Mississippi River Walleye Fishing Report 2-8-09

A great ice fisherman has to be able to adapt- and sometimes that means leaving the short rods at home- So when the ice fishing is slow, bring out the long poles on those 40 plus degree days, and catch some open water beauty’s!

Today I was joined on the water with good buddy Marshal Yanda, and my father- Marshal and I have been hitting the ice religiously, but decided it was time to give the ice fishing a day’s rest-

It worked out well for me, because I was really itching to get a chance to work the new colors from B-Fish-N Tackle.
The new purple cracker is well on its way to becoming my favorite! I have always been a big fan of the ringworms/paddletails that have chartreuse in the tail- and purple cracker and gold cracker both can be ordered with a chartreuse tail!!

Marshal, Dad, and I met up at the shop at 6:30 AM and headed east in search of open water on the Mississippi- Not 15 minutes after putting the boat in, Dad had found them and we were yelling “fish on!!”

Doubles, triples, it was a catch fest- and a much needed break from the ice fishing!

The majority of the fish we caught came in 20-25 FOW, relating to current in areas that brought the bait fish over the sand dunes and into the awaiting mouths of hungry walleyes and saugers. If we drifted out into too swift of current or not enough current, there were zero fish being caught-
My favorite color for the day was the purple cracker/chartreuse paddletail-

I am decent open water fisherman, but I really have to give my old man credit, he knows where the fish lay, and can read the water like no one’s business- Thanks for guide trip today Dad!

Marshal and Dad- it was a great day on the water with you two! Hot soup and sandwiches cooked over the charcoal was a great way to end the day!

If you guys have the open water itch, order up some of the new ringworms/paddletails colors from BFT and hit the water!!

Good luck, and we’ll see you on the water!!