It’s been a very long time since my last report, and for good reason, I haven’t spent a full day on the river for a long time. Sure, a quick 3-4 hour outing here and there, but that doesn’t count in my book! 
I was able to spend four full days on the river Wednesday thru Saturday of this week with several nice walleyes making it to the boat 
. The walleye fishing was not stellar for large numbers of fish but the quality of the catch more then made up for the lack of numbers in the areas I was targeting. I was fortunate enough to boat several nice walleye in the 25” to 29” class over the course of my 4 day stint 
. My best presentation was to drag light jigs tipped with bait in the backwaters and side channels on the upper portions of pool 4. Best jig colors were blue, black and orange. Blue jigs worked well in sunny and overcast conditions, black was very good when I encountered overcast skies and orange excelled when the sun shined bright. I targeted slower moving water with my best results in depths of 4’ to 13’.
I ran into good friend Greg Vandemark one afternoon on the water:). Since the both of us were fishing solo the following day, we made plans to share a boat together. With previous days success dragging jigs/bait for bigger walleye, that was our presentation for the day. By days end Greg and I had a fair number of walleye in the upper teens and low twenties and 5 big walleyes in the 25“-28” range 
. 4 of our fish are pictured here in the report, I will post the other walleye below. It was great to finally share a boat with you Greg, I look forward to more outings down the road. 
I spent a limited amount of time trolling cranks and 3-way rigging bait. However, I did spend enough time with these other presentations to convince me dragging jigs was the best approach for the bigger fish during my time on the water. Dragging jigs down river and trolling cranks or 3-way rigging back up river to set up for another pass will give you a good feel for what the fish want on the day you hit the river 
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I cut back my fishing time and guide schedule dramatically since the birth of our son Kaiden 2 months ago to spend more time around home 
. I am back to guiding in the month of June and do have some open dates if anyone is interested in seeing what the mighty river on the upper part of pool 4 has to offer. The walleye bite on the upper portions of pool 4 with continue to improve on in to June. Warming nights and stable weather will put those fish on the chew .
The upper portion of pool 4 is in great shape right now. The water clarity is very good for this time of year and debris is minimal. There is some very shallow sand bars in the back waters to watch out for, be careful out there.
I’ll see you on the river!
Here I am pictured with the 5th big walleye Vandy and I had on this day
Another jig dragging walleye, 29″
Another one
Another one
Another one
Wow, Very Impessive!
VERY nice fish guys. You can tell Dustys back in action and he has a great partner with Greg.
Thanks for the report and picks. 
Thanks, Bill
nice fish
Great return to action Dustin!
When are we going fishing?
We can call it a therapy trip for new Dads….
Hey Dustin it was a great day fishing with you..
I kinda like the back of a boat, I had a blast..
We will do it again.
Great report Dustin. Those are some nice walleye. I know we shared some of the same water the last few days and the big gals were in there if ya stuck them out. Just wish the bite Saturday had been more like the few days before that. I think you heard me yell when the boy had the big one come unbuttoned yesterday morning. That one hurt, it is haunting us today.
That boy of yours is sure growing, won’t be long till you have a new fishing partner. He is a lucky boy. Thanks for the report.
Rich
great report dustin. what should a guy be thinking about for the june 23rd gtg? will your patterns hold up or will we have to change gears? nice fish!
nice fish Dustin you guys really pounded that shore line but it produced for you. Patience will usually pay off if you believe
Great report Dustin!!!!!! That is a load of piggies.
Thanks for the great report Dustin, Glad you got out
Thanks for the report Dustin! Glad to hear the little one is doing well.
Nice fish Dustin, good to see you’re back on the water.
Great lookin’ fish Dustin
Nice job on the fish Dustin – and on helping out at the home front. I have always said you know you have really accomplished something when you first hold those bundles of joy. And you have also accomplished something to catch that many nice fish over so many days – congrats!
I was wondering what size jigs were being used for the dragging? Thanks, Chuckles
If the water levels remain on the lower side, dragging jigs will still produce well. This pattern will hold throughout the summer months.
Don’t leave your trolling rods at home. Cranks will see some banner days in the warm weather of June
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I used jigs in the 1/16oz 3/32oz and 1/8oz. 1/16oz did the most damage during my time on the water.
Thanks Rich! Congrats again to you and Chris on a great finish in the tourney. It was nice sharing water with you and Chris. I look forward to spending many days on the mighty river with Kaiden
Those are some nice fish there Dustin.
I should have listened to Stuart’s (@ Evert’s on Sunday) advice and hit those backwaters….
Great fish!!!
Awesome fish, Dustin!!
Dustin, I appreciate the mini-guide trip the other day. You really helped us improve our learning curve on your big river. Thanks a ton and good luck on the future guide trips!
Good Job Dusty!!
You have the big fish pegged!!