Pool 4 Mississippi River, Red Wing MN, 1-16-04

The walleye/sauger bite near the Red Wing Dam remains consistent, even as the air temps are on a rollercoaster ride.

Sauger are definitely the dominant fish being caught right now vertical jigging (as usual). The area up by the dam has still been the better area compared to the "y" from the reports i’m hearing. Yesterday I heard some reports of 18-20 feet being the magical depth, so you don’t have to go into that deep deep water to find fish. As far as baits, The same 3 basics are working….hairjigs, plastics and minnows. One little secret…that I guess I remember from the last couple years, is that the fish are not relating to the bottom as much as a guy would think. This is because of a couple reasons I believe. #1. The flow is so low, that the fish don’t need to hug the bottom to get out of the current…there just isn’t much. #2. The water clarity is extremely clear right now. The fish will come up to hit a bait because they can see it better now. A couple guys mentioned the best place was 2-3 feet off the bottom! As some of you may recall, about this time last year, a few guys (including myself) caught walleyes in 20 feet of water on a bait that was just in the water a few inches to a foot "dangling" over the side of the boat while we were not even using that rod. It was just set down to use a different rod and we almost lost the rods in the water when they hit! So don’t be afraid to try off the bottom a ways.

The walleye are there to be had as well. They require a little different presentation though. Like the old saying goes…."you’re either fishing walleyes, or you’re fishing sauger, not both at the same time"! This is definitely true right now. Casting hairjigs or plastics to shallower water in lower light conditions/cloudy days will by far produce more walleye than sauger. Rocky areas seem to be key, but the sand shelves should not be overlooked either! hint hint!

The ramps at the resort here are in good shape. The river is relatively ice free, however on windy days, the ice above the dam tends to break up and come over the dam, so caution should always be used when driving your boat; especially with the cold water temps. You don’t want to go for a swim! Sorry for no pics. I was out by myself a couple days ago and couldn’t get any pics of the eyes I got. If anybody gets a nice fish, or any cool pic for that matter, feel free to send it to me via email if you would like me to include it in a future report! Thanks and good fishing to all.