7-26-13 Fri.

7-26-2013 Fri. 9 AM – 11:00 AM//6 PM – 1:00 AM

Weather: (2153) N 17 G 24, overcast, 63 ˚, 29.99 steady
H2O: 5.9 falling, 35 kcfs, clear, 76 ˚
Location: Mississippi River pool 7
Caught: Bait: bluegills and crappies
Partners: Davit & Nay
Comments:
I started out fishing in the morning on the lake looking for locations for bait for my upcoming guide trip. I found lots of gills around the airport lights in about six feet of water in close proximity to weeds.
I picked up my clients at six at the Upper Brice Prairie landing, and our plans immediately changed. The wind was howling out of the north at about 25 MPH and made fishing for bait on the lake pretty much out of the question. We hit the back sloughs and the wood for our bait, and we picked up bluegills and crappies and one lonely channel cat. The pan fish were not thick in any one spot, but we got around 1 to 3 at each spot.
The flat head fishing was pretty much fantastic, we ended the night with seven flat heads, one channel cat and one agitated soft shell turtle. The biggest fish we caught were around fifteen pounds, but most averaged around ten. I was fishing from with Davit and Nay. They came with their family from Cambodia in 1975 when they were very young. They were able to get out just before the country spiraled into total chaos, they were very fortunate to have made it out. These two guys were good fishermen and a pleasure to fish with.
Observations:
The Flat head fishing is very good right now and the river is at an optimal level and stage for fishing. We had a major cold front blow in tonight, but it did not put a damper on the fishing.

7-24-2013 Wed 7 PM – 12:00 AM

Weather: (2153) SE 5, overcast, 68 ˚, 30.02 steady
H2O: 6.07 falling, 37 kcfs, clear, 80 ˚
Location: Mississippi River pool 8
Caught: Bait: very large bluegills//Rob: two flat heads 8 & 39 lb.
Partners: Rob
Comments:
Rob and I put in at the Dresbach Dam and started catching our bait immediately along the main channel against the rocks. The bluegills were plentiful and willing to hit artificial baits. For flatheads we hit two spots; one was a main channel area where the big fish came from and one was a side channel where we had several bites, but did not connect.
Observations:
We are pretty much into the summer pattern for fishing, the flow is still a little swift and strong but it is manageable.

7-21-13 Sun

7-21-2013 Sun 5 PM – 11:30 PM

Weather: (2153) SE 6, clear, 68 ˚, 29.88 falling
H2O: 6.64 falling, 49.4 kcfs, clear, 81 ˚
Location: Mississippi River pool 7
Caught: Bait: we caught bluegills, rock bass and a couple of perch
Partners: Scott
Comments:
Scott and myself got out early tonight with the plan of quickly catching our flat head bait and them we were going to hit the rocks for some small mouth bass fishing. But of course things did not go as planned. We had one hell of a time catching our bait, it was quite pathetic and it really disappointed me. We tried rocks, back waters up by Trempealeau and back channels with wood, but the bluegills were very elusive. We ended up fishing for bait almost until dark.
Fortunately the flat heads were much more cooperative. We caught three for the night and missed a couple of others. I know at least one of the flat heads was caught on cut bait. Tonight I fished the deeper water areas with very little wood cover.
Observations:
Tonight we had a major may fly hatch; the first one I have experienced this season.

7-20-13 Sat

7-20-2013 Sat 7:30 AM – 3 PM//7 PM – 11:45 PM

Weather: (0953) vrbl 6, clear, 71 ˚, 29.92 rising// (2153) E3, partly cloudy, 75 ˚, 29.92 steady
H2O: 6.89 falling, 53.4 kcfs, dingy to clear, 81 ˚
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 6, Trempealeau AM//Mississippi River pool 7 PM
Caught: AM: small mouths, a few large mouths, a couple of gills, and a few smallish pike
PM: lots of nice gills, a few crappies and Tracy Riek caught a 10 lb. flat head
Partners: John and Tracy Riek PM
Comments:
I started out fishing Trempealeau by myself Saturday morning. The fishing was not fantastic, but I did catch some small mouths, large mouths and a few pike. In the afternoon I met up with John Riek and his wife to do some flat head fishing that night. We fished rocky areas along the main channel for bluegills and we did not have a very hard time finding them. We caught bluegills in most any areas along the main channel that had rocks and some depth to go along with the rocks.
We started out fishing for flat heads on the West Channel and caught the one almost right away; well before dark. We then move to the East Channel and missed one there.
Observations:
The water is pretty clear down on this pool and there seems to be less debris floating in the water.

