8-26-15 Wed, Myself and Dan (co-worker) 545PM – 10:15PM
Mississippi R. pool 8, 5.48→, 34.3 kfs, ? °, dirty// 61°, SE6, clear
Caught: Bait: bluegills, rock bass, one crappie and one war mouth
Tonight I was taking Dan from work out flat head fishing. I had taken him and his son Eric earlier in the season and we had limited success. We did manage one flat head about ten pounds and a respectable gar. We did have quite a few bites, but we did not connect on most of them.
On this trip it was just Dan and myself and we were fishing pool eight instead of seven. The last time I was on eight was about a month ago and Rob and myself did rather well. I was hoping for similar results, but that did not happen.
The bluegill fishing was rather difficult. We did catch enough for fishing, but not by much and most of them were pretty big. I really wanted Dan to catch or at least see one 30lb plus fish caught. With that goal in mind I planned on fishing two spots and the two that I chose were two of my most productive spots on this pool.
Well the plan was good, but the fish did not cooperate and the conditions were tough with all the weeds that were fouling our lines. We had one pretty good bite at the first spot and Dan missed it. Dan got a little excited and forgot about the instructions I had given him about sweeping the rod and not jerking it. Oh well, seen it happen many times with circle hooks and it usually happens with experienced fishermen.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
8-24-15 Mon
8-24-15 Mon, Myself 615PM – 8PM
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.58↑, 36.5 kfs, 66°, dirty// 64°, NW15 G24, overcast (cold)
Caught: 4 pike: 21-27”, 2 LMB: 12–13”
The temperature had taken quite a dip in the last day or two. I really don’t mind though it feels so refreshing. I figured the bass bite would be pretty much non-existent and I was right. I started out throwing a frog, and the only action that came on that was some pretty lazy follows by pike and one humungous dogfish. A swim jig did not do much better.
After about an hour I switched gears and move to a dead end slough with 2-4 feet of water. I tied on an old trusty spinner bait and the pike responded rather aggressively. I did not load up on them, but I did catch enough in a short amount of time to make it fun.
I had my young beagle Zeta with me tonight and she really seems to be starting to enjoy the boat ride and the river. We did have a little incidence with her though. I was casting off the front and heard a rather loud splash. I knew it could only be one thing. She had fallen in! She immediately headed to the emergent aquatic vegetation and started bounding towards shore. Luckily for both her and my sake I was able to call her back to the boat and haul her in. Fortunately for her I was close to being done fishing and she did not have to shiver too long.
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.58↑, 36.5 kfs, 66°, dirty// 64°, NW15 G24, overcast (cold)
Caught: 4 pike: 21-27”, 2 LMB: 12–13”
The temperature had taken quite a dip in the last day or two. I really don’t mind though it feels so refreshing. I figured the bass bite would be pretty much non-existent and I was right. I started out throwing a frog, and the only action that came on that was some pretty lazy follows by pike and one humungous dogfish. A swim jig did not do much better.
After about an hour I switched gears and move to a dead end slough with 2-4 feet of water. I tied on an old trusty spinner bait and the pike responded rather aggressively. I did not load up on them, but I did catch enough in a short amount of time to make it fun.
I had my young beagle Zeta with me tonight and she really seems to be starting to enjoy the boat ride and the river. We did have a little incidence with her though. I was casting off the front and heard a rather loud splash. I knew it could only be one thing. She had fallen in! She immediately headed to the emergent aquatic vegetation and started bounding towards shore. Luckily for both her and my sake I was able to call her back to the boat and haul her in. Fortunately for her I was close to being done fishing and she did not have to shiver too long.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
8-22-15 Sat
8-22-15 Sat, Myself 630PM – 12AM
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.6 →, 37 kfs, 73°, clear// 75°, S15 G23, overcast
Caught: Bait (bluegills, crappies and rock bass), Flat heads (4) 10,12,15 & 21
It was a terribly windy night for fishing, but I had the urge to go and that was that. Even with the strong gusty winds, you can usually find some area on the river that is somewhat sheltered from strong winds no matter what direction they may blow from.
The bait catching went relatively easy, but of course it was not as easy with the wind howling. The first spot I fished was an area just off the main channel, which was secluded from the south winds. I was fishing in twenty plus feet of water and managed to catch three out of this spot. After about and hour and a half there I moved downstream about one hundred yards and came up empty handed.
