Pool #4 Open Water Update !

By Dean Marshall 0

Boy,talk about some ugly weather hitting us now ! How was the bite this week? It is no secret that the saugers have been on a terror here for quite some time. With that in mind , some of the best walleye locations have basically went untouched.Having the oppurtunity to get out late afternoon friday was way too tempting to pass up.

After catching some fish in the community spots, we opted to try some un-fished water and the results were very productive! A pass or two and on to the next spot.It was interesting to see all year classes of fish revealing themselves on this end of Pool #4.Some of walleyes that were just under legal size this past Oct appear to be measuring now.Just the perfect size in my opinion if you choose to keep a fish for dinner.Some fisherman have been challenged to catch eater sized ,as it can be very difficult to leave bigger fish to look for eaters.

This better walleye not shy about how she approached our dragging presentation.It was obvious that I had a better quality fish on ,the instant she bit.

Everyone always asks what color and weight jigs to use.That is probably one of the most difficult questions to answer because of all the potential variables,especially on a river system.For our bite this afternoon, 1/16,3/32,1/8,and 3/16 were all effective weights for the locations we were fishing.One of the things that works well for me is to pre tie 4 rods with 4 different jig weights before I ever go out. Doing so,lets the fish tell me what they want rather than me trying to tell them what they should bite on.Results may vary, LOL !

Plastic colors have been very predictable in our very clear water now. Day in day out,B-fish Firecracker /chart tail is as consistant as any.Should it get cloudy or low light at the end of the day,a shift to darker colors is in order.I have found making slight changes in color do put an xtra fish or two in the boat.

The bladebait pitching bite is also starting to yield some good fish for anglers as well.

I hope everyone has a chance to get out and catch some fish wether it be ice or open water. It appears that the next couple of days will be a good time to go through the stash you forgot about and re-stock the tackle boxes and respool some reels!

0 Comments

  8. Quote:

    Very nice Dean!

    How big was the eye pictured on the top right?

    Pete

    Too big to land without a net…..but did it anyway! Anybody have my net? No weight or measurement, just a pic and back in the water.Certainly a far cry from what we are about to see caught in the near future.

    I hear ya John….hard to leave the quality of fish you have been on, but there is so much good water that has been untouched as of late.That is why this time of year is so much fun and productive! We had one group out today,they were able to get out of the wind and were rewarded with a tremendous bite.

  11. Way to go Dean! If I could get away and get down there I would do just what you did and try to tap into some ‘eyes away from the dam.

    dd

  12. Dean – Next weekend I’m making it over for some fishing! These reports are killing me. Stay warm the rest of the weekend. MIKE

  13. Love the Pool 4 reports all year, but especially in the dead of winter. Nice fish Dean. Glad to hear that you can break away for some of that action. Hoping to see you in next few weeks.


  14. Quote:

    Too big to land without a net…..but did it anyway! Anybody have my net? No weight or measurement, just a pic and back in the water.Certainly a far cry from what we are about to see caught in the near future.

    Don’t sell yourself short, Dean. That’s a very nice eye for a lot of us deprived people.

    Great report

  15. Sure is nice to see you get out and have some fun, great report.

    Be sure to leave some of the better fish for us poor souls that can`t be there.

  20. Nice report, It was also nice to here a friendly voice in the dark and my son Trey told me to say Hi. He really liked your pictures. We caught few, what a blast right befoe the storm.

  24. Quote:

    Dean great report on the fish with this cold weather. do you have an average size of the saugers caught.

    Good question that I really cant answer very well as some anglers are just on better fish than others.But across the board,I would say 16-17 has been the average.Some folks though, are certainly closer to a 19 inch range for an average. Self-imposed selective harvest has really assisted in a very quality sauger fishery that is second to none IMO.

  25. Great job Deano! Glad to see you could steal a little time and enjoy that wonderful resource you get to look at everyday

    Save a few in the water for me, I’ll be seeing you soon!

    Jami

  28. Great report Dean !Some dandy fish there also .Hopefully if it ever quits snowing I will be up in a few weeks.

  30. Quote:

    Nice report Dean, I see you are getting good use out of that Snosuit

    Sure am Scott….this is what I looked like before the snosuit..trying to stay warm out there!

    My casting seems to have improved and those reflective stripes work pretty good too!

    .

  33. Quote:

    Dean do you keep any of the sauger? I may can’t poo pooed I keep more sauger than walleyes.

    I sure do….but I only keep fish a handfull of times per year,and I am biased on prefering the fresh caught 16 inch & less for the table.Those sized fish can be challenging to find sometimes.

  34. Dean, I am coming your way on Sunday and was wondering what has been going lately? Vertical jigging by the wing dams or dragging plastics working better? See ya on Sunday.

    thanks

  35. Joe….dragging has by far been the best……however when we have floating ice,you are pretty much stuck with going verticaltill the ice clears.

  37. Nice fish and report. Hope to get out next w/e. I’m new to this site, but am excited with what I’ve seen / read so far.

  38. Welcome to IDO Goose89!

    There will be some hot sticks at Everts this coming Saturday. Dean’s holding the Freeze Your Butt Off contest. Great time to meet some of the River Rats in the area along with River Mouses…like me!

  39. Quote:

    Great report Dean! Will try to get up there one of theses days.

    Signed,

    Todo

    I thought it was “frodo” ..

    At least I got the “red baron” part right!

    BTW…Welcome to IDO Goose!

Leave a Comment