As posted earlier in the week by member sippi, heaven isn’t too far away, its called pool 3 of the Mississippi river between Hastings and Red Wing!!!
With the flow staying steady around 12-13k and the water temp on the way up (79.5 on 6/24) the summer fishing season has officially kicked off into high gear. We can finally put away the heavy rain gear and toss on some flip flops and tee shirts.
The last few outings we have concentrated our efforts on wing dams. Just like everything else in life, not every wing dam is created equal, some hold fish, and some don’t. We’ve been out pounding water to try and get a pattern together.
With river fishing you have to find the flow, not just any flow, but the right flow. Folks that spend a large amount of time on the river can look at the flow coming off of a buoy or marker and get a good idea where to start to fish, experience and time on the water allows them to decipher this info. If you’re not one of those folks, not to worry, pick a location and start.
If you’re not getting bit, move more inside or outside of the dam or up or down a dam. Once you start connecting with fish, note where you are on the dam and which number dam you are on in the series of dams. Now you’re starting to put the puzzle pieces together.
There are many ways to fish a wing dam, none are right or wrong and all will catch fish. I normally start out pitching cranks at the dam to grab an active fish or two, then slow the pace down and toss jigs and dork rigs to get the attention of the not so active fish.
Best baits for me as of late are Bomber model 6a’s, Rapala DT 6’s, color is dependent on the day. Some days bright baits are ticket, the next day, blues/silvers are putting fish in… Just listen to the fish and keep changing baits until you find what they are wanting. When the crank rods go silent, out come the jig rods.
Jig weight has been between ¼’s and 1/8’s depending on the flow of the dam and your location on the dam. If you’re getting hung up and losing jigs lighten up, if your jig is sweeping to fast, jig up.
As with fishing in general, some days you can’t do anything wrong, then there are days when you can’t do anything right… And you’re left scratching your head, or your buddy next to you is putting on a clinic even though you’re pitching the exact same setup as him, I have to remind myself that’s just the way it goes…. At least someone is catching them.
Thanks to the Miller boys for hitting the water with me the last week, I had the upper hand at first, but they put jig clinics on the last couple of outings… And a big “THANK YOU” to Dean at Everts resort for always having all the gear a fisherman needs!!
See you on the water
Jami
A few more picts.
Brian, please talk to your flat heads and tell them to quit destroying my cranks. I very much enjoy seeing Dean, but if you could help, that would be great….
Bob Miller with a nice “eater” size eye.
Dan “I can catch every fish in the system” with a nice sheepie..
And a beautiful sunset, just for giggles.
Jami
What is a dork rig???
” then slow the pace down and toss jigs and dork rigs to get the attention of the not so active fish.”
Nice fish. Good job changing with the conditions of the river.
Nice report Jamie and congrats on some great looking Pool 3 walleyes!
Now tell me…. how does a guy go about fishing leadcore with planer boards on one of those wing dams??? 
Hey Jami,
Were you on Pool 3 last Saturday morning. I was on a wingdam below a white Lund that I thought was you. By the time my bite died the boat was gone. Thought if it was you that you would have stopped by but you might not recognize me out there by myself. Pretty slow morning for me. I lost a 25 incher at the boat and got a 21 and a 17 and a half dozen 14 inchers before the heat got to me.
I assume the dork rig is something Tuckner made in his era and there for they nicknamed it after him!?!
I believe it is a set up similar to a dubuque rig with a 3 way set up and jig on bottom and a leader with bait attached to a 4 ft snell or so??? Ritt anyone?
Nice work guys and nice to see ya let little guy in the boat get in on the action as well…good job Saug were proud of ya little guy!
Sorry, should have described it
.. My bad.
A dork rig is… Your main line with a barrel sinker, to a swivel, to 12-18 inches of line to a hook, used for fishing willow cats, chubs, or your minnow of choice..
Sorry about that.. Silly lake guys
Jami
Yup, I was out. Didn’t recognize you or I would have stopped on over. Sat morning was a little slow for me as well, lots of folks out then the tuna boats and the heat kicked in. So I got off the main channel and did some exploring was off the water by 2.
Jami
hmm, that one might take me a little bit. let me get back to you on that brad…
Jami
It was about 9 oclock or so and I was a couple of wingdams downstream. I was on the WS side. I thought it was you and almost waved at one point. I left my spot at 10:35 due to the heat and the tuna boats. Getting out at Prescott was a real fun time with all the pigrims
Nice report Ritter! Nice lookin fish
Two Millers and a Ritter?
HA HA HA
Kooty, simply…….AWSOME!!!!
Great report Jami!! Need some work on the Miller boyz photos though!
Did you get the upgrade for the LakeMaster chip for wing dam locations on P3? I just had mine upgraded over winter and was thinking of working the tips for the flatheads, but I’ll be using the less expensive live bullhead.
All of your flats coming from behind the wing tips?
Great report Jami. Maybe Ill have to think about a change of scenery coming up. Sure wish I could get out a little more than just weekends.
Great report, Rit!
Nice job!
jami, nice report but you should have done something about the back ground on your pic’s, now everyone will know what wing dam’s you were on
briank, if you need a chip to find wing dam’s you probably shouldn’t be on the river in the first place
JK guys
i think ido should have a post were guys can post a picture of there boats because i’m sure i’ve seen some of you guys on the river and never knew it.
keep up the good work and happy fishing.
As usual, great report Jami!
It’s great to see a solid bite, and these nice fish on Pool 3.
If you ever need a “Net-man” let me know, I’d be happy to go, and get a lesson on the river.
Not a bad idea… Maybe in the signature line or by the avatar photo there could be an option to attach a boat pic avatar.. That way with each post from any given member, you would be reminded who drives what – next time you are on the water, you might remember a little better.
An idea for the webmaster, maybe???
Mike