6-27-13 Thr.

6-27-2013 Thr. 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Weather:
(2053) NW 5, clear, 75 ˚, 29.77 steady
H2O:
9.95 rising, 85.1 kcfs, clear, 78 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 8 (Black river)
Caught:
Nothing
Partners:
Ben (Holmen Co-worker)

Comments:

I had not fished with Ben since last year, and he had wanted to get together and do some fishing. Ben had also purchased a different boat this spring and I think he had wanted to take me out in his new water craft. I struggle and have a hard time fishing out of someone else’s boat. When it comes to fishing I have a very hard time taking a back seat and going along for the ride.
Tonight the fishing was absolutely horrible, I did miss a couple of fish but I never did bring one into the boat. We targeted the Black River, because it was relatively clean, while the rest of the river was quite dirty. We fished mainly deep rock bank areas and flooded timber. It was tough!

Observations:

The water in the Black was relatively clear, but there was absolutely no fish activity.

6-26-13 Wed

6-26-2013 Wed 7:00 PM – 11:15 PM

Weather:
Approximation: calm, clear, 80 ˚
H2O:
9.82 rising, 84.7 kcfs, mostly dirty, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 8
Caught:
Bait: bluegills, crappies and perch. Flat heads: 6 & 13 Lbs.
Partners:
Scott

Comments:

Since I had gotten rained out on my last flat head fishing trip on Pool eight a little over a week ago I have been anxious to get back. The bait catching was once again relatively easy. The bluegills were quite active, although not concentrated in any one spot.
The first spot we fished was French slough and this is where we caught both of the flat heads. The second spot we went to was the East Channel, but the floating weeds continuously fouled our lines. We made a last ditch effort to fish French Slough during moon rise but the fish did not cooperate.

Observations:

The water is still very high and rising; it is also dirty with plenty of weed fouling our lines.

6-24-13 Mon

6-24-2013 Mon 6:00 PM – 9 PM

Weather:
(1853) SE 5, clear, 72 ˚, 29.85 steady
H2O:
9.45 rising, 85.1 kcfs, mostly dirty except for the channel and the areas by the dredge holes on the lake, 75 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
1 – 28” pike
Partners:
none

Comments:

It was time to get back out pike and bass fishing. The water has turned very muddy from all the recent rains, so I was not expecting too much action. My intuition was right; it was a struggle to find any action. I did catch the one decent pike, missed several other fish while throwing a buzz bait, and snapped my line setting the hook on a pike that was probably around the mid thirty inch range.

Observations:

The water is very dirty except for a few areas around the dredge holes on the lake and the channel behind the house.

6-23-13 Sun

6-23-2013 Sun. 7:00 PM – 11:15 PM

Weather:
(2153) S 8, clear, 75 ˚, 29.90 rising
H2O:
8.54 rising, 76.6 kcfs, somewhat clear, 75 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
Bait: bluegills, crappies and perch, flat heads: 28, 13 & 10
Partners:
Scott

Comments:

I was very anxious to get out tonight, especially since my trip last night never happened. Also, we are in a full moon phase and moon rise was around 9 PM. If there was one thing I wanted to do tonight, I wanted to be set up and fishing flat heads before moon rise.
We started out catching bait in the channel and that was not very good. We did catch some but it was not very spectacular. I suggested we fish the man-made islands out in the middle of the lake, because I knew around this time of year the fish would be out there taking advantage of the may fly hatch that although very limited had started for the season. The rocks ended up being a good choice, once again the fish were not thick, but they were plentiful enough.
Scott was driving and it was his call as to where we fished. He was pretty indecisive, but I told him he better make up his mind quickly, because I did not want to miss fishing moon rise. Scott took a chance and really surprised me by picking a spot he had never fished before. It paid off. We caught three fish in a very short time span. We continued to fish the spot about another thirty minutes after the last fish came to the boat and never even had another bite. The second and last spot we fished for about forty minutes and never had a bite. I think this second spot had too much current and besides the current there were a lot of debris: weeds and stick fouling our lines.

Observations:

The water is going up, but I was surprised that it was still not too terribly dirty. The reed canary grass is starting to flower and some of the rice is now standing up out of the water. Scott's large flat head was slightly beat up; an indication to me that they are starting to spawn.