7-18-2013 Thr

7-18-2013 Thr 5:30 PM – 11 PM

Weather: (2253) calm, clear, 73 ˚, 29.86 rising
H2O: 7.06 falling, 55.7 kcfs, dingy, 81 ˚
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 6, Trempealeau
Caught: Bait: bluegills, small mouth bass, flat head – 32 lb., channel cat 9 lb.
Partners: none
Comments:
I headed to Trempealeau after work to search for some bluegills and fish for flat heads. I did find some bluegills, but they were pretty much scattered. All the bluegills were found relating to rocks very close to the channel or right alongside the main channel. I fished for the flat heads right across from the mouth of the Trempealeau River. I had two bites and I caught two fish. The flat head and the channel cat both were caught using cut bait.
Observations:
The water up on this pool was still fairly dingy and the weed growth is definitely not as widespread as it normally is this time of year.

7-16-13 Tue.

7-16-2013 Tue. 7 PM – 9:30 PM

Weather: (1953) S 7, a few clouds, 89 ˚, 30.20 steady
H2O: 7.48 falling, 61 kcfs, clear, 78 ˚
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught: LMB: We each caught two from 14-17”/ Crappies: 1 ea.
Partners: Troy
Comments:
I had not fished with Troy for a real long time. Tonight we took the goat boat out and fished relatively close to home. We were targeting crappies and LMB, but mainly we were fishing for LMB. We had some pretty good LMB action. We each caught two fish and easily missed twice that many. Troy caught all his fish on a gurgling scum frog and I caught mine on a swim jig. I did lose a real nice bass that I had hooked on a KVD frog.
Observations:
The water is really clean in the backwaters out from the house and it is dropping rapidly. The bass are already relating to different areas because of the dropping levels. The bug hatch was horrendous tonight; not the may flies, but about any other type of bug that could fly. I have not seen a may fly hatch on this pool yet, but I did see one on pool 8 when I fished it on Monday night.

7-15-13 Mon.

7-15-2013 Mon. 5 PM – 11 PM

Weather: (2153) E 3, a few clouds, 82 ˚, 30.20 steady
H2O: 7.64 falling, 63 kcfs, semi-clean, 78-85 ˚
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8
Caught: bluegills, small mouths and 20 LB. flat head
Partners: none
Comments:
I was back to the Dresbach area to see if the bluegills were still around and if the flat heads were in a more active mode. The bluegills were still around but they had moved out of the upper bay of the East Channel. I did find the bluegills out on the main channel relating to rocks. The size of the bluegills was not that great tonight, but I did find plenty for bait. I did try the rocks on the main channel just below the railroad trestle for small mouth bass, and I had quite a bit of action. I tried two spot for flat heads and I caught the one fish at the first spot on a bluegill head and I missed another fish at the second spot I fished. I am pretty sure the second fish I missed was a channel cat.

Observations:
The salvage crew has righted the sunken tug boat and moved it to shallower water. I did notice oil sheen on the surface of the water on the East Channel. The house boat is still sunk and becoming more and more exposed as the water drops.

7-14-13 Sun

7-14-2013 Sun. 7 PM – 9:30PM

Weather: (1853) SW 12, clear, 87 ˚, 30.15 steady
H2O: 7.69 falling, 63 kcfs, clean, 78 ˚
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught: 2 SMB 12”, LMB 17”
Partners: none
Comments:
It was a Short night trip out on the main channel in search of the small mouths, which were inactive. I did get check by the wardens again for the second time this year. I think I pissed them off when I asked them if Wisconsin wardens had jurisdiction in Minnesota. After I showed them my license they wanted to see my life preservers and my fire extinguisher. I was not being smart with them, I was just curious!
Observations:
The small mouths had lock jaw tonight.

