Lake Pepin Fishing Reports & Conditions

[JBMasterAngler]

Have the smallies come to their senses? I'll be down there on Saturday looking for whities, but settling for smallies.

[SS_Perch]

Hi All,

Made it out to the lake today. Only able to find 4 walleyes, 15-18 inches along with all the drum you could want. The past 2 weeks I have been doing well pulling spinners with live bait. This weekend tried the same and didn't get the first walleye in the boat until noon. Has this weekend been slow for anyone else? I know up here in the Twin Cities the water level has been dropping and I hear there was a recent mayfly hatch, could this make for a slow bite? I am new to fishing the lake this year and am wondering how to adjust when it is a tough bite out there.

Thanks and Good Luck!

[walleyvoyager]

I was out for a few hours yesterday morning also, first time down since pre opener. Fishing was tough and the water was high and stained. Had one sheephead for 4 hours of pulling spinners, up the river and both sides of the lake.

[fatcat45]

fished friday, tough also.. few small ones and hot..

[Hory]

A friend and I were able to get out and fish Wednesday from about 5 until dark on the Wisconsin side. Pulling crankbaits, we boated a handful of small saugers, with a couple around 16 inches. We also hooked into a few stripers and smallmouth on a few of our shallower passes. As it got later, we moved in a little shallower for the last few passes and managed to pull a 27 inch walleye and another that was 23.5. The water was pretty stained, and we weren't able to dial in on a specific color or speed. All fish were released to be caught another day.

[SS_Perch]

I am looking to get a few new trolling rigs to use on Pepin and Pool 4. Long line trolling and using leadcore is a new concept to me. What would be an idea set up for long lining and an idea set up for lead. Line counter reels? Length and action? Fluorocarbon or mono and what lb test on the long line rod? Any insight is much appreciated!

[SS_Perch]

Does anyone have a preference between early mornings or evening fishing out there? I have only been trying early, and am wondering if I may be missing out on an evening bite.

Also being new to the lake, I have stuck to the Maiden Rock area. Are there any other well known summer walleye haunts? I am not looking for any specific spots, I would just like to try some new areas this weekend and am trying to narrow down some areas.

[TravP]

As far as leadcore is concerned, I run 9'6" Gary Roach telescoping leadcore rods, paired with Daiwa Accudepth Plus 47 reels. My trolling rods are 8' Gary Roach telescoping rods, paired with Daiwa Accudepth 17's. I run 10lb XT on my trolling rods as I feel I get a better hookup rate, the downfall to mono is you can't see fouled cranks as easily.

[drewevans]

put some lead core out and just start trolling........ north or south mn or wi side you will learn some just by doing that, there are spots every where out there and you can catch fish every where in between. its a big body of water with many different pods of fish, dont be afraid to try the river either lower or upper.

[Hory]

I tend to agree. Just get out there and get some lines out. My advice would be to not try and cover too much water at once. Choose a certain segment of the water and cover it as best as possible. We have managed to catch fish from dusk till dawn, in all different weather conditions. Don't be scared to troll the crankbaits at a pretty good speed either, our luck lately has come pulling the baits faster than I ever have before.

[Mike Walerak]

I run the Limit Creek 8'6" leadcore rods on the outside and Limit Creek 5' shorty's on the inside. Diawa Sealine 47's for leadcore.

For flat line rods I run some Cabelas Fisheagle steelhead rods with 20lb powerpro. Sealines in the 37 or 17 size work fine as I have some of both.

Call Dean at Dean's tacklebox. He will match you up with the best setup for your style of fishing at a great price.

mw

[drewevans]

3+ MPH for me

[TravP]

3+ MPH for me

3mph pulling core, how far down are you getting per color?

[drewevans]

ha well i was catching fish in 24 to 16 fow with 155-200 Ft on lead and 145 Ft on my clip weight line w/2OZ weight. allot of ajusting mixed in there though with length on lead and weight on clip weights

[delmuts]

For you guys fishing pepin; what adjustments if any have you made with the river being up like it has?