6-22-13 Sat

6-22-2013 Sat. 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Weather:
(2053) Stormy, E8 thunder storms, rain, wind, etc., 68 ˚, 29.88 rising
H2O:
8.23 falling, 74.2 kcfs, dingy, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Upper pool 8
Caught:
Bait: bluegills, crappies and white bass
Partners:
John and Brady Riek

Comments:

John and his son had wanted to get out with me flat head fishing, and tonight was the night. Unfortunately the weather was very uncooperative. We had gotten chased off the water twice while catching our bait, and after the second time we never did get back out on the water to fish. That night it stormed from around 930 PM till around 8 AM on Sunday morning.
Our bait catching did not go too bad; we started out fishing in the Dresbach Bay just opposite the wall in the flooded bushes. We caught a few gills here and there and also a few white bass, but the best spot was the bay below the I90 Bridge on the Minnesota side.

Observations:

The water is pretty dingy and very high right now.

6-18-13 Tue

6-18-2013 Tue. 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Weather:
(1453) SE9, clear, 76 ˚, 30.06 falling
H2O:
8.2 falling, 74 kcfs, dingy (except Black R. is clear), 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Upper pool 7
Caught:
approx. 8 LMB 13 – 17”, SMB 17”, 1 pike 22”
Partners:
none

Comments:

What a beautiful day: sunny, calm and mid- seventies. I had a very hard time deciding where to fish today, my heart was telling me to go north up towards Fountain City or Alma, but I decided I would stay on the home waters and fish some new water on the upper end of the pool. I trailered the boat and started out fishing Round Lake. I was very surprised that the water was quite dingy in there. In fact it was dirty everywhere except where the Black River was dumping in. Besides Round Lake I also fished up at the dam, the spillway and main channel areas, I never had a bite nor saw any fish activity in areas with dingy water. I ended up going back to the vicinity of the areas where I have been catching bass the previous couple of days and I did okay. I did not see much chasing going on, but it was mid-day and sunny. Most of the fish I caught came off a frog in some pretty heavy cover. I also caught fish on a Pop-R, buzz bait and Senko.

Observations:

The Bassmaster Elite Pros are all over the area up by Big Marsh. I had to have seen at least ten different ones up in this area. It is quite strange seeing these guys everywhere; they are fishing some areas that very rarely if ever get fished.

6-17-13 Mon.

6-17-2013 Mon. 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Weather:
(1953) N6, clear, 77 ˚, 29.89 rising
H2O:
8.23 falling, 74.2 kcfs, dingy (except Black R. is clear), 75 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. pool 7
Caught:
approx. 15 LMB 12 – 19”, approx. 8 SMB 14 – 18”, 1 – 13” walleye
Partners:
none

Comments:

I had planned on walleye fishing till dark, and I did start out walleye fishing, but after about an hour I decided it was futile. My own personal feeling on walleye fishing is it is boring ninety five percent of the time, But I had a guy that had won a donated trip and he wanted to fish for walleyes tomorrow. About eight o’clock I got a message from him that he would be unable to make it tomorrow and we would have to re-schedule; pissed me off!! I am done donating anymore trips; it is too much of a hassle.
Since my trip was cancelled I decided to go target the bass I had seen chasing minnows. What a wise choice that turned out to be. I had lots of action and caught some very big fish, both largemouth and small mouths. The large mouths were relating close to the grass banks and the smallmouths were out on the sand drops. I would have to alternate baits after every couple of fish, but they were very aggressive right up until dark. Once again a Pop-R worked very well along with a Zara Puppy and a Senko. I did have a first; I caught a walleye on a Pop-R.

Observations:

The bass were once again feeding very heavily on the pike minnows. I had thought there would be a very good year class of pike on account of the high water we have had this spring, and from what I am seeing that is just what we have.

6-16-13 Sun

6-16-2013 Sun. 3:30 PM – 10:30 PM

Weather:
(1853) NW6, clear, 81 ˚, 29.87 steady
H2O:
8.19 falling, 73.9 kcfs, dingy, 75 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. pool 7
Caught:
approx. 20 LMB 12 – 19”, approx... 8 SMB 13 – 16”, 1 – 13” walleye, 4 bluegills, 1 perch, 1 crappie, 1 – 20” pike, 1 – 20 lb. flat head.
Partners:
none

Comments:

