12-19-12 Wed

12-19-2012 Wed 2:00 PM – 5:40 PM
Weather:
34 ˚ overcast, E 3
Water:
639.52 steady, 17.8 kcfs, 32 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River, Pool 7 - Trempealeau
Caught:
Lots of saugers and a few walleyes most were very small, but I did catch a couple of decent saugers and a couple of walleyes that were under the size limit by a couple of inches.
Partners:
None
Comments

I really wanted to go tip up fishing today, but the ice is still very thin. I was walking on the ice at Lytle’s this morning, but there was only an inch or two at the most. I used my spud to judge the thickness of the ice and on almost every downward test stroke it easily penetrated through the ice and made it to the water below. The ice was not very thick but it seemed relatively strong and did not crack much from my weight. I probably would have chanced it, but the day time highs were going to be in the mid-thirties and I thought this might weaken the ice.
So anyway, I made the trek to Trempealeau in search of walleyes. I did catch quite a few fish, but the size was relatively small. I caught fish as deep as 50 feet and as shallow as 12. I caught fish pretty much everywhere, but the best fishing was after dark along the short wall in 12 to 20 feet of water.

Observations:

The conditions were perfect for fishing: no wind, very low flow, and clean and clear water. This may have been my last walleye trip for the winter. The weather is supposed to take a dramatic turn towards winter tonight. The weatherman has issued a blizzard warning with an expected accumulation of 8 – 12 inches of snow, and much colder temperatures on the back side of the storm. I am hopeful I will be ice fishing for the first time this year on Sunday December 23.