Their parents surprised this pair with a In-Depth Angling Guide Service gift certificate for a birthday present… sure beats the heck out of some clothes or a couple cd’s in my book! Our goal on this day was to introduce some new spots but most importantly, teach some of the tricks and techniques an angler can employ to consistently fool larger walleyes.
We targeted depths of 8′ – 10′ of water just inside the primary breakline that plunges from the top of the flat down into 14′ – 16′ feet of water. Walleyes could be found roaming the top edge of this breakline in sporadic pods with nearly all of our better fish relating to one of the many lake points that jut out from shore out onto these flats. Firetiger and Fire Perch #5 & #7 shad raps were top producers and when we would hit a 4+ lb fish we would quickly circle back through the general area repeatedly with the result often being 2 or 3 more nice walleyes before the pod of fish would move.
Trolling speeds were 2.2 – 2.4 mph. Trolling faster just did not produce as well for us although one should expect this to change in the short-term as it is common to find speeds in excess of 3 – 3.5 mph to produce well early in the summer on this body of water.
With the intense rains over the last 2 days anglers should expect a change in tactics/ location to stay on fish. Levels are projected to jump over a foot by Sunday but I have to believe this projection will be revised upwards once the rains from Tuesday night get figured into projections. If we do get another foot or two increase in levels look for the shallow water crank casting bite to take off like we saw June of 2004.
Click on Photos for Larger Images
Dennis Vaillant – Red Wing, MN w/ 23″ walleye.
Dennis Vaillant – Red Wing, MN w/ 25″ walleye caught within minutes of the 23″.
As usual, a very informative report.
Well, did you teach the Kid anything? Good to see that the bite is picking up on the lake. Pam and I are planning a trip up that way in a week or two. If so, we will have to get together for a cold one or two. 
I think I taught him a couple tricks and ideas that will serve him well. Maybe he’ll stop by and let us know what, if anything, he took away from the trip. Might be interesting to read his take on things.
See ya’ in a couple weeks! And you know where to find me.
Nice fish James and great info shared n the report!
Great report as always James!
Was that you I saw on Monday that waved to me?
I don’t remember seeing you Steve… but I wave at just about everyone so it could have been me and I didn’t realize it was you.
I talked to Tony a little bit ago we are fishing the Walleye Searchers tournament on Sunday together, anyway he described your boat to a tee same boat that I saw on Monday late morning or early afternoon you had four guys in the boat with you rush river area WI side, and here I thought you recognized my boat.
Hey guys. What an awesome trip! If you want to go learn more about the river in a day than you could in month by yourself, go on a trip with James!
He showed Jake and I many different new spots that I had never tried and also let us in on some tricks to finding new spots and consistently catching bigger fish. From now on I will be paying serious attention to the littlest details, which was one of the keys to catching the bigger fish on Saturday. Thanks James once again for an awesome day. Good luck to everybody fishing in the IDA tourney this weekend. Cya there! 
Thanks
Tony
Hey Tony hopefully we can put some of those tricks to use on Sunday at the Walleye Seachers tournament!
James
when trolling the #5 and #7 shad raps. what # line are you using? how much line do you have out trolling the depths you spoke of? and what method are you using to attach your lure to the line? also are you using any weight? i fish without a line counter so i always wonder about my ability to troll at certain depths consistently.
I use 6 Lb diameter spiderwire stealth and run line lengths that constantly vary to adjust for depths and conditions. One pass I might be running 60 feet. The next 160. I attach my cranks with a small duo-lock snap. I do not use any weight when trolling cranks on Pepin.
Hope that helps… do yourself a favor and pick up a couple linecounters. Without them its pretty tough to duplicate a successful trolling pass.
Any more questions, just holler.
