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

[JIvers]

Got out below the lock and dam at Dresbach again last weekend. The ice was in better shape out from the short lock wall, and the current seemed to be down a bit, although still stronger than I remember it being in past winters.

Things started good when I caught this 13" sauger not five minutes after I got there--I followed it up with a 12" a little later. Both fish came on a deadstick and minnow:

I caught those fish before 4:15, and figured I was in for a good afternoon as we got closer to sunset...but that was pretty much it. Like the weekend before, the sunset bite never happened for me. I don't know if it was because I was in deeper water or because of the snow cover, but the "golden hour" was not golden at all for me.

Most people were fishing straight down from the end of the short wall, and some of them seemed to be catching fish around 5:00 PM. Maybe I needed to move in a little as it got darker.

I hope to be up there at least one more weekend while there is good ice below the dams, and I want to put a few more walleye and sauger on the ice.

[Eric_Kruger]

Anybody getting the boats out? I kinda wanna head over!

[MattL]

I spent the afternoon fishing on pool 4 yesterday with a buddy. We concentrated all of our efforts in <12' of water pitching blades looking for big fish. We covered a lot of water throughout the day and didn't get into the big walleyes, but did stumble into a pod of smaller keeper sized fish in 6-10' of water right after sunset. We ended up keeping (3) 16-18" walleyes and 1 smaller sauger about 15" for a meal. The fish were all caught on either chrome or white blades.

The water was super clear with about 6' of clarity, although I'm sure things will be changing by the hour now that temps are above freezing. We found water temps ranging from 36-39 degrees depending on where we were.

[tj417]

I'm thinking by the lack of reports that it is pretty dead down there right now...Four Season in Red Wing said it's been brutal when I called there yesterday.

Can anybody confirm or deny?

[expl]

Id assume with the temperatures and wind we have been having its kept some people off the water,I know its kept me at home.That being said, I have seen some pictures of fish caught,some eaters on stringers and some very large ones [email protected] have been hoping for warmer or at least less windy weather,looks like this weekend it will come but it will surely be busy then to.I will stick to the weekdays.

[tfritz]

Heading to red wing in the morning 4-4-14 just wondering if there is any word of fish biting??

[MattL]

I spent the day on pool 4 yesterday. Managed to catch 12 walleye/sauger mixed. All were in the 15-18" range except 2 smaller saugers and a 22" walleye. Found fish scattered from 6' down to 18'. Water clarity is less than a foot with water temps around 40. I did not use live bait at all and stuck with blades or plastics in oranges, yellows, and greens. The most consistent bite was mid day.

[gloomiseye]

We haven't caught a fish today. Yesterday we only got 5, but one was a 10 lber so we are putting all our effort into the big girls today.

[james_walleye]

It Was Brutal For Us Today. Got One 17" Eye. Prett Disappointing After A Decent Day Thursday When The Weather Was Horrible.

[gloomiseye]

We ended up picking up two 17's in the evening. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, but the trip was already made with that 10lber.

[gloomiseye]

Here's my Dad's 10 lb 5 oz he caught on Saturday. 28.5" with a 17.25" girth.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

What a SLOB! Nice fish gloomis... good work

[gloomiseye]

What a SLOB! Nice fish gloomis... good work

Thanks, we have been trying for a long time now to get a 10+ up there. Even though I was only the net man I felt like I caught it myself. Cool moment.

[Handsonthepole]

What's with the whiteout in some of the pictures posted? I see it more on this thread then any other. Just wondering.

[gloomiseye]

What's with the whiteout in some of the pictures posted? I see it more on this thread then any other. Just wondering.

Don't want to take a chance of a whole bunch of people recognizing the spot and then having to deal with 30 boats next time I go back there.

[Handsonthepole]

Gotcha. Seems a little aggressive to try to pinpoint a spot based on a fraction of a picture but I suppose there are some out there who would.

