Well when I got up Saturday morning my wind gauge said 16.7 mph out of the north west, at 4:30 am.
I knew we were going to be in for a challenging day.
I teamed up with Marty Hahn for a fun filled day on the water.
The air temps were 23 degrees when we started our day.
You definitely needed a few layers of clothing and alot of patience cause the eyelets kept iceing over.
The water was up about a foot from last weekend, but was slowly dropping.
We were looking to boat a few mama eyes. Here is a photo of one that whacked a firecracker chartreuse paddletail.
Marty and I started our day pitching ringworms and bucktail into some current seams and timber looking for some gold.
Our first fish of the day fell to Marty. He pitched a 1/4 oz jig with a Chartreuse green core into a current seam.
A savage 22 inch sauger was waiting and the fight was on.
Great fish Marty.
This fish was photoed and released to swim another day.
We caught some fish that were milking and spewing eggs everywhere. Also some that I think had already spawned.
My opinion on this years spawn is that it will not go down as one of our better years.
I think that last weeks warm water got them started and then the water temp dropped 10 degrees over night and we are just starting to recoupe some of that water temp.
There are alot of big girls staging to dump but I believe some already have.
Here is another picture of a girl we released.
With the conditions that we were presented with we had a hard day chasing the gold fish.
Our total number was ten fish to the boat. We were on the water for about ten hours. We did not find any piggys.
So we struggled, all eyes were released and I brought home five eater sauger none over 18 inches.
All but one of our fish came on a paddletail and it had to be that one for our boat. This next photo is the bait of the day for us.
Take care be safe on the water.
Thanks for the great day Marty.
Hope to see you soon.
Good to see you putting those PT’s to good use Greg !!
Great report and I’ll bet it was quite a struggle dealing with mother nature
Thanks Dave
We never got any pigs, but just some nice eyes.
They really seemed picky to me cause I was bumping some fish with the jigs they just seemed to want that Firecracker chartreuse tail PT.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Boy what a day today they are probably spanking them and here I sit at home.
Happy Easter everyone.
Thanks for the report and pics Bud. Seems like you have been having alot of fun lately.
Thanks, Bill
Nice report as usual Vandy! I should be on the water by 2:00 tomorrow. I hope to see you down there the next few days…
Yes Bill I sure have been picking the days to fish raining or windy….today was great and I sat home..
Tom I won’t be back down until Friday..you should be timing it just right buddy.
Nice Report! Thanks!!!
Good report Greg,
Thanks,
Jack..
Great report Greg. What I thought was really interesting was the part about the walleyes spewing eggs etc. I was hammered on this site two years ago because I said I was concerned about fishing this time of the year because I witnessed eggs flowing out of fish in the net and nobody, I mean nobody, said they had ever seen that! I personally do not fish this time of the year because of that. Not to knock you at all but it says that at least one person has seen what I witnessed years ago. Gosh darn I still feel that the fishing should be shut down this time of the year! It just makes common sense which I know that will draw hundreds of protests as this can’t be true because the walley population is still great. Well, I am 68 years old and it is not anything like it used to be and someday down the line we will wonder howcome we did not leave those fish alone at this time of the year. Why do we have liberal fishing on the river? Because it is still good but just like a lot of lakes in this state it will, I repeat, will go south down the line! Thanks again for your reports. No offense to you Greg! JJ
No offense taken.
Everyone has a right to there opinion and we all have one.
This is where I stand on this.
I joined this site when it first came online. My thoughts were if I would help my self and others to become better fisherman we have a win win situation.
There are still alot of people out there whom think the internet is destroying Pool 4. My thought is if you learn how to catch fish and you do on a regular basis you will let more go.
As far as fishing during the spawn. My thoughts are it is a lawful act so I will partake in it. This is one of the most challenging times of year. You are pitted against constant weather changes, the river is changing on a daily basis. I am learning every time out and trying to figure the fish out. This is a challenge that I personally love to put myself up too.
As far as the river and the old days well don’t get me going there. I have fished the river for 25 years. I have seen nothing but constant improvement here on pool 4.
Back in the 70’s this was a crap hole. Heck raw sewage was being dumped from every small town lineing the river.
I do not remember what President it was but they enacted some clean water bills. We have been moving forward with protecting the enviroment and it is paying off big time here on Pool 4.
I really do not know if this Pool can get any better.
Another opinion here but I think that Pool 4 is the best walleye fishery in the Midwest. Like I said just my thoughts. I have no science to back it up. You can catch a five pound fish or better, almost every time out through out the year and in my book that is an awesome fishery.
Here on pool 4 I believe that the fishing pressure will never effect the pool however if we let the water quaility go to hell then to the fishery will disappear.
