Red Wing Walleye Romp!

Another pool 4 report? When the quality of fish being caught is this phenomenal, why not? I had the chance to venture down to Everts Resort for a short weekend and fish with some family members and we were rewarded with a fantastic time! I had the opportunity to snap this photo, for a very happy little fisherman to say the least, on Sunday morning. Nothing wrong with a 9lb 10oz walleye to start the day off! Sorry I didn’t get your name, but congrats on that awesome walleye!

I arrived at the resort on Friday afternoon just in time to drag Dean away from the bait shop to fish the evening bite. We pitched 3-4 spots before finding a nice little sand bar holding a few 22” fish. Nothing huge, but a good way to start the weekend off. Jigs in the 3/16-1/4 oz range with “Everts Ringers” and ringworms put the fish in the boat. The firecracker/chartreuse tail and the “Purple Voo Doo” worked well. We did not find huge numbers, but it felt good to be on the river as it was only my second time back to the river since last April!

The game plan for Saturday was to meet up with my father-in-law, Ron around 7AM and head out in search of some big walleye and then come back in to pick up my dad around 11 or so. After helping Dean scoop minnows for a few hours in the morning, he finally “fired” me and let me get out at about 8:30. When my dad called to see how many Ron and I had and to let us know he was at the resort……we were still looking for our first fish! It wasn’t looking good. When we got to the resort, we had a bite to eat and chatted with a few fishermen. We got a tip to head downstream a few miles and try vertical jigging hair jigs in about 23 feet of water. Dad jumped in the boat with us and we were off. Well after a couple of drifts of getting things figured out we found some dandy sauger! Ron managed the largest, stretching the tape to a tad over 22” I believe, with the smallest at 19”. The skunk was off my back! Kelly green, purple, and chartreuse hair jigs in the 5/16 oz. tipped with minnows were the ticket. After a couple hours of fun action Ron had to make the long trek back to Willmar; so off to the resort we went.

My mom and sister had come down with my dad and were shopping all day, but they decided they better check out the fishing as well. So as Ron drove off to Willmar, Mom and Amie jumped in the boat and we headed back to the dam to try our luck up there again. As I approached one of my favorite spots, I witnessed “Team Redneck” C&R a 7lber. I said hi and moved on as I didn’t want to crowd them. So we decided to vertical jig downstream a ways. I no more than dropped my trolling motor in the water when my phone rang…it was Dean at the resort. He said Redneck just called him to tell him to call me and say they didn’t mind if I moved in by them!!! Both Redneck Sr. and Redneck Jr. are true class acts! Thanks guys!! If you see the “Team Redneck” boat on the water, be sure to say hi! The spot we managed to get was perfect. We managed to bring in a handful of fish ranging from little guys up to 27 inches! My mom even managed to catch her first ever walleye! A 23 incher! My sister, Amie even got in on the action. She learned how to drift a precision jig and ringworm with the best of em. Maybe next time I’ll let her cast to the area where the big ones are! I didn’t want her to get carried away her first time out!! I have to put a big thanks out to all the people who gave me tips throughout the weekend. I have been away way too long and my learning curve was shortened a ton by some very helpful people! Thanks to Dean for putting up with me for the weekend. I even had the privilege to witness Lip Ripper, Wade Kuehl, Ben Garver Blue Fleck and Brian K. in the same room together! Talk about a meeting of the minds! It was nice to meet you guys and to see the rest of you again! Ya, just another pool 4 fishing report, but so much more than fishing involved in a weekend of spending time on the water with family and friends! Now is the time to get out and have the best chance at a fish of a lifetime! See Dean at Everts and he will definitely steer you in the right direction!