[gloomiseye]

Yeah I hate to do it, but I have seen it burn some guys. I will say if you want a big girl, target shallow sand, less than 10 ft

[Mr Special]

Yeah I hate to do it, but I have seen it burn some guys. I will say if you want a big girl, target shallow sand, less than 10 ft

i agree with ya on both subjects. there are tons of people whom just lurk these site and know river well enough to pinpoint those spots. ive personally burned myself before as well. next thingy ya know theres a hoard of peeps on the same spot.

i dont mind sharing tactics such as dept, presentation...as ive learned tremendous amounts from others on this site. heck, half the fun is just gettin on the water and searchin

i was on P4 on wednesday from 730-2, we started out pitching blades, we caught a few but then switched over to V-jiggin and dubuque rigs as the sun got higher. all in all we caught about 20 fish and put 8 in the box. also got a nice bonus flatty as well. not the biggest but sure fun on wally tackle

on a blade bait

gotta luv those bonus fish =D

[rooz]

What's with the whiteout in some of the pictures posted? I see it more on this thread then any other. Just wondering.

I don't get why people do this. Just because you can recognize where the pic was taken, it don't mean that is where the fish was caught. Maybe its just me but if we get a big eye, it goes in the livewell until we find a nice secluded place for a pic and release. Beautiful fish by the way

[brian6715]

]

I don't get why people do this. Just because you can recognize where the pic was taken, it don't mean that is where the fish was caught. Maybe its just me but if we get a big eye, it goes in the livewell until we find a nice secluded place for a pic and release. Beautiful fish by the way

Most places I fish I am by myself and no more than a boat or two could fit, I most definitely don't need pictures of fish being spread on the internet. Also, I hope the big walleyes aren't in the livewell too long before the picture is taken!

[gloomiseye]

Special Good report! I keep trying blades, but I can't seem to get any on them. I have had far more success on bright plastics.

[gloomiseye]

I don't get why people do this. Just because you can recognize where the pic was taken, it don't mean that is where the fish was caught. Maybe its just me but if we get a big eye, it goes in the livewell until we find a nice secluded place for a pic and release. Beautiful fish by the way

[Mr Special]

First time i tried blades was about 5yrs ago and after losing 4 in an 1hr period i swore them off for yrs.

then last yr after sum strong recommendations from others i tried them again. the 1st hr or so was slow and i was just about to give up but then caught a nice 26" wally. which turned out to be one of my best days for size ever. i caught 6 fish between 23"-29".

i personally don't think blades are as versatile as plastics "which IMO can be used in any structure, depth, presentations.." but they definitely have a time n place in my arsenal.

most fish i catch on blades are usually better size and they seem to hit it like a truk. i like to pitch blades in less snaggy soft bottom areas. i usually position the boat parallel to the shore, a lil outside the current seem in 10-15fow.

cast them upstream of my position a tad towards shore, follow it dwn to bottom, then give a quick snap up about a foot, follow dwn again "but keep line a lil tight not slack" and repeat all the way back to the boat. quite often, i get hits right next to the boat.

my Fav blades are

1/4 Chartreuse, orange or gold

keep trying them bro, but i know its hard to go away from sumthing that is puttin fish in the boat.

goodluck and take care

[gloomiseye]

Awesome, thanks for the tip man! I'll have to give that a go this weekend.

[Naturboy]

Special Good report! I keep trying blades, but I can't seem to get any on them. I have had far more success on bright plastics.

[Flaco651]

Blade baits

[Naturboy]

Like spinnerbaits, or inline?

[Tom Sawyer]

Like spinnerbaits, or inline?

The term "blade baits" referred to in river fishing are Cicada style metal baits. Paul, your probably more familiar with some of John Gillespie's favorites like the Zip Lure and more recently the Verato.

[gloomiseye]

Anybody doing any good today? It's been just awful for us so far.

[james_walleye]

My Buddies Slapped Them Friday And Saturday. They Had 5 Between 24-28 Saturday AlongWith A Bunch Of Eaters.