I want my nephew to tell his kids that when he fished this pool as a kid he caught great fish. And he has..
I want his children to be able to catch great fish on pool 4 in 20 years.
If I thought for a moment that I was hurting the pool by fishing in the spring I would stop. But my friend I do not see a few of the walleyes that we catch and release hurting in an way shape or form.
The walleye population is much better now than 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. Frankly… for both numbers and size, the good old days are now.
And as to the effect of the lost eggs that come from walleyes caught by anglers… and please know I say this with all respect due you… they don’t amount to a hill of beans.
The number of walleyes spawning does not determine the strength of the year class. Environmental factors like weather and water conditions have the greatest impact.
The MN DNR has repeatedly stated that changing limits or adding slots is not the most effective way to improve walleye populations on pool 4. Habitat improvement is… with emphasis placed on reducing the silt load that comes into pool 4 from the Minnesota River.
If you wanted to “save” the greatest number of walleyes by shutting down the fishery at some point in the year… you would need to do it in May or June when the catch rates are high. March / April are not peak harvest months despite the fishing pressure.
Shutting the fishery down in April would remove a PERCEIVED harm being done to the fishery when all the studies and population figures show that the impact of the year round season has had little impact on the health of the fishery.
You obviously care greatly about the quality of the fishery on Pool 4. I would suggest you call and talk to the MN DNR in Lake City and take the time to look into some of the studies and research that is available. Those guys do an amazing job… they were out there today shocking and counting fish near the Vermilion River inlet.
Here is one of the Pool 4 Telemetry Walleye/Sauger Studies, It is always good to review and go over again.
Jack..
Walleye/Sauger Study
Greg,
Thanks for the report. I personally struggle trying to find fish when the river is roaring. I will be down there next weekend. Should I be focusing on backwater with plastics at that time?
I have been targeting current seams on the eddies off the main channel.
This past Saturday we found our fish on the 16 to 22 foot edge with half coming from the deeper water.
A guy would do well to look for bottle necking areas where the fish will be traveling to and from the spawning areas.
The water is on the drop so things will change again this week.
Good luck out there.
James, I know for a fact that you could out fish me any day on any week. I would just like to say that you could contact any “old” river rat about fishing in pool four and they would dispute the “scientific evidence” on the grounds of our experinces. I am not a revered river rat just to make that clear. I am old, I am an experienced fisherman from way back. I could tell you stories about pool four on the lower end that you would not believe! I catch a lot of fish on pool four to this day. I respect you and I respect this site! However, please try to listen to the old timers who are great fisherman and listen to them. I am talking about fisherman who still fish, who are very good at it, who have fished pool four for many years, and are concened about this great fishery. I respect you and lots of guys like you such as Greg etc. I could send you some names of people who are better fisherman than I and have been fishing this pool for many years. If you are interested I would contact them to get their permission and I think you would enjoy talking to them. They are not anti anything but just great people who have fished the pool for years. Sincerly. John Jacobs aka, StaleMackrel
Hey John,
I think that if you been on the river that long you for sure have earned the title River Rat.
Some of my concerns for the river are the destruction of habitat and the silting problems, water quality to name a few.
I am also very pleased with what a great fishery this is.
Mike my nephew last year when he was 15 years old caught on this pool the biggest northern, biggest catfish, biggest sturgeon, and biggest sauger of his life.
I am also very pleased to be a member of such a great web site where we can share our views and thoughts.
I have meet many new people and friends through this site.
I have also become a better fisherman, through new techniques, conversations and trips with fellow fisherman.
One thing I wished that some of the guys that are older then me that I fish with had computers, so they could share the wealth of info and stories with us all. But they do not, it is not there thing and I know a couple of them give me the evil eye when I put pics and posts up, but I do it any way.
This is a great place to be. And I believe this site will only enhance the fishery.
John
I read your post and I have no doubts to your sincerity. Your enthusiasm and choice of words ring true and I’m sure we would enjoy sharing a boat catching whatever came our way.
As for the lower end… it has aged. Drastically. Maybe the word is “matured.” Siltation has changed the lower end at an ever accelerating pace and has forced anglers to adapt.
I started my guide career down on that end. My guess is you don’t know that. 100+ days a year pounding it out on the wingies and in the side cuts. During my brief time spent down there learning the area and getting to the point where I felt comfortable enough to guide the area the geography changed. And in quite dramatic fashion.
The flood years of 1997 and 2000 (I believe those were the years) took a tremendous toll on the depth and flow through the backwaters.
Navigable side cuts turned to sand bars. Backwater lakes with 8′ of water lost an amazing amount of depth. Closing dams silted in. Some of my favorite backwater bays filled with sand.
