With Spring approaching, my winter hibernation has come to an end 
! It’s about time!! It’s been a long cold winter and even thinking of floating a boat on most days didn’t even get the blood flowing 
. I kicked off my guide season last week and found out those big river walleyes had been waiting for my arrival 
!
On the last two guide trips we have taken bigger walleyes on a couple of presentations. Ringworms, or jig/minnow. Both presentations have put really nice walleye in the boat depending on activity level of the fish. Early and late in the day, ringworms have been key. Mid day, jig and minnow has been the bait of choice. I have been targeting shallow rock or sand with very little to no flow on them. Those walleye are starting to move daily right now. Dead slack water adjacent to the main river channel is a good place to start. These bigger fish will stop and feed in areas like these, maybe even days at a time if the water levels hold until they decide to get back on their migration route.
My best depth for the better fish has been 10‘-15’ if it is cloudy, 10’ and shallower if we are fortunate to get a warm sunny day. The sun can do wonders for the shallow water walleye bite this time of year. That sun pulls the baitfish shallower in search of a Spring food source, the walleye follow. Casting is pretty much the only option right now to target these shallower fish. The water clarity on the big river this past week was 7’ to the human eye. Keeping the boat a safe distance away from your target area, and making long casts, is essential to keep bigger fish from spooking on calm days.
My best ringworm colors have been the ol’ winter stand byes, pro-blue and oyster shell have done the damage in my boat. Black, sour apple, or pain lead precision jigs from B-fish have been my jig colors of choice on plastics. Black jigs, or chartreuse colored jig heads have been my best color head when using jig/minnow.
I have not taken the time to pursue the sauger bite on my last couple of trips. This bite has been very day to day from the anglers I have spoke to pursuing these fish. Evening and morning has been best as of late. Dragging ringworms up river, or down river, has been the best presentation to get these fish in the boat. Up river sounds like it has been best for most anglers that are dragging. I have boated a couple of pig female Sauger that are staging in the 10“-12’ depths right now while casting for walleye. Don’t be afraid to target the shallower areas when dragging plastics, especially in the morning and late afternoon hours.
With the warmer temps finally here, we are going to see several changes on the big river over the next few weeks. Prepare yourself for daily changes in fish location, water clarity, and presentations to be consistent in boating fish.
Rumor has it that a good friend of mine boated a big river Walleye just over 13lbs on his maiden Spring voyage. Maybe he can chime in here and show us all a picture 
I will see you on the river!
Eric Rehberg and I shared a boat last week searching out some new water. Eric boated this walleye on a blade bait
Nice fish and report Dustin….
Nice fish guys!
Nice fish guys
Thanks for the report Dustin.
Great report. Those are some really nice fish.
Nice fish! What pool?
Great report Dustin!
It must feel good to be back on the water again! 
Nice fish Dustin, it was good chatting with you the other night in the shop.
Pool 4 is the place JakeH.
Jami
Keep my seat warm
Nice report Dustin.
Hey I heard it was over 14 pounds.
Hope to see you on the water next week
man you guys sure know what you are doing nice fish might have to set up a guide trip
It was a pleasure joining you in your boat for the day. It was fun to explore some new water also.
Hope to do it again some time soon 
See you in a couple of days 
Thanks for the tips and report Dustin
VERY nice fish Dusty. Thanks for the report and pics.
Thanks, Bill
Great Report!
Glad to hear you are back in action!
Nice fish guys!
Sure didn’t take you long to get right back on the big girls Dustin.
Boog
Great report Dustin, those are some pigs
Thanks for the report, Dustin. I would really like to see the pics of the 13+!
Man those are some nice fish Dustin
Very, very good job!!!!
Great Report
Nice Fish Guys 
Awesome fish! Can not wait to get on the open water. Keep us posted on the fish activity.
Jeweler
Nice report. Very nice fish.
You guys are funny. Nothing like a big fish that continues to gain weight after you catch it and let it go… lol
It was 13.8 on Dean’s digi-scale.
So next spring I get to claim she was 14.5, correct?
Dean has a lot more photos of this dandy and a bunch more big fish caught this past week. But you’ll have to lean on the counter top in the baitshop to see those.
Dustin,
Great report!
It’s nice to see you two guys are out of hibernation. I’m coming out of it tomorrow and like you said I’m ready to be out of the house-what a long winter. See ya on the river!
Jeff
Hey James that looks 15 to me
Great job and glad to see you still get to the river.
P.S. Deans digital weighs light
if I turn my head it looks maybe 16
That is a great photo way to go
Nice report Dustin
Beautiful fish there James, 14.5 lbs that is a lot of fish.
Where and how did you catch her???
Nice report Dustin
Beautiful fish there James, 14.5 lbs that is a lot of fish.
Where and how did you catch her???
welcome back to the open water. great report and awesome pictures as usual. keep up the good work
There you guys go again… lol It weighed in at 13.8. Fisherman don’t need any help exaggerating their catches but everyone seems very willing to lend me a hand with this one.
Here’s the link to the report about how and when it was caught. >>> web page
Holey smurf socks!!!
14.8 lbs is a HUGE WALLEYE, man
are you getting a replica made?
15.4..wow
never even seen a 18.3 walleye before!!
Seriously, a nice, nice fish!
Great Report Dustin,,,
Awesome..
Jack..