Mississippi River Pool 14 Update

I ventured out in the wind this evening for a short while to see how the rising water and high flow had impacted the bite on Pool 14. Got on the water at 3:oo p.m. and began trolling 3 ways on a current break at the mouth of a slough. I found fish there but they where quite small. From there I proceeded to pitch jigs along the Clinton area riprap, with only a pair of white bass taking my offerings, so it was time to head to the dam, where this nice eater was taken on a Orange/Chart. H20 jig and fathead minnow.

I worked 3 ways and live bait, ringworms, SuperDos, and Sassy Shads, with only small fish caught. 3 wayed cranks for a short time, then went subtle with the H20 jig tipped with just a minnow, and the bite was on! The Iowa side was giving up some decent fish in the "pocket", but was quite crowded. The fish I put in the boat came down stream from 6-12′ on drop-offs.

After an hour at the dam, I opted to move down and work a wing dam for a bit, and found this chunky 19"er wanting the same presention, jig and minnow. I could not get anything going on cranks or pitching jigs, fish on the wing where out in front in 9′, and wanted the jig right in front of them. I managed a couple more fish as light waned, when I had to call it a day. The flow is steadily increasing, so I look for the fish to be pushed up near shore, but did not find that to be the case as of yet. The water temp had dropped 3 degrees in 24 hours, so I expect things to really pick up soon!