Lake Pepin Fishing Reports & Conditions

[DENVER06]

There must be an opening through it the barge went past me on 3 yesterday afternoon.

[FrontenacPike]

The ice was against the Mn side when the barge went through. Time to put the ice fishing gear away.

[gigidy]

my family has fished pool 4 river a few times but never fished lake pepin ,how is the sauger ,eye fishing at pepin in say 1st week in may? there is not much talk about pepin for walleye sauger spawn times ,the dnr lake survey had excellent sauger numbers in 2008 is it not a popular ,or good pre inland season opener lake to fish? thinking of trying it in a couple weeks with my boat.any one have any suggestions ?thankyou jeff

[drewevans]

it can be great all year round just need to find where the fish are at. sometimes there are more fish in the river north and south of pepin than in the lake but its all accesible through the lake. GO FOR IT!

[rymcneil]

Towards middle- end of may pepin should pick up.

[Mike Walerak]

This year my prediction is the fish will stay up in the river a little longer than normal due to the high water. Pepin always is pretty good for saugers in June and early July.

mw

[Turbodog]

Anyone know if you can launch out of lake city yet docks no docks?

Or in that area trying to fish pepin this weekend!

[FrontenacPike]

Russian park is closed as of yesterday.

Hok-Si-La is open

LC Marina: not sure

[Tracker55]

Has anyone been out on Pepin? Thinking about giving it a try and was wondering if anyone has any news.

[RumRiverRat]

Water is extremely high and the current is very swift.

Lots of debris in the water.

Be very Careful.

[goose89]

Water is extremely high and the current is very swift.

Lots of debris in the water.

Be very Careful.

It's not extremely high anymore, and although there's enough debris to keep your eyes open, it's not lots. Yes, be careful, but you don't have to be scared right now. This is for Pool 4 btw. I'm not sure what Pepin's status, haven't been out of the river.

[blakjack23]

Yup, I was on pool 4 last weekend (my first time ever) and it didn't seem that bad. Some random debri, but don't go flying around at 60, keep your eyes open, and you'll be fine. I was in a 14' boat and it was fine.

[WalleyeChaser]

Caught 1 hr apart in the middle of the day!!

My PB so far 29.25" 15" girth 9.8 lbs

My Father in laws 31.5" 16" girth 10.5 lbs

[blakeb]

Nice fish!

[pushbutton]

Wow! Great fish and even better letting her dad catch the bigger one

[Tanker]

AWESOME fish..

[rosspj59]

Congratulations. Were you trolling, jigging or rigging?

[IowanSince02]

I've never fished Lake Pepin before. But I'm told the fishing is excellent. I hope to fish there May 15-18. Any tips on where to find them? What will likely be biting? Favorite lures? Also, I'd like to camp out (tent) in the area... any suggestions? Thanks!

[FrontenacPike]

A couple good spots to camp is Frontenac State Park, very scenic and affordable. Another really good one is Hok-si-la, they have a very nice boat ramp just minutes from the camp ground.

[gloomiseye]

Awesome!!

[WalleyeChaser]

Congratulations. Were you trolling, jigging or rigging?

Mine was caught trolling a firetiger #7 shadrap in 10 fow that had current. Electric motor was key(People kept swinging through, making runs with kickers, coming up empty, and taking off) and we caught fish in between all of them. My father in law's was caught drop shoting a hole with large minnows in about 25 fow also with current.

[rosspj59]

Mine was caught trolling a firetiger #7 shadrap in 10 fow that had current. Electric motor was key(People kept swinging through, making runs with kickers, coming up empty, and taking off) and we caught fish in between all of them. My father in law's was caught drop shoting a hole with large minnows in about 25 fow also with current.

[Tip Up Rookie]

With the threat of nice weather I was thinking of giving Lake Pepin a try for walleye/sauger. I will primarily be doing some trolling. As I have never fished this lake before, is shoreline trolling or is there mid lake structure to try?

[rosspj59]

Most of the structure is all shoreline related. The are some deeper contours to fish on the upper part of the late, but stick to the points and shore line breaks and you will catch fish. There are a couple tournaments going on this weekend so you might be able to figure a few of the more popular areas to fish just by being down there.

[FrontenacPike]

You will definitely learn some new spots if you bring the binoculars. The Frontenac Sportsmans Club is hosting the WMC (Walleye Masters) out of Lake City this weekend.

[Tip Up Rookie]

Binoculars packed! Thanks for the help guys

[SS_Perch]

Hi All,

I am fairly new to fishing pool 4 and Pepin. I am from the Twin Cities and try to make it down there every few weeks to chase some walleyes. I had some decent luck in the early spring, but as of late have had some difficulty locating fish. I usually put in at Colvill and work my way down into the lake. I am limited to shorter runs with the 14 ft smokercraft but have gone as far as Frontenac. I may pick up a new rod and rig it with some lead for the next trip but I was wondering if many people fish the North side of the Lake this time of year or should I be spending my time in the river? Any input is appreciated!

Thanks,

SS Perch

[drewevans]

in my opinion there are fish in the upper end of the lake and in the river there all summer you just need to find them, we caught fish from maiden rock to red wing last sunday using three ways, pulling cranks (long line and lead) draggin jigs and pitching jigs. all techniques put multiple fish to the boat, your in the right area just keep at it and you will find them, good luck!

Drew

[Gopher_Guy]

Anyone been having much luck? I was out there 6 hours yesterday, we didn't have a ton of success. Caught 10 walleye in the 12-14 inch range, nothing bigger. 1 small sauger and 1 snake northern. We trolled crank baits and also dragged leeches, leeches were more successful. Most were caught in 12-14 FOW and didn't have any hits in 25-30.

I couldn't find any smallies either.

[SS_Perch]

From what I can see, there is not a whole lot of midlake structure in the North end of the lake. Do guys pull lead over these large flats or would anyone recommend following the main shorline breaks?

Also I have been pulling spinners on 3 ways with 1oz weights. Is this too heavy?

And I am looking to buy a rod to pull lead and cranks with. What does anyone recommend for length/action?