And those two flood years are only two years representing a pair events in a succession of events over decades that changed those areas forever. I’m not claiming to have seen the “major” event responsible for it all. Only that I saw the changes caused by a pair of flood years and reacted to the resulting changes in the fishery.
The south end will never be what it was 40 years ago without intensive dredging and the removal of a number of closing dams that have starved the backwaters for life-giving flow. The taming of the river through the use of windams, closing dams and riprap have guaranteed that the backwaters would silt in and die. And they have.
And with the loss of the productivity of those areas we lost many fishing opportunities.
Other areas on pool 4 have blossomed. The fish numbers in those areas are incredible. But I force myself to remember that things change. Fishing “holes” are a dime a dozen. The ability to find new ones when conditions change is the true test of the angler.
Don’t take my word for it… test net result for walleye on pool 4 are at an all time high over the last decade. But the areas used by those walleyes has changed. Ever so slightly over time but continuously. The walleye thrive but we as anglers struggle to keep pace.
You got that right.
Seriously. If you round up a couple of these guys I KNOW I could round up a couple of my buddies… and we’ll bring beer.
I know I would be a more knowledgable angler after that meeting.
Reading the different views expressed in this discussion are very thoughtful and I would add respectful. I would venture to guess that regardless of where you stand with your opinion something that may be missed is the fact of common agreement between most of us. Regardless of perspective, we all want the same thing that being a quality and sustainable fishery.
The threat to this goal isn’t really about how many fish you keep (legally) or the merits of fishing during the spawn. Most of these discussions actually have minimal impact on the overall fishery. The long term threat lies in loss of habitat and environment degradation.
Floods are part of the natural cycle, however what is obviously happening is that human change has made these events more damaging and significantly altering the benefits of flood events in a negative way.
The real threat to the quality of the Pool 4 fishery is up-stream. I would venture to guess that the abnormal siltation carried from the Minnesota river (due to human change), will eventually settle in the less currented areas (the bottom of Pool 4) and this is really the significant change agent in the quality of the fishery Siltation, regardless of where it comes from may be the major agent in changing the quality of the fishery. It’s clear that changing management practice as well as improved water quality have positively impacted our local rivers. But now we have to look at what is next!
We all have a wonderful resource in our rivers and all of us want the same thing- sustainable and regeneration of fishery as well as all the other plants and animals that come with healthy habitat.
With that said, we may want to put some discussion into what I.D.A. as a organization can do further on a micro and Macro level to better influence and lobby for improving habitat. This is a great point of agreement for all of us; we all want the same thing.
ok gang, i have been reading about pool 4 for quite some time now and am truly impressed with the anglers and the fish that inhabit the area. I am a central iowa boy and call okoboji area my home water in nw iowa. Wifey and i venture north to minn 2 times yearly to an area just south of Leach and to be honest the companionship and long time friends far out weighs the fishing…lol (not that it cant be good). I would love to put my wife on some larger walleyes one of these trips( shes a fishin fool as Ryan Hale can attest) but with a 17 ft boat and 50 h motor theres no way this fat man is headin for mille lacs..lol. Can you guys fill me in a bit where pool 4 is exactly and if my rig will handle this water? Thanks in advance John
Thanks for being open minded on this subject and I did not know about the information that you wrote about the changes in lower pool 4. My hat is off to you for that information because it tells me things that I did not know before! It answers a lot of questions and explains about what my concerns are. Let me just say this about guys who really know how to fish this river as they frequent Everts quite a bit. Art Bianchi, Keith Todd, and Gary Stonning. They are really, I mean really, good fisherman in this area. Gary is not yet retired but he knows what he is doing as do the above mentioned names. They have fished for many years and do not have a hard on for any issues except to enjoy fishing on this pool in the future just like me. They are much better fisherman than I am. I just really have enjoyed this exchange with you, Greg, and others. Let me just say this as a closure and not a jab; fishing season is for catching and spawning season is for reproduction. Just an old bull headed German expressing himself and probably not as clear as I would like to do. This is a great site and I am very happy to be a very small part of it. JJ
Your rig is more than adequate! Where to fish on this pool depends on the time of year, river flow, type of fishing you like to do (jig, drag, or troll). I released a 30 inch walleye last May near LaCupolic area. Interesting enough about this fish is that it was my third 30 inch walleye caught in my lifetime. One was on Saganaga, in August, one was on Big Cutfoot Sioux on opening week, and the last one was at LaCupolis last may. What was interesting to me is that all three fish had a 16 and 1/2 inch girth! I mounted the first fish at the campsite at Sag. The others were pictures and released. I think that this is interesting because of the different areas, times of season, and they all had the exact dimmensions!