5-5-13 Sun

5-5-2013 Sun 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM//4:30 PM – 8:30PM
Weather:
(0853) clear, NW9, 46 ˚, 30.00 steady// (1753) clear, NW9, 71 ˚, 30.00 steady
H2O:
10.42 rising, 99.6 kcfs, 46 ˚, dingy// 10.5’ rising, 101 kcfs, 58 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 6 AM, Pool 7 PM
Caught:
Myself: 22 LMB 12-18”, 4 pike29”//John: SMB 14”
Partners:
John R. - AM

Comments:

I started off fishing in the morning with John on the upper end of pool six near Winona. The water was high, the woods were flooded and the fishing sucked. The only action I had was one northern made a futile swipe at my swim jig. John did manage to put one small mouth in the boat on a suspending jerk bait.
In the afternoon I made a solo trip out onto the lake in the goat boat. The flat with the go devil motor is nothing to look at, but it works well for exploring the real shallow areas. I started off fishing some areas I have not yet fished this year, and I even fished some areas that I never really fished before. The high water is making for some difficult fishing, but it is also opening some new areas to exploring.
I caught fish in pretty much every area I tried. The main type of spot I was looking for were areas with solid banks or solid vegetation that formed a barrier to the fish. When the water is high I stay away from the flooded timber in the backwaters. There are just too many spots for the fish to hide and roam.
I had been avoiding areas with any type of current because I had the assumption that the fish did not want anything to do with current, but I was wrong. I did find quite a number of fish on an area that had some clumps of vegetation and lots of current. All the fish came from areas with a water depth of less than two feet.

Observations:

The grass is starting to green nicely and the lilacs are starting to bud.