that was me out there on the barge rocks with my switch fly rod swinging flies. Didn’t find any fish but I’m convinced that’s a spot you could catch a walleye on a fly rod. One of these days I’ll do it!

Thx for the info guys. I figure since I’m going to be there for two nights there’s no sense in NOT giving it a go on that west side. The cabin is located on the point just north of Wigwam bay so I’ve got access to St. Albans, Shaboshkong, Indian point and if I wanted to that north Garrison break and Myr Mar so some pretty good trolling water. If anyone’s looking for an open seat let me know and I may have a spot.

were you fishing shoreline rocks?
I’ve found that almost every sheehead I’ve caught on Pepin or near the head of the lake is shore line rocks and rip rap.
didn’t find a single sheephead out where I was fishing Friday until I moved to the wisconsin shoreline by the train track rocks

there it is, thx shouldbefishin.

now that you say it, I do remember heading to fleet farm after the pepin trolling video came out last summer about this time.

Fishing all day thursday, I launched at 494 last time out, do you think this will be unusable again with this bump Mike?

yea Mike I wasn’t planning to hook up the bird to the transducer as I have the DI/SI ducer in the back of the boat but I did want them to talk to each other and be able to save those spot lock locations for some of those spot on spot wingdams in the fall. That way I can just motor up, put it down, hit go to spot lock, get my rod out or whatever and know that the motor is taking me right to where I need to be for casting.

Here’s a couple from the past few times out. Plastics pitched shallow or dragging shallow.

As for the stick baits really anything with neutral buoyancy. I don’t want something that is going to sink nor do I want it to float up if I stop reeling.
In this category you have any of the Husky Jerks, Suspending Rogues, XRaps, etc. As for jig weight, what Mike said.
Everytime you pull up to a dam it’s an algebra equation with the 3 variables being
1. Depth of water you’re fishing
2. Amount of flow on that dam
3. Weight of jig
This is why you find my boat and other river guys with 3, 4, 5 rods rigged at a given time. It’s annoying to always be switching back and forth and retying. My typical set up this time of year is 4 rods.
1. 1/8 draggin jig w/ moxie or pulse r
2. 1/8 draggin jig w/ same of different color plastic
3. 3/16 w/ grub (more bulky so they don’t sink as fast
4. 1/4 draggin jig w/ grub or pulse r

also cant stress how important “hovering” those baits are right now.
Was out a few nights ago and got a bunch of fish on stick baits. Every one of them came well after a small twitch or movement while the bait fluttered in the current. sometimes they hit with the bait directly behind the boat on a tight light just wobbling against whatever current there was right on top of the wing dam.

do you have that set on a “follow this contour” on your map chip or are you using the foot pedal or the remote? I’ve got the 898 and the ipilot but I fish the river so much I haven’t even tried to set up the bird and the minnkota to communicate. how hard is that to do?

You mentioned you were fishing “tail dancers” in your report.
I was under the impression that those were only made in deep divers. Did you mean Husky Jerks or am I missing something from my arsenal?

I fish the river on Pool 2 pretty hard and I would echo some others…as long as there isn’t ice at the landing it’s worth fishing. One old timer that has a lot of reports on this section of the river from years back says the biggest walleye he’s ever seen on pool 2 was in January no more than 500 yards from the launch! There are big fish to be had in the colder months and as long as you dress for it and the WIND isn’t too bad, you can stand a lot more than you might think. Wind is the real key in my opinion.
I typically just pull my trolling motor straight up and lock it with the nut instead of putting it totally away when I’m moving. So basically I raise it up so it’s just out of the water when I’m on plane.
Clear the deck, don’t run the live well, drain the trailer, run the motor out of the water so the water is all pumped out and be smart.

Come on nobody’s live tweeting this? I’m in Israel right now so it’s a trip of a lifetime but I missed last year too so there’s a small part of me wishing I was on the river.

if you like fresh garlic, basil, tomatoes…try the “Mimi”. It’s a little off the beaten path and it’s nothing like your classic american pizza but if that’s what you’re looking for you shouldn’t be going to Punch. Get an extra plate and pour olive oil and balsamic on it and dip each bite of the Mimi till it’s gone!
pretty stinking tasty!

Turk
Curious what your thoughts are on how that affects the fishing? I was out this morning just south of hudson and struggled to find the walleyes. Marked A LOT of fish but I’m guessing there were a lot of carp and “other” fish I was marking. Pull lead in the 18-30 range and scraped two shorts.

that’s kind of what I was thinking in bypassing the switch.
I actually bumped up and got the ipilot link system with a 798SI DI combo unit.
pretty excited about it. my electronics cost 2x what the boat cost me over xmas so she’s a perfect river boat for how I like to fish.
Now if I can just seal up the leaks where it takes in water and make a few tweaks!

