As the title says…last week was a DRAG…weatherwise and fishingwise. Windchill was below zero much of Mon and Tues mornings and the water temps fell through the basement. This was my 51st week long adventure on Pool 4 since meeting James Holst here back in 2001, and believe me, every trip has a different wrinkle to figure out.
As usual, Steve & Kari Weber gave us some sage tips and a big thanks to my awesome Guide and buddy Marty Hahn for helping solve the bite.
We found the Dam water temps as low as 35 and nearly devoid of shad or gamefish, except for a few pods on the MN side which were closely guarded by several boats tightly knotted. I opted to try farther downstream, the Y, Vermillion RipRap and Lock areas…found lots of Shad and warmer water temps…ahhh the right track! These conditions usually demand excruciatingly slow presentations and downsized baits. Soon we were creeping along, pulling Dubuque Rigs armed with Mini Moxies when the welcome "THUMP" of an 18" walleye put a smile on our faces… a moment later…a replay!
I was with my friend Dave Anderson and the rest of our jovial Yooper comrades…Dave has been battling cancer for over four years and I can’t ever profess to match this man’s courage and attitude. As long as the Good Lord allows us to share my boat, he has the guest seat for Pool 4.
The action was very spotty the first couple days but we managed to box 3-4 healthy eyes per day…Then Dave decided to try an old favorite Sassy Shad and connected with this beautiful 28.5" Piggie that weighed 9.66 lbs! We pulled up into the shelter of the Lock wall, and CPRed her…nice job Dave!
Dave wasn’t the only Yooper to connect with a Piggie…Ron Gauthier (you’ll recognize him as the Travelocity Gnome) nailed this 29" Girl that pushed the rapala scale to 10.44 lbs. Ron was pulling a Miller Rig near the Vermillion River when she clobbered his bottom minnow. Again the big spawner was returned to finish reproduction…way to go Ron!
While I have to admit this was probably the toughest weather and bite conditions I’ve seen for a long time, there are always some fish that will bite…It was a challenge but we certainly have to work through them to improve as fishermen. My general recap on techniques and tackle;
Dragging rigs…
St Croix custom LEX70MF, Lews Gold 1000reel, 6# HiVis Siege
Dragging single jigs…
Limit Creek 69MLF, Lews Gold 1000reel, 6# HiVis Siege mono
I found 3/16 H20 jigs to work fine down to 30′ dragging, bright colors…Sunburst and/or Sour Apple
plastics…Mini Moxies worked best…Org Chart core and Firecracker Chart tail….
The best bite is yet to come…we boated NO SAUGER…but there were males caught up near the Dam.
My next report will be from the Fox River, De Pere Wisc, next Wed…Good Luck, Be safe and See Ya on the water!