James
sorry another question? on these trolling runs are you
marking numbers of fish over these spots? i ask this
because on my trolling passes i get 1 or 2 fish but
its hard to stay on numbers of fish so i am wondering
if i am inconsistant in my depth and/or speed. but
in these area’s that i troll i usally don’t mark any fish
so there might not be numbers to be had. then i have
trouble deciding on whether to move or stay. so finaly
when do you move on or stay and work it?
next purchase, line counter reels.
thanks James you rock
It’s good to hear that bite is finally taking off. I was very disappointed memorial day. I expected the bite to be in full swing. Thanks for the always informative report!!!
Nice fish and report James
Lake Koshkonong is starting to produce nice eyes trolling also.
This is a tough question to answer not knowing if your electronics are set-up and working correctly. If you have a lower quality unit or some other problem with transducer position, finder settings, etc., you might be over the motherlode of big walleyes and you wouldn’t know it. I will assume that your electronics are functioning correctly…
I frequently mark fish in 8+ feet of water. The deeper I get the more defined the marks become and the more fish I see. Less than 8′ and I’ll see partial marks or other returns that can be signs of activity but in water this skinny it can be hard to point out something definitive.
It is quite common to pull a large number of fish from a small area, especially once you’ve pin-pointd key spots. From your description I would assume that you’re going through an area and taking a couple of the aggressive fish and then not finding the needed triggers to take any of the less aggressive fish in that general area. One pass through a spot without a fish and I would suggest changing plugs, colors and speeds to try and find what the other fish might be keying on. Mark the productive area on your GPS or make careful note of the landmarks nearby so you can be certain you’re fishing the same area on your repeat passes.
After a couple – 3 passes without a quality fish after I’ve played with all the combinations that might seem likely at the time and I’m off to greener pastures.
Hope that helps.
James
Thanks Again for your help.
James if I remember right you also do not use lead line for trolling I do know that you like to long line cranks, what is the reason for this is it that when long lining you get the crank bait farther away from the boat than you would with a three way or lead line?
Great report James.
I made it out on Pepin yesterday evening to do some lead lining and a little shallow cranking on the rip rap. There are some real nice fish hitting right now. Both numbers and size.
My key depths were 10-12 feet for lead but my best fish were caught in 5-8 feet right on the base of the rap.
There are still some decent fishing hitting the sand areas at the base of the river. I did not spend much time there but had the pleasure of watching a friend nail a 28.5 incher on a floater/leech combo.
James, Enjoy your posts ! I’m comming over from the UP early next week and looking to get my wife on the Walleyes/Saugers.
My local Fishing Buddy ( Tom Gursky ) says you have the best info on Pool 4 /Pepin. Prefer Jigging but it’s looking like a trolling bite with Shad Raps ? Depths ? East West shore ?
Frank
I know Mr Holst is out of town right now, likely with little or no access to a computer. I think he will be back around on the 21st.
James is out of town right now. Fishing has been good from Deer Island all the way to the top end of the lake. The WI side is where my time has been spent in the last 2 weeks, but have heard of guys doing well on the MN side as well……. just depends on what side has the best wind. If you have some wind troll #5 shad raps in the 4′ to 9′ depths. If the wind lays calm your best bet is to pull baits in the 10′ to 14′ of water.
With the higher water casting cranks in to the flooded timber should pay off as well
I just had a phone conversation with Dustin, all I can say is WOW and THANK YOU
I have never met this guy, but he took 15 minutes of his time to help me prepare a plan for my weekend trip, he literally saved me hours on the water, without getting or asking anything in return. It is nice to see (albeit very rare) for someone to give and not expect a return nowadays. Anyways again thankyou Dustin, and I will report how the trip went. 
I have read Dustin’s reports for two years. You are right his knowledge and generosity in sharing this with others is amazing. From my experiences I know he has significantly impacted how I fish as well as stepped up my success.
If you really want to step up hire his as a guide. I did last fall. Nothing short of amazing.
Thanks for the kind words guys. Always glad to help out when I can
. Good luck out there!
Thanks for covering for me guys… Mille Lacs was a hoot!
I did just drop the boat off at Everts and HOLY SMOKES is the river high and dirty! Things could be a little tough on pool 4 until things clear up a bit. I will be on the water tomorrow and will share a little report if I’m able to get anything put together.