Mississippi River Pool 2 fishing report 12-31-06

The last couple of outings have shown some signs of a big fish bite taking place as well as the numbers a little better than weeks past. With an unusually mild winter thus far, it sure makes for easy persuasion to drag the boat out. This is the time of year where the biggest fish of the year seem to show them selves. The time of year where I see the walleyes as heavy as any other time of year, often times 26” walleyes are tipping the scales between 8#-9#. If you are willing to brave the elements, the fish usually are willing to respond.

With the low flows we have been talking about all fall so far, things are no different right now. Very low flows meaning the walleyes are still a bit spread out, try to still use what little current we have to your advantage. Concentrate on those high percentage places such as wingdam tips, bridge pilings, rip rap. Good thing now seems to be that if you find one active fish, there is a very good chance at finding more fish not too far away and it may be worth your time of sitting put there for a bit before moving on. The last couple of trips I have noticed a better day time bite taking place compared to what I was seeing the past 3 weeks or so. With overcast skies or some wind, those fish appear to be staying active throughout the day.

James Holst and I took advantage of a nice afternoon a couple days ago and decided to try our luck looking for a pitching bite…which we both love to do! Before I picked up James at the ramp, I had about a ½ hour to kill so I decided to jump around a couple spots close to the ramp. With in that ½ hour I was fortunate enough to boat 4 quick nice walleyes, which gave me a sign that we could be in for a fun afternoon. After I picked up James, we took a boat ride to a couple of my honey holes for this time of year and it wasn’t long before both connected we some aggressive fish. Pitching 3/16th and 1/8th oz BFishN Tackle’s Precision jigheads with BFT’s 4” ringworms of various colors doing the trick for us. Overall several colors had their limelight but most consistly was oyster shell, catalpa orange and purple with a white tail being the best colors for us this particular afternoon. James and I proceeded to boat about 20 fish that ranged from a few in the 20” range to mostly 23-26 inch walleyes. The biggest fish of the trip came as a 26” fish hit the scales at close to 9#. 26” fish weighing close to 9#…..thats just seems so out of proportion, but that gives you an idea of how fat these fish are running right now.

I have about 10 days before my boat will be sent back down to River Pro in Missouri for a little touch up paint job. I do have a few openings left right now if anybody is looking to get out and take advantage of this big fish bite here on Pool 2. With January creeping up on us, we continue to tap into borrowed time with mother nature being so kind to us and letting us take advantage of such mild weather.

The boat ramps are all in good working order right now and all big boats are being launched right now. Currently we are amidst of a 3 day rain right now and we will most likely be seeing some changes in the river tale place in the coming days to a week. River clarity will most likely dirty up a bit and the day bite may continue to get a bit better for all of us that love to fish bankers hours!

Good luck to all and be safe and enjoy your New Year’s celebration! See you in 2007!