6-21,22 -12 Thr, Fri

6-21, 22-2012 Thr, Fri
7:30 PM – 12:30 AM/9AM-2PM, 5PM-9PM
Weather:
6-21-12 W5, clear, 68 ˚, 29.99 rising
6-22-12 AM vrbl 3, sunny, 74 ˚, 30.02 steady///PM NW9, sunny, 80 ˚, 29.96 steady
Water:
8.32 rising, 68.6 kcfs, 76 ˚, dirty
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
Flatheads Scott 5lb, myself 29lb//myself LMB 15 &16, SMB 15, pan fish, Tom, Ron, Tawny and Matt – pan fish with the exception of Matt catching a 18” LMB
Partners:
myself and Scott// myself with Tom, Ron and Tawny and Matt Kind.
Comments:

Thursday night was a night of flat head fishing with my friend Scott. The river is on the rise, getting muddy and filled with traveling weeds. The question is where do you fish and what type of cover do you fish? Knowing the fish are spawning tells me to target wood (log piles, sunken trees, cut banks). Also, with the high flows it is almost impractical to fish areas that are exposed to the full force of the mighty river. We had a pretty good night tonight, we boated two fish (5 and 29 lbs.). We should have had a third, but it was caught up in a snag and when I tried to maneuver it out, Scott’s sub –par line could not handle the stress.
Last evening I took a mom, dad and son out for a little back water sightseeing and some pan fishing. The family does some boating on the river, but I don’t think they have experienced the back waters much. Mom commented on how beautiful and tranquil it was. In fact they had just gotten back from the Boundary Waters and she was surprised by the beauty of the area in her own back yard! Pan fishing was a little tough with the new high water and reduced clarity. We did catch crappies, perch, bluegills and a couple of large mouth. Matt was the fishermen of the day with a very nice eighteen inch largemouth. The largemouth are really being pressured from the pros. There are many good bass spots on the river, but I don’t think there are too many of them that have not been fished by the pros the past couple of days. I do not have a problem with the tournament, but I am concerned about the fish being transported to a weigh in site and then all being released close to that sight. I did see Kevin Van Dam out fishing one of my go to spots, so that was pretty cool.

Observations:





The river is once again on the rise, which will dramatically change my fishing tactics.