On my way in a stopped at another deep-water spot that was quite a ways off the main channel. The water was not quite as deep here, but it still held on fish. This fish came off some wood structure close to shore. That fish must have been just waiting for a morsel, because about as soon as my gill hit the bottom it was crushed. I had several other bites from that same spot, but failed to connect with any of the fish. I really think they were channel cats that were hitting and then running sideways with the bait.
The rice is probably at its peak stage of pollination and it is everywhere. The last couple of days there had been a tremendous amount of very small mouth type bugs. These moths area very light colored, almost white and about one half inch long. I have been watching this survival show lately; show I decided to try one. I sure would hate to have to survive on them, mainly because they are so hard to catch. The taste was actually pretty good. For such a small thing it had great lasting flavor with an almost nut taste. It actually gave me a craving to want more!
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.6 →, 37 kfs, 73°, clear// 75°, S15 G23, overcast
Caught: Bait (bluegills, crappies and rock bass), Flat heads (4) 10,12,15 & 21
It was a terribly windy night for fishing, but I had the urge to go and that was that. Even with the strong gusty winds, you can usually find some area on the river that is somewhat sheltered from strong winds no matter what direction they may blow from.
The bait catching went relatively easy, but of course it was not as easy with the wind howling. The first spot I fished was an area just off the main channel, which was secluded from the south winds. I was fishing in twenty plus feet of water and managed to catch three out of this spot. After about and hour and a half there I moved downstream about one hundred yards and came up empty handed.
On my way in a stopped at another deep-water spot that was quite a ways off the main channel. The water was not quite as deep here, but it still held on fish. This fish came off some wood structure close to shore. That fish must have been just waiting for a morsel, because about as soon as my gill hit the bottom it was crushed. I had several other bites from that same spot, but failed to connect with any of the fish. I really think they were channel cats that were hitting and then running sideways with the bait.
The rice is probably at its peak stage of pollination and it is everywhere. The last couple of days there had been a tremendous amount of very small mouth type bugs. These moths area very light colored, almost white and about one half inch long. I have been watching this survival show lately; show I decided to try one. I sure would hate to have to survive on them, mainly because they are so hard to catch. The taste was actually pretty good. For such a small thing it had great lasting flavor with an almost nut taste. It actually gave me a craving to want more!
Friday, August 21, 2015
8-17-15 Mon
Myself and Scott 7PM – 1145PMMississippi R. pool 7, 4.57↑,? kfs, 78°, clear// 70°, N 6, overcast
Caught: Bait (bluegills), me: 5 & 12 lb flat, Scott: 37 & 32 lb flat
The days are getting shorter and the water will soon began to cool and the cat fishing will come to an end. So, I need to get out as much as I can. Scott is always ready to go fish for the big ugly predators, so off we went.
The bait catching was very easy tonight, we fished a couple of spots and had all the bait we needed. The first spot we set up in was a main channel off the main navigation channel. We were sitting in about 25 feet of water with plenty of snags just downstream from us.
Scott had the hot poles tonight. In fact the first fish that was caught was the 37-pound fish that came off his pole. This fish was so aggressive and close to where his bluegill touched the bottom that Scott did not even think the bait hit the bottom before it was engulfed.
Tonight all the fish came off his poles and he also got all the big ones. In all we caught four fish, which had a combined weight of 87 pounds. Not too bad for a couple of hours of fishing.
8-16-15 Sun
8-16-15 Sun, Myself 8AM – 23PM
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.08 ↓, 22kfs, 82°, clear// Hot 92°, S10, clear
Caught: 6 LMB14-18”, 1 – 15” SMB, bluegills and crappies
It was a Sunday morning and I had no plans or obligations, so fishing I was going. Generally I am almost always so excited to go fishing, but with this hot weather my desire to get out and back in the heat was not too great.
As usual thought I was happy I made the commitment and went. The Mississippi rarely disappoints, and today was no exception. When I say rarely disappoint that does not mean that I have to catch fish to be satisfied. In fact just being out on the river and being a part of its awesome beauty is usually sufficient.
