Pool 4 walleye and sauger report 4-2-09 – 4-7-09

I made the trip from Nebraska to Pool 4 for the second time this year and had a great time fishing with some great friends from IDO. Joining me on this trip was IDO’s very own Bass Specialist, Wade Kuehl. With up and down weather patterns this spring Pool 4 has not been following its typical spring patterns for bites. With the fast snow melt in the north the water had raised much sooner than normal and water temps were in the upper 30’s range keeping fish lethargic and leaving typical prespawn patterns slow at best. We found that slow presentations put in the face of both walleye and sauger could get them to finally commit to taking the bait. We also found out that our pattern for eater sized fish could also bring a trophy sized fish to the boat.

Like thousands of other fishermen from across the mid-west I have always found that staying at Evert’s Resort or launching there can and will greatly increase your odds for a successful day on the waters of Pool 4. Dean is always on top of the latest hot patterns and colors of BfishN Tackle jigs and plastics as well as a variety of rods and reels to suit any budget and increase your odds for your day on the water. Wade and I struggled our first couple of days on the water. We were trying to target larger fish and were quickly humbled by the untypical conditions on the river. We boated a few decent saugers while pitching ringworms but the bigger fish were not in the mood to take our offering. On Saturday we jumped in with good friend and long time Pool 4 fisherman, Dustin Stuart. Dustin had a jig dragging pattern that was putting some nice sauger and walleyes in the boat. We set out in search of current seams and pulled 3/16th oz. Precision jigs and 1/4 oz. Draggin Jigs inside the seams. Water depths varied from 7 to 12 feet and the fish really seemed to be piled in these areas. Now getting them to bite was still a little tough but keeping your boat speed around .40 to .60 MPH seemed to be the best way to get bit. We played with colors quite a bit and found that with the cloud cover darker colors were key and Purple and Chartreuse Ringworms were the hot bait for the day.

The last few days of our trip seemed to get better and better as the water temps slowly climbed toward the 40 degree mark. We found that the temperature would drop back a degree or two over night and warm a degree or two during the day. This meant better bites for us in the afternoon. On Sunday, we were joined in my boat by IDO Field Staffer Sean Lyons. With rain and snow in the morning we decided a hearty breakfast at Liberty’s in Red Wing sounded great. We put off getting on the water until after noon. This was enough time to let the sun come out and that really seemed to get things heated up. We had some decent fish come to the boat including Wade’s 26.5 inch fish in the picture above. This was caught on a 3/16th oz. orange and yellow Precision jig with a Firecracker and Chartreuse tail Ringworm. With the sunny conditions the brighter color patterns seemed to be good. After heading in for dinner we had Dustin and Sean both join us for a few hours before dark. A few more nice fish came to the boat including a decent walleye that most consider too big to be an eater. The day ended with 3 fish in the “over” category and 15 or more in the “eater” division and lots of “shorts”.

Monday brought some warm weather and very little boat traffic. With the water temps getting closer to the 40 degree mark we wanted to get back to pitching jigs and plastics but the wind wasn’t going to allow this to happen. Once again as the water warmed throughout the day, the afternoon bite was best for us. Wade and I were finally able to get Dean out of Evert’s bait shop on the water for some of the jig dragging action we’d been on the last several days. With the sunny skies we continued to have good success on the brighter color patterns. We also found the fish starting to liven up a little. We had our first double of the week and two more doubles weren’t far behind. With the numbers of fish coming to the boat finally getting better we were able to land 2 to 4 fish on a single pass. In talking with Dean that afternoon he really wished the wind wasn’t blowing so hard. He really felt that pitching jigs could be productive for some bigger fish. Thanks for joining us on Monday Dean we sure enjoyed having you along. As we headed in for the day, Wade and I discussed leaving early in the morning but Dean quickly reminded us of the 12 and 13 pound fish that get caught this time of year. We knew the wind was going to be down in the morning and a few hours of pitching could really end the trip on a good note. It was a cold morning but the water temp was still close to that 40 degree mark. On my first cast of the morning I connected with a chunky 19 inch walleye that was sitting in some shallow water and it didn’t take long for Wade to land a similar sized fish. We were both pitching 3/16th oz. pink and yellow Precision jigs with firecracker and chartreuse ringworms. With a long drive ahead of us we decided to end the trip on those two fish and headed back to Evert’s to pack up.

This was only my third trip to Pool 4 for the spring bite and I really leaned a lot on this trip. I’ve always been a lake guy and the river has always been intimidating to me until now. I found that asking a lot of questions from experienced river guys can quickly gain you some confidence to pick apart the river and get dialed in on some good fish. I’m really excited to take what I learned and apply it to the Missouri River here in Nebraska and believe it or not I think a lot of it can also be applied to some new ideas on the lakes I fish here too. Now is the time to hit Pool 4. I’m sure that since we left the water temperature has climbed a few more degrees and the pitching bite is continuing to improve. I wish this incredible fishery was a little closer to home for me and those of you who have it close really do have it made. Good luck to everyone lucky enough to be fishing this great fishery over the next week or two. The odds at a fish of a lifetime really are in your favor.