Traffic and a good bite

[TrollerX]

Just wrapped up another pool 4 trip. What a busy place. Wholy Cow!! It looked like Spring traffic today. The fish were agreeable though. I think I quit counting around 30 fish. Mostly Saug's with a few nice Eye's mixed in. I managed to find a pair over 20" just after noon. They seem to still be looking for the jig/minnow combination. Beautiful day on the river. We may get another break next weekend. Let's hope!

See you on the water!

[southerner]

Yup, TrollerX, 'twas a good weekend bite on Pool #4. I made it out for 2.5 hours this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to find only about a dozen other boats up by the dam. I'm thinking a combination of cooler temps, Vikings game, and Packers game kept some fisherpersons at home in front of the tube. Based on the results I saw on ESPN, they'd have been better off spending their afternoon on the water.

We landed about 20, mostly 13-14" sauger, but did find a few better ones mixed in. Purple/white tail ringworm on 3/8 oz jighead took the majority, while chartreuse w/pepper flake Superdoo was also productive later in the afternoon. Everybody out there seemed to be landing a few. Didn't see any action from guys pitching wingdams or rip rap banks but vertical jiggers appeared to be getting their share.

Weather/roads permitting, we'll try it again next weekend.

[Chilly Willy]

Thanks for the info. Does anyone know if the landing is open at Evert's? If so, what condition is the landing in? has the ice froze it up?

Thanks.

Chilly Willy

[markkstanley]

Everts is almost always open - might be iffy if temps are below zero for a week or so. I've be able to launch there every month of the year. Snuck down there yesterday on the spur of the moment. Took a bit to figure it out but ended up with a 40+fish day with about 12 keeper size. Stuck with plastics. Chartreuse color 1/4 oz jig held still and I mean still just above the bottom. Slowly dragging the jig along the bottom also worked. Caught most of the bigger fish that way in 12 to 16ft of water. Use a contrasting jig head! Ratio was about 3:1 versus unpainted jig head of same design

[Captain Bob]

Fished pool 4 last Saturday, excellent walleye and sauger bite. Was my first time on pool 4 and I will definately be heading back. Does the action up towards to (Contact US Regarding This Word) last most of the winter? Do they continue to migrate closer to the (Contact US Regarding This Word)? We mainly fished around the wingdamns and channel south of the island between the lock and (Contact US Regarding This Word) and it was awesome, lots of boats though since it was pushing 40 degrees.

Thanks for any advice, I think I might get hooked on the river!

[CrappieJohn]

Capt. Bob.....The fishing at Red Wing will continue right thru the winter. By Mid January, you will see fish from below the "y" or point of the island all the way to the dam. Some days will find the fish near the dam and other days will find them scattered and closer to the point. When we start to warm up in late March/early April the fish will be found virtually everywhere from the head of Lake Pepin to the dam. If you have never witnessed this fiasco, I will not spoil the fun by describing it for you.

Everts will be the only launch option for the winter months. They do a bang up job of keeping things cleaned and free of snow though.

Plastics are working now and will continue to become the predominant bait as winter progresses.

I'd also like to extend a welcome to FishingMinnesota.com! It is always nice to see a new member come on deck. Again, welcome to the site!

[Captain Bob]

Thanks, Tom. I'm looking forward to exploring the river. I've been lurking on this site for a while, it's a great resource. I've read many of your posts in the crappie forum, always informative. I also love fishing crappie, but it is nice to have an alternative to ice fishing during these winter months.

Now I just need to learn how to spell.. *dam* ... Thanks for the info!

[walleyeman1212]

There is another option to launching your boat in the winter months. The back channel public access is open all winter long.

[CrappieJohn]

Cap't. Bob....There are plenty of crappies there too, mostly found behind wingdams. A friend drop a camera down there behind one of the wingies two years ago in February. He almost fell overboard when he saw how many were actually filling up the scour immediately behind that wingie. Try looking for them about the third wing dam down from the big dam on the Mn side of the Wisc. channel.

As for the back channel landing in the dead of winter. No one cleans that out or maitains it. Ice is commonly found on it and given it's degree of steepness, I won't recommend it's use even to those who have 4wd. I have seen vehicles in the drink there because of ice! $7 is not a bad trade-off for convenience, safety, and proximity to the fishing when it is cold out.

[walleyeman1212]

If the back channel is frozen up, that means it is 30 below and if your out on the water in those conditions you are crazy anyway.

[CrappieJohn]

waldo1212....my reference was to the landing, not the water itself. And yes, I have been called crazy for pushing my boat across the ice to open water, but never for fishing. lol

[markkstanley]

Tom, I've seen some really nice crappies pulled out of those wingdam spots while walleye/sauger fishing. Thought about maybe targeting the crappies. What do you recommend to catch them consistently?? We catch them now again on 4" ringies. The 3" Berkley power minnows haven't worked yet.

[CrappieJohn]

These are pretty decent river fish and will approach larger than usual offerings. I have taken some on 5" Kalins". While I don't want to recommend using those for bait, it shows how willing the crappies are to eat well. Bulkier 2 inch or three inch twisters should do the trick as well as ringies. Paddletails will get them and so will some of the other four inch worms floating around the marketplaces that are typically used for bass.

One key is the lighter jig heads needed. The waters found behind the wingies with the most promise is fairly quiet water and a 1/16 will not have any trouble being fished. If you have to get into 3/8 heads to get down, you are not likely to find crappies there....too much current.