However the large mouth bass bite on a plastic frog was pretty close to being great. I also was able to find some new areas for bluegills and crappies. I tried trolling a couple of wing dams, but that was a bust.
The wild rice is now in the pollen stage and it is everywhere this year. The amount of it is just amazing, in fact it is really starting to overtake and eliminate the more traditional aquatic plants of this river basin area.
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.08 ↓, 22kfs, 82°, clear// Hot 92°, S10, clear
Caught: 6 LMB14-18”, 1 – 15” SMB, bluegills and crappies
It was a Sunday morning and I had no plans or obligations, so fishing I was going. Generally I am almost always so excited to go fishing, but with this hot weather my desire to get out and back in the heat was not too great.
As usual thought I was happy I made the commitment and went. The Mississippi rarely disappoints, and today was no exception. When I say rarely disappoint that does not mean that I have to catch fish to be satisfied. In fact just being out on the river and being a part of its awesome beauty is usually sufficient.
However the large mouth bass bite on a plastic frog was pretty close to being great. I also was able to find some new areas for bluegills and crappies. I tried trolling a couple of wing dams, but that was a bust.
The wild rice is now in the pollen stage and it is everywhere this year. The amount of it is just amazing, in fact it is really starting to overtake and eliminate the more traditional aquatic plants of this river basin area.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
8-14-15 Fri
Myself, and Scott 630PM – 12AMMississippi R. pool 7, 5.4 ↓, 31kfs, 78°, clear// 82°, NW 6, clear
Caught: Bait (bluegills), me: 30 lb flat, Scott: 26 lb flat
The flat head bite was not vey good tonight. We basically got two bites and caught two fish; at least they were both good fish. The only thing is with only two bites in three hours it can get rather boring.
The first spot we fished was along the main channel in about seven feet of water with plenty of wood close by. This area looked really good, but we never got a bite. The next spot we went to was close by, but on a side channel off of the main channel. This area also had lots of wood, but it was deeper with a depth of around fourteen feet. This is the area that produced my fish, and man did that fish ever slam the bait and run. That fish actually pulled us out of position and all our lines became a mess after the wind caught us and pushed us upstream.
Our final spot was a side slough way off the main channel with very little flow and deep water. I was not too thrilled about this spot, but it did produce our second fish of the night and it was a good one. I think I will be trying more spot similar to this one.
8-13-15 Thr
8-13-15 Thr Myself, 630PM – 1030PM
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.45 ↓, 33kfs, 78°, clear// 83°, NW 7, mostly cloudy
Caught: Bait (bluegills), 8 lb flat head
Tonight was a solo flat head trip. I was feeling bored and I needed to get out fishing. I started out fishing for bait in some new spots. I wanted to find new sources to fish for my bait, and I am always exploring. The bluegill action was not great, but I did manage to catch an ample supply. The one thing I have been noticing about the bluegills is that there seems to be less bluegills than normal and that the average size seems to be smaller.
Tonight I fished in Somners Chute. I tried two locations, and I was not too successful. I did have an ample amount of bites, but the majority of the bites I did have were quite subtle.
The rice has really exploded the last couple weeks; it is really starting to take over the lake. Right now it is in the flowering stage and it is giving off a very grassy type of odor. I had a very hard time navigating from Somners Chute to Black Deer’s Cut because of all the rice, and that was with my Go Devil. At this time there is no way in hell I could navigate that with my big boat with the outboard.
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.45 ↓, 33kfs, 78°, clear// 83°, NW 7, mostly cloudy
Caught: Bait (bluegills), 8 lb flat head
Tonight was a solo flat head trip. I was feeling bored and I needed to get out fishing. I started out fishing for bait in some new spots. I wanted to find new sources to fish for my bait, and I am always exploring. The bluegill action was not great, but I did manage to catch an ample supply. The one thing I have been noticing about the bluegills is that there seems to be less bluegills than normal and that the average size seems to be smaller.
Tonight I fished in Somners Chute. I tried two locations, and I was not too successful. I did have an ample amount of bites, but the majority of the bites I did have were quite subtle.