[drewevans]

I dont think i have adjusted much, high water is kinda the norm now after two and half years of high water. i am still catching fish in many of the summer haunts on pepin. i guess one thing i noticed trolling the north end a week ago it seemed to me fish were very spread out and not schooled up so much but i do know of some people that have been targeting small areas for bigger fish. just need to cover some ground and find some fishy water.

[Hory]

It is probably pure coincidence, but the last couple years I have done noticeably better on the far northern mile or so of the lake with the water being higher.

[DENVER06]

When fishing a river system when the river comes up I always move closer to the shore and opposite when it is dropping. I have done the same to pepin but have also noticed that it doesnt effect them as much. If you catch fish out there one year then the fish are normally there the next year. It is all about the water temp, and food supply. If you see pods of bait then there are fish to be had I am not saying allways walleyes but there are fish in that area. I am a believer in time on the water. Take notes every time you go out, water temp, levels, and flow. It changes day to day on the river system so the fish change day to day. Good luck!!!

[FWA]

Wanna head to Pepin this weekend and want to know where I should launch. Probably fish the middle to lower portion. Coming from Lake Elmo/Stillwater.

Recommendations?

[Mike Walerak]

If you are fishing the mid to lower end of the lake I would reccomend launching at Rochen Park on the south side of Lake City. It is right on 61 and you can't miss it. There is a nice fish cleaning facility and clean restrooms there as well.

The only other launch is at Maple Springs. The launch is only good for a small boat and I am not sure what the water levels are like right now so it might not be usable.

mw

[SS_Perch]

Hi All,

I am hoping to head to Pepin this weekend. I have had some decent success early in the summer with spinners tipped with crawlers, however have never been out this time of year. Any current reports or ideas on basic presentations would be much appreciated. Also when do people start using minnows out there? Do they still use them on spinners? Or switch to jigs?

Thanks!

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

This coming weekend a few of my budies and I will be hiting Pepin. Can any body give us an updated report and any tips on what has been working and what areas to hit? We will be targeting walleye and crappies. Thanks for the info as I haven't fished Pepin in fall ever.

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

Either there must be a hot bite or there is a tourney coming up with no responses.

Anybody have a report?

[Mike Walerak]

No tourneys that I know of I think everyone has been bowhunting the last week. I cannot speak for the river right now but I would focus on the North end of the lake all the way to the dam. The fish should be settled into their fall patterns. Good ol jig and minnow or bucktail jigs should be the bread and butter right now.

mw

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

Thanks Mike!!

My plan is to go and try the first place that I always try up at Maiden Rock. That is if it isn't too windy or rough to get across as I have a smaller boat.

I will let you know how we do.

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

Well if you are into bass the largemouth and smallies are biting. We ended up with 2 walleyes 18.5" and a 16" and some dinks. We talked to a guy at the fish cleaning house and they found some crappies across the lake at a place I did not recognize the name of. He told us of a couple of other places to try for walleye but we were on our way home yesterday.

[Hory]

I have a fairly shallow and narrow 14.5 foot Lund that I use to fish my hometown river above Lake Pepin quite a bit. What are your thoughts on my ability to fish Pepin with this rig? I generally pull lead, long line, or drift and cast the rocks when I do fish Pepin with a relative's boat. I wouldn't be cruising across the vast expanses of the lake, rather I would be fishing 100 yards (more often closer) from shore at the most probably only when pulling some leadcore. Is this a bad idea to consider when I am back in the area next Summer? I understand that a wind pushing across the lake could make things dangerous, and I'd definately pick and choose my days accordingly. Thanks for your thoughts and advice.

[drewevans]

i used to fish out of deer island in a 14 ft boat when i was real young we would just go out to bogus point right out front there and we never had any problems. I would say if you watch the weather pick and choose your days and be safe you will be just fine, maybe even avoid holiday weekends due to many large boats.

[Hory]

I have done, and plan to do a lot of fishing by bogus point and deer island. The submerged sandbars are great spots, as are many others on pool 4. I guess next soft water season, I will have to give it a shot with the undersized rig...and hope for the best.

[Muskie456]

I am wondering if there are any road systems out on to the lake when we have the ice for it. If so where are they located? I have never seen anything written up on ice fishing the lake and don't know if people go out there or not. Any info would be appreciated.