I started out bluegill fishing so I would have enough bait to go flat head fishing. I pretty much hit areas out on the lake, and it was tough. I did get some pan fish here and there, but it was a definite struggle.
I did try trolling for walleyes for about ten minutes and I caught one little one. I was targeting the back sloughs and trolling areas that averaged about six feet deep. It was pretty hard trolling on account of all the floating weeds and grass. Most of this debris is caused by the morons with the hyper drive motors that have to go blazing through anywhere there is enough water to float a boat.
For about the last hour of light I bass fished up in the big marsh area, and it was pretty much spectacular. The bass were feeding heavily on pike fry and there was a feeding frenzy happening. The go to bait was a small Pop-R.
Finally I ended the evening with about forty minutes of flat head fishing. I hooked a decent fish right away, but it got caught up in a snag, and I could not move it. I could tell the fish was still on, but it was tangled on the underwater object. I had three options: break the line, pull up the anchors and try to float over the snag and free the fish, or let it untangle itself. I went for the later and after about twenty minutes it had worked itself free and I was able to land it.

Observations:

There are a ton of pike minnows in the back waters and the bass are heavily feeding on them. There is beginning to be lots of wild rice popping up in the back waters, but other types underwater vegetation seems to be sparse.

6-15-13 Sat

6-15-2013 Sat. 7:30 PM – 11:30 PM

Weather:
(1953) NW6, partly cloudy, 77 ˚, 29.84 steady
H2O:
8.21 falling, 74.1 kcfs, dingy, 74 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. pool 7
Caught:
very little bait, approx. 4 LMB 12 – 16”, 1 flat head approx. 20 lbs.
Partners:
none

Comments:

Tonight was a combination fishing trip. I had hoped to catch enough bluegills to be able to do some flat head fishing and I caught three bluegills and one perch, just the minimum amount to make it worthwhile. I am not sure what is up with the bluegills, but they are tough to come by.
After I caught my bait, I bass fished for just a few minutes. I had seen plenty of fish chasing minnows, so I knew they were active. I caught all the fish on a buzz bait, and it was a hoot. The bass were very aggressive.
I started out flat head fishing in the Black River, but that did not produce anything; there was just too much current. I then moved out onto the main channel and fished one of my favorite wing dams on the shore side. I didn’t give the spot more than about a half hour and I caught the one and missed one other.

Observations:

The River is still high and quite dirty, but the Black River is quite clear.

6-13-13 Thr.

6-13-2013 Thr. 7:30 PM – 11:45 PM

Weather:
(2053) calm, a few clouds, 70 ˚, 30.04 rising
H2O:
8.57 falling, 76.8 kcfs, dingy, 70 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. pool 7
Caught:
Approx. 20 bluegills, 3 flat heads 4, 8 & 12 lbs.
Partners:
Scott

Comments:

Tonight was a flat head fishing trip, and a blue gill and pike scouting trip. We never really did find but one area that held bluegills, and I only saw one pike all night. That fish jumped completely out of the water to snag my buzz bait, but it completely missed it.
We fished one spot where I had fished in the past and one spot where I had never fished. Both of the spots were very close to each other, and they were both along a side channel just off the main channel of the river. The fish were quite active tonight; they hit the bait with some aggression.

Observations:

There is still lots of flow out on the main channel, with a pretty serious drop or rise depending upon which way you cross it, over the closing dam on Somner’s Chute.

6-10-13 Mon

6-10-2013 Mon 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

Weather:
NW5, clear, 74 ˚, 29.82 rising
H2O:
8.88 falling, 79.1 kcfs, dingy, 65 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. pool 8
Caught:
Nothing
Partners:
none

Comments:

I was pre scouting again tonight and it did not go too well. Let me re-phase that, it sucked. I never caught a fish, and I only had one bite. I was on a mission to find fish, and I never slowed down to finesse fish. I fished a few spots around the dam, Target Lake and Goose Island, but to no avail. I did see several boats trolling for walleyes around the sloughs of Target Lake and they were catching fish, but I never tried it.

Observations:

I will blame the inability of myself being unable to catch a fish on fact that we had a major high pressure system move into the area.

