Pool 4 river in the fall

[don@greatwebdivide.com]

I've had success with Mississippi Pool 4 (out of redwing) river fishing in the spring. Never fished it in the fall. Any advice on where/when I should be looking for walleyes october/november? In the spring I drag Dubuque rigs around the current seams and it seems to work well.

[REW]

In the fall, the fish migrate up to the dam and stop.


So, basically from the dam downriver a mile or two will see the bulk of the action.

One needs to observe the warning signs and not fish closer to the dam than indicated by the warning signs.

I have fished a few times in the scour hole below the dam in a 80-90 feet of water with very good success. Use braided line, vertically jigging with 1 oz jigs and you some sometimes have very big rewards. Otherwise, look for the current breaks the wing dams and the points.

One can use minnows, but often hair jigs or plain metal blade baits work just as well.

For example:
https://nodakangler.com/forums/conte...gging-Walleyes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi3mmwVGPT0

Any time there is current, blade baits tend to do well.

When using blade baits, use braid, all of the way to the bait. Also use a stiffer rod like a medium or medium heavy. Also, since you want to be ripping all of the time, a shorter rod is also a good idea like a 6 foot or a 5 9 rod. Let the line drop and then give it a rip upward. The fish will swallow the flashing blade on the fall and you set the hook on the upward rip with the no stretch line all of the way to the hook. No need, and no reason to use any leader with this setup. Also, because of the potential wear of line on a blade bait, use a snap on the end of the line to attach the blade to avoid cutting through the line with heavy use of the bait.

Fish that live in current areas are opportunistic eaters. If there is the slightest chance that what they sense is food, they will hit it. If they don't under normal conditions of current, the food will be swept away in the current before they get a 2nd chance. They don't ***** foot around as may be the case in quiet lake waters.

Best wishes

[don@greatwebdivide.com]

Thank you REW!

[REW]

Another effective way to fish is with a 3 way rig. i.e. hook a 3 way swivel on the end of your line.

Then, hook on a 1-2 foot dropper line and on the end of that attach a snap to hook on a weight.

On a 2nd connection to the 3-way swivel, attach a foot long line to attach a plain hook or a floating jig head. Then bait that hook or jig with a big minnow for fall fishing. On the 3nd connection to the swivel attach the main line to the reel. (Note, you can also attach a floating rapala or similar on the end of the line from the 3-way.) The heavy current will give action to the lure.

Using this method, you can fish very heavy current, and can hold the bait directly below the boat with the weight on the bottom. But, the freely floating boat will be an easy target for fish and you will have an immediate sensation of the hit on the tight line from the rod to the weight.

Best wishes

https://www.google.com/search?q=fish...TLtQap9ZKgBw26

https://www.in-fisherman.com/editori...alleyes/154772

https://www.outdoornews.com/2016/04/...iver-walleyes/

Note:
When fishing the Mississippi, you are allowed to use two rods and or two baits.
So an effective use of this is to use a heavy jig for the bottom bait and a much lighter or a floating jig for the upper jig.

https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/com...g-for-walleye/

Best wishes

[TomP.]

With the low water levels this year the fish are going to be spread out all over as there is not enough current to force them into traditional current breaks. From the head of the lake ( can line ) all the way to the dam, there are so many good spots to try. One way I will search is run 3 ways using 3 ounce weights and keep changing up crankbaits trolling from bank to bank. With the lower current levels don`t be surprised to find fish right in the middle of the river. Being I am from Wisconsin I can run 3 lines for each person in the boat.

Don`t be surprised to find them in very shallow water 3 feet and less towards evening when casting to likely looking areas. This is where pitching blades and plastics shine with the lower current if casting work the outer tips of the wing dams that have rock spread out on the ends usually happens from barges hitting the ends. Most people do not have luck with blades is they over work them. The correct way normally is a slow just barely feel the vibe of the blade bait and let it drop back on a semi slack line and letting it drift with the current, most of the strikes will come on the fall. If your ripping them not saying it can`t work but you will have better luck using some finesse.

When positioning your boat you want your presentation to sweep across the up stream face of the dam. When making your casts pitch to the top of the wing dam and work down the face letting it drift sideways with the current at the same time .With this low current I would be fishing 3/16 jigs or less with plastics or 1/4 or 3/16 ounce blade baits. Mid day I would be working the outer half of the wing dam as it gets later I would start more to the inside of the wing dam working my way towards the tip.

[oldlund]

Be careful- it doesn’t matter what state you are from anymore- you can run 2 lines (or 1 rod with 2 baits) on the Minnesota side and 3 on the Wisconsin side.

The 3 way is a great technique.

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/re...mode=bookmarks

Page 56.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[don@greatwebdivide.com]

Interesting, thanks. I can barely handle 2, so I won't be doing 3 I run 2 baits on one rod usually - trolling Dubuque/Denver rigs.

Originally Posted by oldlund

Be careful- it doesn’t matter what state you are from anymore- you can run 2 lines (or 1 rod with 2 baits) on the Minnesota side and 3 on the Wisconsin side.

The 3 way is a great technique.

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/re...mode=bookmarks

Page 56.

[don@greatwebdivide.com]

Thanks for all of the info. I appreciate it. I'm headed down next wed for the day (7-5 or so).

Originally Posted by TomP.

With the low water levels this year the fish are going to be spread out all over as there is not enough current to force them into traditional current breaks. From the head of the lake ( can line ) all the way to the dam, there are so many good spots to try. One way I will search is run 3 ways using 3 ounce weights and keep changing up crankbaits trolling from bank to bank. With the lower current levels don`t be surprised to find fish right in the middle of the river. Being I am from Wisconsin I can run 3 lines for each person in the boat.

Don`t be surprised to find them in very shallow water 3 feet and less towards evening when casting to likely looking areas. This is where pitching blades and plastics shine with the lower current if casting work the outer tips of the wing dams that have rock spread out on the ends usually happens from barges hitting the ends. Most people do not have luck with blades is they over work them. The correct way normally is a slow just barely feel the vibe of the blade bait and let it drop back on a semi slack line and letting it drift with the current, most of the strikes will come on the fall. If your ripping them not saying it can`t work but you will have better luck using some finesse.

When positioning your boat you want your presentation to sweep across the up stream face of the dam. When making your casts pitch to the top of the wing dam and work down the face letting it drift sideways with the current at the same time .With this low current I would be fishing 3/16 jigs or less with plastics or 1/4 or 3/16 ounce blade baits. Mid day I would be working the outer half of the wing dam as it gets later I would start more to the inside of the wing dam working my way towards the tip.