If you’re looking for a rod builder commercially, I think you can’t go wrong with the guys up at Thorne Bros. If you’re willing to go off the path a little bit I would recommend my pal Roger who got me into rod building. He’s unbelievably anal about this stuff (which is great in a rod builder) and he does amazing detail and thread work. Depending on how snazzy you want it he can do just plain wraps on guides and a hook keeper to fish patterns and chevrons and all kinds of stuff. If you’re serious about it, PM me and I’ll connect you. He’s got a bunch of blanks in stock as well so depending on what you’re looking for he might actually already have it.
micah

Jeremy, was that you guys with the big bonfire out there last night?
I’ve been kicking around the idea of taking my brothers kayak out that he’s got rigged to serious fishing. it’s got nav lights, and anchor and the whole deal. Lots of great wing dams on the launch side of the river you wouldn’t even have to cross the channel and there’s 6-8 great spots.

In response to CrawDaddy: I completely agree. There have been nights when it’s snowing or raining and it’s lights out. Then there have been nights when the wind turns them on, or nights when it’s dead flat calm and you can watch your line jump before you feel it. bottom line for me, I never know until I’m out there and I’ll never know if I’m not out there. Had two trips this year where we smacked em and 2 where we caught 1-3 fish all night.
Last night for us was really slow.

based on the remote in his hand in that last pic I’m guessing they’re pulling those behind the electric motor. Seems really unlikely to be able to catch fish at 30ft back with the main motor running but I’ll wait to hear from the guys who were doing the catching.
Fellas???

1 of 3 options, all of them are good
1. Hidden Falls Regional park will put you in right below the Ford Dam
2. Lilydale Regional park will put you in on the other side of the river just down stream from 35E bridge
3. 494 launch (under the new S. St. Paul bridge) will put you on the s. st. paul side of the river directly below the bridge.

good luck

I think the real moral of the story here is proper ventilation if I’m hearing people correctly. I’m looking to put a hood in over the spot where I brew with a 400+ CFM fan vented to the outside of the house and then I’m planning to build a box fan to fill the block window when I brew to suck in fresh air.
I do have two CO2 detectors in the basement as well. One right by the brew station and one in the finished part.
Thx for the input!

Love the process and I’d be glad to share some of the bounty if it works out.

speaking of this post Joel, I’m still without a boat and will be for a while so if anyone is looking for company some night this week, I would gladly bring beer, money for gas or even pb&j if that’s your thing.
612.965.0151

Ryan
I have been kicking around the idea of fishing pool 1 for walleyes as I think, if I have read the regs correctly you could keep some walleyes. Does anyone know much about pool 1 and keeping fish? When my boat did work, I contemplated locking up to P1 and fishing but how would I convince anyone I caught those fish on 1 instead of 2 if I were to get checked?
Would love to join you from shore on 1 if you’re looking for company ever. Let me know.
Micah

I’m not Mike, but I feel pretty confident answering this question.
We fish way past sundown this time of year and quite honestly, the water is getting so clear that this is really the only decent bite available when it comes to walleyes and pitching light jigs. You can catch plenty of saugers during the day vertical jigging but if you’re interested in pitching light jigs to wing dams then night time is the only time around this time of year.

John
pretty sure you nailed the exact specs James and Steve talked about in the river walleye episode where Jame’s caught that tanker on a blade at the end.
MXF is a better mono rod cause of the backbone, MLXF is better for braid. Also, not sure on this one but does St. Croix even make a 6’9 MXF? might just be the specs St. Croix puts out as well.
I have both the 6’6 MLXFTWS and the 6’9MLXFTWS and I use my 6’9 for blades and my 6’6’s for pitching jigs. wouldn’t change a thing for me.

James, I’ve been thinking the same thing. Made one trip to the pond by myself and it’s a long ways to go solo and now that it’s getting colder it’s probably a trip I shouldn’t make solo either.
Holler if you want to head over to tonka some night.

i’ll buy it from you if you’re interested in that to make a profit.
i was planning to go to a cabin for a little personal retreat next weekend and my accommodations fell through.
if you’re interested PM me.
micah

couldn’t agree more Joel
http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=reports&Number=836186

i second the Mike W call.
as good a guy as you’ll find on the site and from what I hear, a pretty good wrench too (or in this case a pretty good snake)