6-11-13 Tue

6-11-2013 Tue 3:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Weather:
N5, clear, 77 ˚, 29.84 steady
H2O:
8.76 falling, 78.2 kcfs, dingy, 68 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. pool 8
Caught:
4 LMB , 2 SMB, 4 pike, 1 white bass
Partners:
Andy and Richy (clients)

Comments:

I took Andy and Richy out today for some backwater fishing and sightseeing. They were in town on business and wanted to experience the river on a personal basis. Andy was hoping to see a hatch of mayflies, but I told him it was too early and that usually takes place around July 4th. The guys were impressed with the vastness and beauty of the backwaters; they particularly liked seeing all the bald eagles.
The fishing conditions are changing rapidly now with the dropping of the water levels and the rising of its temperatures. I had been finding bass and pike up until Tuesday relating to current breaks, but Tuesday all fish came from dead water with plenty of vegetation. Andy and Richy caught largemouth bass, small mouth bass, northern and Richy even brought a very large dogfish to the boat and unfortunately, or should I say fortunately for me it got off. Andy caught two new species of fish he had never caught before a small mouth and a pike. The baits that got the most response from the fish were buzz baits, Senko’s and Ribbit Frogs. It was a great day to be on the water with a couple of southern gentlemen.

Observations:

The water is still quite dingy, but the level is still going down ever so slowly. Once again the cotton wood fluff was layered on the surface of the water.

6-9-13 Sun

Weather:
(1853) E 5, light rain, 67 ˚, 29.79 steady
H2O:
8.9 falling, 79.3 kcfs, 65˚, dingy with floating weeds
Location:
Mississippi River pool 8
Caught:
approx. 6 pike 20 – 34”, 10 LMB 12-15”, 6 white bass and 12 bluegills
Partners:
none

Comments:

I was pre fishing for a guided trip I have on Tuesday. I put in at the Dresbach Dam, because during this time of year, almost anything can be caught below the dams on the river. I started out fishing for pan fish in the Dresbach Bay. Past experience told me that pan fish would be readily available here, and I was right. I caught all the bluegills I needed. The fish were relating to the flooded brush and trees along the bank.
Next on my agenda were bass and pike. I fished the opposite bay from the landing and it was almost easier catching these two species than it was catching the bluegills. While fishing these two species in the slack water, I observed minnows being chased on the surface in some rather fast current areas. The fleeing minnows in this kind of environment could only mean one thing: white bass! I did not catch a lot of them, but there were enough to make it interesting.
The night cap of the night was fishing for flat heads in the lower portion of the East Channel. I did not boat a fish, but I failed to capitalize on three bites.

Observations:

The river is still very angry, but the high water has finally started to subside. The cottonwood trees are shedding their spring time fuzz.

6-8-13 Sat

6-8-2013 Sat 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Weather:
(1253) NE 9, clear, 60 ˚, 29.96 steady
H2O:
St. Louis: dingy 63 ˚ //Bear: dark, 65 ˚
Location:
St Louis R., Duluth///Bear Lake, Douglass County
Caught:
Me: approx. 20 pike 20 – 32”, 2 LMB 14”, 20 lb. carp////Scott: approx. 6 pike 20-26”, 1 – 40” Muskie
Partners:
Scott

Comments:

We started out fishing the St. Louis River for muskies, but we also got into the pike. The hot areas were back bays with about two feet of water with both dead bull rushes and new green aquatic vegetation. I was quite surprised at the amount of pike we caught. I may just plan a pike fishing trip up there in the spring time next year. I mostly threw small buck tails, whereas Scott threw heavier Muskie baits
Scott caught the only Muskie today and no others were seen. That fish came out of about two feet of water next to a stump.
We did not stay on the St. Louis till dark because we both wanted to hit our little gem of a Muskie lake out in the middle of the forest. We got to the lake at about 6:30 and fished it till dark. We had absolutely no Muskie action, but I did catch quite a few pike. I also caught a couple of bass. On a side note, we went a little ways up into the feeder creek and it was full of smaller pike.

Observations:

The St. Louis River was stained red from all the recent rains and the large amount of run off from the spring thaw. We did see some weed growth, but there was not much of it yet. I think it was just too early in the season for it. Bear Lake had lots of pan fish activity in the shallows and the pads were starting to come up in the south bay.

6-7-13 Fri.

6-7-2013 Fri 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Weather:
(1553) E 8, clear, 68 ˚, 29.98 steady
H2O:
fairly clear, 58 - 63 ˚
Location:
Chequamegon Bay, Ashland, WI
Caught:
Me: 20 SMB 14 – 20”, 4 rock bass///Scott: 10 SMB 14 – 20”, 10 rock bass
Partners:
Scott

Comments:

Today was a new fishing destination for me; Chequamegon Bay in Ashland, Wisconsin. This area is known for its fantastic small mouth fishing and it did not disappoint. The area has a trophy slot limit, with only one fish over twenty inches allowed. The area is a large relatively shallow bay off of Lake Superior. We fished the one area known as the Sand Cuts; it is a shallow back bay with lots of wood and relatively shallow water.
Most of our fish were caught on a Senko, but we also caught a couple on top water and spinner baits. The fish we caught were all shallow, less than three feet of water. The majority of the fishermen we observed were using live suckers to catch their fish. The only knock I have with this area is it is a very popular fishery and it is quite crowded in a relatively small area. We spent a little bit of time fishing for pike in the same area, but they were nowhere to be found.