7-13-13 Sat

7-13-2013 Sat. 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM//7 PM – 11PM

Weather: (0953) S9, light rain, 69 ˚, 30.09 rising// (2153) E5, overcast, 76 ˚, 30.10 steady
H2O: 8.35 falling, 63 kcfs, clean, 78 ˚
Location: Mississippi R. Fountain City and pool 7 PM
Caught: F. City: approx. 14 LMB 12-19”, 2 SMB 12”, 2 pike 22, 28”
Partners: none and F. City, Scott pool 7
Comments:
It was my first trip of the season for one of my favorite summer time bass haunts at Fountain City. The water was still high and quite dirty in some spots, but I did pretty good considering. The fish were not thick or very active everywhere, but I did pretty well.
Flat head fishing with Scott was not stellar, he caught one about eight pounds.
Observations:
The river is still in a state of decline, but I did notice that the weed growth up to Fountain City is not as thick as it normally is at this time of year.

7-12-13 Fri.

7-12-2013 Fri. 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM

Weather: (1953) NW 8, clear, 76 ˚, 29.99 rising
H2O: 8.45 falling, 69 kcfs, clear, 77 ˚
Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught: LMB 4/ 14-17”
Partners: none
Comments:
I had not planned on fishing tonight, hence the late start. I was targeting largemouth bass close to home, and I was much more successful than I anticipated. One of the fish came on a frog and the others came on a swim jig.
Observations:
The river is still in a rapid decline, and I think within about ten days we may be to a more normal summer pool.

7-10-13 Wed.

7-10-2013 Wed. 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Weather:
(1953) NW 8, clear, 76 ˚, 29.99 rising
H2O:
9.23 falling, 76 kcfs, dingy, 79 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
SMB (approx. 10) 10-17”
Partners:
none

Comments:

I started out with the intention of fishing for walleyes, but after trolling for twenty minutes and not having any action I gave it up. I was headed towards Somner’s Chute where I was going to continue walleye fishing, but then I passed some rip rap that had small mouth bass stamped on each rock and I could not resist the urge to fish for small mouths.
Fishing for small mouth turned out to be the right choice. The action was not fast and furious by any means, but it was steady. The only problem I had was my frustration level got quite high. I once again had my line broken by a four plus pound fish, and I miss lots of bites. I believe I have cured the problem by changing out my monofilament line with braided line. I will not have the shock or stretch that mono gives, but I will have the strength and the instant hook set capability. Tonight most of the fish once again were caught on Senko’s, with a few also falling to crank baits.

Observations:

The river is dropping rapidly now and the clarity has greatly improved. I still am not seeing much top water activity, but hopefully that will happen yet this year.

7-9-13 Tue.

7-9-2013 Tue. 6 PM – 9:30 PM

Weather:
(1853) NW 12, few clouds, 87 ˚, 29.82 steady
H2O:
9.5 falling, 79.2 kcfs, dingy, 79 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
LMB: 16”// SMB: 14, 16, 12 & 10”
Partners:
none

Comments:

I was exploring for bass tonight and I covered lots of water that was fishless. I started out around Pigeon Island and missed one fish there. I then went to Mud Lake and never had a bite there. I then hit some of the back bays and ponds around Shingle Creek and caught the one largemouth. I did not spend too much time there, I was just exploring. I finished the night out on the main channel fishing for small mouth and that actually went pretty good. I had one real nice small mouth break my line; the current is incredibly strong and so area the small mouths and my mono line was not match to either.

Observations:

The river is finally starting to drop. It is still quite dirty, but the clarity will come with time.

7-7-13 PM Sun.

