Pool 4 Walleye Report and ?

Fished Friday through Sunday noon. We had a very tough time. We fished from the head of the lake to the damn and many places in between. Our best pattern ended up to be pulling rapals on 3-ways near the high bridge and in front of areas that had a back water channel. All the fish we caught were males with a couple going better than 23 inches. All in all a slow bite, but we had a ton of fun.

When do you all think the fish will begin to show up in any concentration in the back water cuts and the flats at the head of the lake? What is usually the next good bite for post spawn walleye and sauger? I have fished Pepin with very good results around the Memorial weekend. We have usually pulled cranks during this time. I would like to make another trip up before then this year, and would appreciate any suggestions as to the next “bite” that will occur prior to Memorial day weekend.

Thanks and good luck

I don’t no but I hope that some one would help us out??

The big rush at the dam area has slowed down, but there are sitll some nice fish being caught there. Fellow staffer Tom Gursky just returned from the dam a couple hours ago, and said he an 8-9 lber next to the boat that threw a jig and popped off. Overall, the numbers are not that great, but you can still put a limit in the boat up here. The area below the “y” has been fairly good for numbers as well. The lake area should start to pick up any day. The bay City flats are the most common areas to hit this time of year, however i’m not sure what they will be like with this extremely low spring water. The fish may stay near the deeper main channel water. Time will tell. The white bass are hitting like mad at the dam. I strongly encourage C&R of these fish as they are vulurnable right now. Keep some if you want, but the 25 fish limit is not necessary. Good luck to all.

We’ll need some water to get the big numbers of fish back in the cuts and side channels. Barring that, stick to the main channel and the head of the lake area for the time being. Long lining crankbaits, 3-way and bait or cranks and some jigging will turn fish.

Lots of good – great fishing to come BUT we might need to look away from those typical post spawn and higher water spots fished in past seasons. A general guide for me is that by the middle of May the lake is usually on fire… long line trolling at its finest!

I believe I likely caught my last pre-spawn fish of the season this past saturday given the 52 – 55 degree water temps I was seeing and the fact I have a couple days off of guiding while the walleyes finish up. I landed a 26″ fat female at “high noon” on Saturday that was literally ooozing spawn. My guide customer, Roger Budny of Naperville, IL, lost a much larger fish right at the back of the boat from the same spot about 30 minutes later. All of the sauger we caught between 17″ – 22″ were spawned out leaving only the youngest females to finish up yet. We did have a small number of 15 – 16 inch fish showing up still plump with eggs.

Hopefully the hatch this year will be a successful one… it has been a pleasure to see many of the larger females caught photoed and released this spring. To all that let the big girls go to spawn and hopefully make it another season, I tip my hat to you all. Keep spreading the word to those you fish with about selective harvest and we’ll have many more seasons where each day in the spring an angler has an honest shot at a fish of a life time.

Steve or James,
what do you think that storm we had Sunday night will do to water levels? We had 1.5″ in Hudson and more up North. Is it enough for a significant rise?

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ahps.cgi?mpx&redm5
They show the river rising by 2 feet and then the graph runs out before the peak is predicted. They are typically high in their forecasts though.

Was down by the highway Bridge in Red Wing today for a few hours, water temps were 57-58 degrees, and we caught a 20″ female sauger still fat with eggs. I was REALLY surprised to see that she hadn’t spawned yet. Also managed 3 walleys between 16-19 inches, one at about 26″ (had to guess, only had a 20″ ruler. And no camera- CR, but no P. Had several boats witness, though. And move in on top of us, of course.) One other short walleye, and a handful of sheepies and white bass filled out the morning. A little cold, a little windy, but all in all it sure beat sitting at the office!

another 1/2″ last night. keep risin’….