Observations:

The bay is relatively shallow and the majority of the water was quite dirty with a red stain to it from the red clay run off. The dirtiness was probably a little more pronounced on account of all the precipitation that has fallen this spring. We used a landing just a couple miles east of town, and I must say it was one of the best landings I have ever used.

6-2-13 Sun

6-2-2013 Sun 6:00 PM – 11:45 PM

Weather:
(2153) E 3, clear, 56 ˚, 30.03 steady
H2O:
9.96 rising, 91.9 kcfs, 63 ˚, semi-clear
Location:
Mississippi River pool 7
Caught:
Very few pan fish for bait and two flat heads of 8 & 17 lbs.
Partners:
Scott

Comments:

I was out flat head fishing with Scott tonight and we did okay. The night did not start out too good when we fished for our bait. The bluegills were definitely in a negative mood and they were not hanging around the shallows. I think we caught a total of seven fish, with a couple of toad sized gills and one crappie mixed in. It was not what I would have preferred to have in the live well for bait.
We first tried to set up in Somners Chute in an area that I thought was a little bit sheltered from the main flow of the river, but the current was still just too strong for the anchors to hold. We then went to a major slough just off the main channel and tied the boat to a fallen tree and fished an area that was much more sheltered from the current. We were fishing in about ten feet of water with an abundant amount of snags in close proximity to our locations.
We ended up with two fish in the boat and probably missed just as many other bites.

Observations:

The evening was extremely cold, I ended up wearing a winter coat and a stocking cap. The water is climbing back up beyond the ten foot stage, but it is once again fairly clear. The locust trees are in full bloom. We are in a never ending pattern of several days of rain, then a clear day or two and more days of rain; it is starting to wear on me!

5-31-13 Fri.

5-31-2013 Fri 10:00 AM – 7:30 PM

Weather:
(1253) S 15 G 25, mostly cloudy, one thunderstorm, 75 ˚, 29.68 falling
H2O:
10.52 falling, 71.1 kicks, 65 ˚, clear
Location:
Mississippi River pool 8 (briefly) & pool 4
Caught:
11 LMB 12 – 19”, 15 pike 18 – 28”
Partners:
none

Comments:

It was a Friday and it was my day off and I wanted to fish the Stoddard area today. I was a little worried that the water might be muddy because of all the rain we have been having, but it did not look too bad behind the house on pool 7. When I got to Stoddard the wind was ripping and the water was very muddy except for the areas in close proximity to the boat landing. As soon as I got to the landing I knew that I had made a mistake. I fished approximately twenty minutes, got discouraged and loaded up the boat and headed up the Minnesota side of the mighty river until I found clean water. That ended up taking me all the way to Wabasha. The water was very high there, but it was pretty darn clear.
I ended up having a very good day catching bass and pike. For the second straight time I was unable to explore the big open lake on account of the stiff southerly winds. Besides the wind the weather was not too bad, except for about a twenty minute period when my location was on the edge of a pretty significant thunderstorm. The storm caused me to seek shelter under a bridge and it gave me a chance to eat my lunch.
I did have a couple pretty cool encounters with some wildlife today. The first instance was a coyote that was crossing a pretty large slough that I was motoring down. At first I thought it was a small deer, but when I got closer I saw it was a very nervous coyote that was caught swimming out in the open water. Several times I headed it off and made it swim back the other way farther away from shore as I tried to get both my camera and camcorder to work. I was unsuccessful with either. After playing the cat and mouse came with the wily coyote about a half dozen times, it finally eluded me and made it to one of the shorelines. That was one lucky coyote; I think a large majority of others probably would have run the critter over.
The second interesting critter or I should say critters were two snapping turtles wrestling and frolicking in the marsh. I watched and filmed the pair for quite some time as they were literally under my feet. All I can say is if I had to go through what that guy had to go through for a littler procreating, I might have to pass!

Observations:

The water is still very high and muddy around the La Crosse area. The locust trees are starting to bloom along with the roadside lavender flower that I like so well (no idea on the name of them).