Mississippi River Pool 4 Fishing Reports Pool 5, 6, 7 , 8 & 9

[scott b]

Bay Point Park in down town Red Wing has lots of shore fishing. Nice deep hole to try your luck.

[WalleyeChaser]

Bay Point Park in down town Red Wing has lots of shore fishing. Nice deep hole to try your luck.

Isn't it froze up right now? I was looking to get a line wet this time of year, say near the dam or something, without a boat.

[scott b]

No access to the dam for shore fishing. Bay point has to be open. Heavy current.

[scott b]

Hit the dam today. No fish to be found in less than 36ft. Wing dams produced nothing. Caught 4 saugers for 8hrs of fishing. Very tough out there. Green.

[gonecribbin]

Hit the dam today. No fish to be found in less than 36ft. Wing dams produced nothing. Caught 4 saugers for 8hrs of fishing. Very tough out there. Green.

you caught 4 more than us....

[Deep]

you caught 4 more than us....

[gonecribbin]

I wanted to go down river but was limited to the kicker, I was kinda stuck close to evert's... Couldnt get my pump to pull that thick xd50, It'll be xd100 from now on!

Gonna give it another whirl on Thursday, hopefully less time cussing and more time fishing...

Deep- we'll have to hit the water together this spring sometime..

[Deep]

I wanted to go down river but was limited to the kicker, I was kinda stuck close to evert's... Couldnt get my pump to pull that thick xd50, It'll be xd100 from now on!

Gonna give it another whirl on Thursday, hopefully less time cussing and more time fishing...

Deep- we'll have to hit the water together this spring sometime..

Sounds like a good plan ,I've been called a good net man. Good luck Thursday.

[firefish_12]

when does the walleye bit really start picking up on the river?? I looking at coming 1st weekend of April--too early too late--been there twice for day trips --want to spend the whole weekend this year never had very good luck there--any pointers--mostly just vertical jigged

thanks in advance

[Jason_Halfen]

Last two weeks of March and the first two weeks of April are generally the prime pre-spawn/spawn window. The peak moves around a bit, based on air/water temps and flows, but that month generally covers the peak bite for pre-spawn giants (in my opinion).

Having said that....this spring is going to see some real water in the river. All of the predictions I've seen so far point to flooding that is much more significant than last spring. In 2010, the river crested at 12.93 ft at Red Wing in late March. Yesterday's flood outlook indicated an 85% chance of hitting 18 feet which would be the highest since 2001.

Yesterdays water temps where I was fishing were between 35 and 37 degrees. Some shallow areas were over 40 once the sun peeked out in the afternoon. We'll see a lot of improvement in the bite once we get consistently into the upper 30s with a little color in the water.

[fish2morrow]

What are walleye regulations? Doesn't walleye close after march 6 until the first saturday of may?

[Jason_Halfen]

Year round season on Mississippi River border waters.

[SlickShady]

Just wondering where do you launch for pool four, never been there before and thinking about trying it out

[waterfowler10]

everts resort you can get your bait and fishing report there great place

[mnhunter79]

hows the bite on pool 4? anyone know the water temp? im guessing low 30's yet. plannin a trip to pool 4 on march 19 & 20th, just wondering if its too early?

[MattL]

mnhunter79,

The water temps last weekend ranged from 33-37 degrees depending upon location/depth. I fished the FYB Tournament and the daytime bite was tough! (we only boated one legal fish and a few smaller ones) The late afternoon and early evening bite was pretty good the day before for 18-20" fish. The big girls are pretty hit or miss right now. By the 19th things should get going good with a few warmer days to increase the flow and dirty up the water. Right now the clarity is as much as 3-4 ft in some areas. Hope this helps you out.

[chrisonice]

Went out yesterday from 8 to 3pm caught a smallmouth and a couple of small ones but my buddy caught a 19 and that was it. It was a slow day but it was nice to be out. Went out of Everts Resort and Deans a great guy he'll take care of you.

[scott b]

Hey guys. Just wondering if the sauger & walleyes are moving up river yet or for that matter out of the washout. Could someone post if they catch ANYTHING in less than 30ft. Starting Monday it looks like the temps will be above freezing for a week straight. Have off work next Friday and want to come down but don't want to fish the washout due to keeping everything you catch. Thanks. Here we go!

[korn_fish]

Have off work next Friday and want to come down but don't want to fish the washout due to keeping everything you catch. Thanks. Here we go!

Plenty of river that provides fish right now. The big push of eyes has not happened yet, but they are on the move. Last weekend during the FYB tourney most, if not all, teams in the $$ were fishing in less than 20 fow.

With the temps this week and the forecasted temps next week, you can guarantee that I will be on the river!

[scott b]

Cool. Thanks. Keep the reports coming guys.

[Mike Walerak]

The walleyes are definatly starting to move. It is the very beginning but the fish are coming up from the lake. I have not fished saugers at all so I can speak for them. Honestly I haven't caught a sauger since last November.

[scott b]

Well... Depths? Under 30? Recent?

[Mike Walerak]

Yesterday I found fish in 8-17 FOW.

[bhaase]

Thanks for the posts going to head down tomorrow afternoon any pointers new to the river??

[scott b]

Thanks Mike. That's what I'm talking about.

[old timer]

All the sauger we caught were in 32 fow. Don't want to go deeper because of fish mortality issues. Biggest walleye, 24 inches, was caught and released in 26 fow.

[musky5555]

I'm assuming the Bayport access is not open yet... has Evert's been really busy on the weekends yet? Was planning on going out on Saturday.

[WallyWalter]

Hey guys. I have not fished this part of the river before. I am planning on heading down there this afternoon and doing some fishing. I am going to launch out of Everts. From there is there any place's/depth's that would be worth targeting first? Also are there any spots on the river to avoid with the boat? Any help would be appreciated!

[RIPN LIPS]

Hit pool 4 on sat and had decent luck up by the lock we boated 3 eyes 1 sauer 1 bass and a muskie 12"er also had two break offs. Jigs along with some of deans plastics worked the best, lindy rigs also worked, the bite was best around 3 pm. Good luck and watch out for the co (newer white lund) he was really busy on sat. and i saw three people get some kind of ticket. be safe and be legal.

[River Dan]

Now this is tough fishing!

Did however catch 10 decent ones