Since my last report,things on the upper end of the pool have shifted gears in to more of a summer time pattern. By that I mean “several presentations” are putting fish in the boat right now. On recent outings I have put walleyes in the boat trolling cranks, 3-way rigging bait, casting jigs/plastics, casting hair jigs and dragging jigs/bait. Out of the above presentations trolling cranks and dragging jigs/bait have been best for my boat.
With the higher water levels we are seeing right now the fish are still up in the back waters and flooded timber. There are many fish main channel as well but I personally have been focusing on slower moving water in the side channels. Trolling cranks is a good bet just to locate fish right now. Once fish are found and the crank bite slows, 3-waying bait will coax some extra fish to the boat. 3-waying bait rigs right on a current edge can be deadly in this high water. If you are focusing on some of the side channels and back waters there are areas with slower current in them that will be great jig dragging water. Key to getting fish dragging jigs right now is to focus on areas where the water is moving slower than 1.3mph on the GPS, anything faster than that and 3-waying will be your best bet to take fish on bait.
Blue jigs or orange jigs have been best. Leeches have out fished crawlers on most days for me so far this season. Not sure why, but on an average year crawlers excel for me before leeches are preferred. Guess ya’ just never know what those darn walleyes are going to want to eat. Best depths have been in the 4’ to 14’ of water on jigs. Key to making this bite work right now is not the depth but the current speed.
Best color cranks have been orange/blue or fire tiger shad raps. Depths of 4’ to 10’ have been my target areas. Both lead core and long-lining have taken fish for me. Trolling speed in the river have been in the 1.6mph to 2.0 mph range. On the lake I have taken walleye/sauger running in the 1.8mph to 2.8mph range. If your main focus is the lake, keep in mind that trolling speeds will generally be more aggressive in the afternoon hours than in the am hours on a warm sunny day. Making wide S-turns on your trolling run, (if you are on a big flat and not a break-line)V.S trolling in a straight line, will allow you to cover many speeds at once, plus your cranks will run through water your boat has not. The S-turns help to eliminate spooking of fish when targeting those shallower depths in the 5’ to 12’ of clean water on the lake.
A couple of weeks ago I shared my boat with Joan and Paul Ward. Joan and Paul just moved to the Wabasha area and were interested in learning more about river walleyes. On this day we caught walleyes casting jig/ringworms and hair jigs, vertical jigging ringworms and dragging jigs/bait. The am hours were spent casting with some nice fish to show but the numbers just weren’t there for us so we switched over to dragging jigs/bait and the fish were very cooperative for us………kind of like someone just flipped a switch an fish started to jump in the boat 
! Ok, maybe not that good but we did finish the day with a 3 man limit of walleye:o.
Joan and Paul are pictured above with some of the better fish we brought to the boat on this trip. We were fortunate enough to have the problem of almost half the days catch measuring over 20”. We were still able to get some walleye in the eater range under 20”. It was a pleasure to fish with the 2 of you and am looking forward to fishing again in the future. Best of luck with your new addition that’s on it’s way 
!
Anglers staying at Everts Resort are focusing on the white bass right now. With the higher water the White Bass have been very cooperative in the flooded timber and weed growth that’s found in the slack water areas. The reports from the guys I have talked to have been great. Hair Jigs, plastics and cranks are doing most of the damage right now.
The rivers is in good shape, debris is at a minimum, but still keep your eye’s peeled for that hidden dead head!
See Ya’ on the river! 
Here is another nice fish I caught dragging jigs.
Very nice report Dustin,
You still da man.
keep ’em coming.
You going “Fishing” anywhere on the “Opener”. LOL.
Jack..
Great report Dustin, Nice t-shirt there also.
Dustin dragging how deep of water were your best results if you don’t mind. Also to you think this cold snap weather we are having will change patterns. Thanks as always for your insight. RB
The area I have been doing best dragging is 8′-12′ deep right now.
Any time you have water temps drop like they willl from this cooler weather the bite will slow down from what it was. Patterns will remain somewhat the same but the quantity of fish will be on the lower side in most instances. In cold front conditions, knowing what areas the fish are in and parking on them for a longer period of time will usually pay off at days end.
Great report and fish pic’s, thanks.
Just came across this report, thanks for the 15 minutes of fame!
That was certainly the most educational day I’ve spent in a boat and I think Joan would agree. We put your techniques to use back down in Wabasha and had another great day of fishing (numbers-wise, nothing huge). Went out yesterday and had a terrible day, but it’s a whole new ballgame now. Gotta figure out the hot weather techniques.
Anyways, we had a great day of fishing with you, Dustin. Hope to do it again this year.
Nice report Dustin. Glad to see you getting on the water!
Nice fish buddy!
Gotta love this time of year on the river with some stable weather patterns (water levels)!
BTW….smallies are biting up in my nexk of the woods if you want to hop in and get in on the action and a change of scenery!
Thanks for the kind words Paul
. Good to see that you and Joan have been gettin after um with some success 