7-7-2013 Sun PM. 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Weather:
(1953) S 12 G 18, few clouds, 86 ˚, 29.85 rising
H2O:
9.73 falling, 86 kcfs, clear in tributaries of the Black River, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
Approx. 12 LMB 10 -17”
Partners:
Oaty

Comments:

I have been itching to get back out and do some bass fishing after my trip with Howard and Pat. I really wanted to see what numbers of bass were available in the areas we fished and I just plain wanted to fish myself.
We did okay tonight, the sizes of the fish were not great, but we had action. Most of the action came on top water frogs.

Observations:

The upper marsh area with its clearer water seems to be a better spot for catching fish at this time.

7-7-13 Sun

7-7-2013 Sun. 7:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Weather:
(0953) S 12, few clouds, 77 ˚, 29.92 steady
H2O:
10.01 falling, 86 kcfs, dirty, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 8
Caught:
lots of bluegills and six crappies, kept approx. twenty five bluegills and six crappies
Partners:
Larry and son Ryan

Comments:

It was a pan fishing trip with Larry and his son Ryan. Larry and Ryan both were experienced fishermen. The bluegill bite has been good the past couple of weeks, but it has also been somewhat a hit or miss affair. The fish are rarely in the same locations from day to day.
We started out targeting rock banks out of the current and that proved to be somewhat successful; however we did not catch many fish of decent size. We then moved to an area with lots of wood hanging over into the water. The area also had deep water in close proximity and that was the key. The fish were not concentrated in any one spot in great numbers. We did catch some real nice bluegills and about a half dozen nice crappie by constantly searching for active fish.

Observations:

Below the Dresbach Dam there is quite a sad sight; there is now two boats that are sunk with the most recent one being a tug boat that claimed the life a young Genoa man. It is a sad sight, seeing the hull of a tugboat upside down resting against the lower side of the main roller gates. The river is starting to drop, and the gates actually went down into the water today as we were fishing.

7-6-13 Sat

7-6-2013 Sat. 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Weather:
(1453) S 15 G 22, clear, 90 ˚, 29.92 steady
H2O:
10.13 falling, 87.9 kcfs, dirty but clear in sheltered areas, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
Pat: 19” small mouth, Howard: nothing
Partners:
Howard and Pat Bloom

Comments:

Howard was the winning bidder on a fishing trip that I had donated to a beagle club from Camp Douglas. Howard wanted to take his son along on a fishing trip and he wanted to target pike. I told Howard the best time for pike was early spring right after the spawn. Unfortunately this would not work out because his son Pat is the college baseball coach at the University of Stevens Point and he is busy all spring.
We made the best of the outing and after several hours of not finding any active pike we switched mainly to top water fishing for largemouth bass. Unfortunately the bass were not very cooperative either. We did have some blow ups on frogs, but most of the bites were missed by the inexperienced anglers. I must say both of these fishermen were pretty athletic and were quite efficient with the bait casters for first time users.

Observations:

Some of the sheltered areas of the river are quite clear, but any areas that have any current coming from the main channel are dirty. Still no may fly hatch and virtually no top water feeding activity.

7-5-13 Fri.

7-5-2013 Fri. 6:00 PM – 9:30 PM

Weather:
(2053) S 9, clear, 80 ˚, 29.92 rising
H2O:
10.2 steady, 89.1 kcfs, dirty, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
Pike: 20”, LMB 13”
Partners:
Myself

Comments:

I had an upcoming trip with Howard and his son in the morning so I went out to do some scouting. Howard wanted to target pike, and I knew from the start it would be tough finding any. With the warmer water temperatures the pike are less active and hard to find. I went to some spots which I thought may hold a few fish, and a few was about all I found. I had several aerial blow ups from a couple of decent sized fish, but none of them got the Ribbit frog in their mouths.

Observations:

The water is very clear in the area of the airport dredge holes.

7-4-13 Thr.

