5-7-13 Tue

Weather:
(1253) clear, calm, 74 ˚, 30.02 steady
H2O:
11.83 rising, 92.5 kcfs, 56 - 62 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River Pool 4
Caught:
33 pike 18 – 34”, 15 LMB 12 – 18”, 1 SMB 14”
Partners:
None

Comments:

It was my annual solo trip up to pool four. I was targeting the backwaters for largemouth bass and big pike. The water was right at flood stage and all the backwater areas were flooded; a condition that does not bode well for fishing. The one advantage I had was the water was very, very clear.
It took me about three hours to find a decent concentration of fish, but when I did the action was intense. The pike were really active today, but the bass seemed a little shy, I believe they were buried in the heavy cover trying to escape the prowling pike. I really only used two types of baits today: a swim bait and a spinner bait. Each was very successful, but I would have to rate the swim bait the winner in the action category. It was definitely not the most consistent hooker, but it made up for that by the aggressiveness it brought out in the pike.
I had one little foolish incidence today that cost me a nice rod and reel I hooked a nice pike, played it to the boat and decided I needed a picture of it. Thinking the fish was quite tired I wedged my rod under one of the rope cleats and started digging for my camera. All of the sudden I heard this scraping noise that could only mean one thing; my pole was being pulled overboard by a very energetic pike. I tried my best to grab it, but it was gone and I never did see it again.

http://youtu.be/h8AWN--KEcI

Observations:

The water was very high, but clear. I did not observe much for new aquatic growth, but that could be on account of the water being much higher than normal. The flow is quite fast and the only place I found any fish was pretty much in slack water.