7-4-2013 Thr. 7:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Weather:
(0853) SE 7, overcast, 69 ˚, 30.04 falling
H2O:
10.06 steady, 86.7 kcfs, dirty, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
Variety of fish including: small mouth bass, largemouth bass, bluegills and perch.
Partners:
Scott and his sons Brandon and Chris

Comments:

It was a guided trip with Scott and his twin boys Brandon and Chris. Scott wanted to get the boys some fishing experience and he did not care what we fished for as long as the boys had a good time and caught a few fish. We went out to the rock islands and soaked some crawlers; unfortunately all the bluegills we caught last night seemed to have disappeared overnight. The bluegills were not very plentiful, but other species of fish were caught.
After a couple of hours I could sense the boys were getting bored, so I changed things up a little bit with a boat ride and a trip out to the large sand island near Dakota. The boys appreciated the stretch of the legs and the adventure the large sand island brought. They also had the rare opportunity of seeing a soft shell turtle laying its eggs and they also saw a newly hatched soft shell turtle.
The largest smiles from the boys of course came from when they caught fish, but also when we went fast in the boat. The family was visiting up from Texas and they appreciated the scenic beauty and especially the cooler temperatures that we have been experiencing.

Observations:

The river is holding steady, but still muddy and very high.

7-3-13 Wed.

7-3-2013 Wed 6:30 PM – 12:30 AM

Weather:
(2153) SE 3, mostly cloudy, 68 ˚, 30.02 steady
H2O:
10.00 falling, 85.8 kcfs, semi clear to dirty, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 7
Caught:
Bait: lots of bluegills; flat heads: 2 approx. 5 & 8 lbs. caught by Rob
Partners:
Rob: Karen’s co-worker

Comments:

It was my second flat head fishing trip with Rob. I took him last year below the Dresbach Dam and we did pretty well. Tonight we did okay. We fished two spots and caught two smaller flat heads. We caught the gills out on the man-made islands and the flat heads came from side channels just off the main channel. We did have several other bites, but they were not too serious about devouring our bluegills.

Observations:

The conditions this evening were just perfect. I am starting to get pretty tired from three nights of flat head fishing in a row and then going to work each day afterwards. I also have a guided trip tomorrow morning, so I will be unable to sleep in again.

7-2-13 Tue.

7-2-2013 Tue. 6:30 PM – 12:30 PM

Weather:
(2153) SE 6, clear, 69 ˚, 30.07 steady
H2O:
10.11 steady, dirty, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 8 East Channel
Caught:
Bait: lots of nice bluegills; Jason took home approx. approx. 30, flat head: none
Partners:
Jason (client)

Comments:

Tonight I had a guided fishing trip with Jason, who wanted to target flat heads. Jason wanted to come along bait catching as well as flat head fishing. The bait catching was very easy and rewarding. We got into some very nice sized spawning bluegills and Jason took around twenty-five home with him.
The flat head fishing was a different matter. I took Jason to my best spot on the East Channel and we did not have any luck bringing any fish boat side. We only had one bite out of all three of the spots that we fished. I was very disappointed! It is tough being a guide and having a bad fishing day for your client. It is not so bad if they have opportunities and area unable to capitalize on them, but when there is not anything to capitalize on that is tough.

Observations:

The river seems to have stabilized, so hopefully it will start to recede from the woods. One thing I have noticed the last several trips out is the lack of fish activity on the surface; it is eerily quiet a night.

7-1-13 Mon

7-1-2013 Mon. 6:30 PM – 12:00 AM

Weather:
(2153) SE 3, few clouds, 73 ˚, 30.11 steady
H2O:
10.09 rising, 87.2 kcfs, dirty, 76 ˚
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 8 West Channel
Caught:
Bait: bluegills, rock bass and perch, Flat heads: none
Partners:
none

Comments:

I had a guided trip for flat heads on Tuesday night, so I was out pre-fishing. I wanted to try some new spots in the West Channel, so that is where I went. I had never fished for flat heads before in the West Channel, so I did some scouting before I settled in to fish. I found some spots that looked really good: lots of cover and good depth.
I fished three different spots tonight and never even had a bite. It was quite disappointing. I believe the bite was affected by the high fast water and I also believe the fish are spawning right now.

Observations:

The water is very high, fast and muddy. I have not seen any may fly hatches of any size yet this season.