The rice has really exploded the last couple weeks; it is really starting to take over the lake. Right now it is in the flowering stage and it is giving off a very grassy type of odor. I had a very hard time navigating from Somners Chute to Black Deer’s Cut because of all the rice, and that was with my Go Devil. At this time there is no way in hell I could navigate that with my big boat with the outboard.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
8-11-15 Tue
8-11-15 Tue Myself, 630PM – 830PM
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.23→, 26, 78°, fairly dirty// 75°, calm, clear
Caught: 3 bluegills, 1 perch, and 1 12” small mouth bass
It was such a beautiful night tonight it would have been a shame not to have gone fishing. Tonight my beagle Zeta accompanied me. She has gone a few times with me, but she is always quite skittish. However, she was much better tonight. I am thinking she must be getting use to the boat and the ride.
Fishing was not very good tonight. My main plan was to fish for LMB and also do a little exploring for pan fish. I did not find a concentration of either. I did lose two LMB and I also missed one small mouth bass. I had limited luck on the pan fish. I was just using artificial bait just basically searching for them. I also did a little exploring tonight in an area that I have not fished yet this year. This new area was a total bust.
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.23→, 26, 78°, fairly dirty// 75°, calm, clear
Caught: 3 bluegills, 1 perch, and 1 12” small mouth bass
It was such a beautiful night tonight it would have been a shame not to have gone fishing. Tonight my beagle Zeta accompanied me. She has gone a few times with me, but she is always quite skittish. However, she was much better tonight. I am thinking she must be getting use to the boat and the ride.
Fishing was not very good tonight. My main plan was to fish for LMB and also do a little exploring for pan fish. I did not find a concentration of either. I did lose two LMB and I also missed one small mouth bass. I had limited luck on the pan fish. I was just using artificial bait just basically searching for them. I also did a little exploring tonight in an area that I have not fished yet this year. This new area was a total bust.
8-9-15 Sun
8-9-15 Sun 8am-12pm myself, 630pm– 1130PM myself and Scott
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.17↓, 26kcfs, 74°, dirty// 80°, light wind, mostly cloudy
Caught: AM: 7 LMB 14-17”, ///PM: bluegills, 2 flat heads 8 & 15 lb, 1 channel cat 8 lb
I was back on the river again after being away on vacation the past week. Can’t say that I was glad to be back home, because that meant I would be going back to work. But, I was glad to be back for the fishing on the Mississippi river.
In the morning I just targeted large mouth bass. The action was not great, but I did managed to boat seven. All the bass came on frogs in the heavy weeds. Four of the seven fish were caught in one little area, and the other three were caught as loners that were not grouped up with other bass.
In the evening Scott and I went out flat head fishing. I thought by now the bluegills would be relating to the rocks close to the main channel, but I did not really find that to be the case. The majority of our bait (bluegills) came off wood very near the main channel. We fished three spots and caught fish in two of the spots. We did not have any bites until after darkness.
Mississippi R. pool 7, 5.17↓, 26kcfs, 74°, dirty// 80°, light wind, mostly cloudy
Caught: AM: 7 LMB 14-17”, ///PM: bluegills, 2 flat heads 8 & 15 lb, 1 channel cat 8 lb
I was back on the river again after being away on vacation the past week. Can’t say that I was glad to be back home, because that meant I would be going back to work. But, I was glad to be back for the fishing on the Mississippi river.
In the morning I just targeted large mouth bass. The action was not great, but I did managed to boat seven. All the bass came on frogs in the heavy weeds. Four of the seven fish were caught in one little area, and the other three were caught as loners that were not grouped up with other bass.
In the evening Scott and I went out flat head fishing. I thought by now the bluegills would be relating to the rocks close to the main channel, but I did not really find that to be the case. The majority of our bait (bluegills) came off wood very near the main channel. We fished three spots and caught fish in two of the spots. We did not have any bites until after darkness.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
8-1 through 8-7-15-15
8-1 through 8-7-15-15 myself the majority of the time, and evenings with Andy
Chippewa Flowage, Hayward, WI
Caught: Couple of SMB, pike and LMB, no musky
It was our annual family vacation on the Chippewa Flowage. My main goal was to fish for and catch musky. Well, I fished for them but I did not catch any. I had one fish wake my prop bait and I also lost a mid thirty fish when I was out with guide John Detloff.
John is pretty much an old school musky fisherman. He doesn’t believe much in using a trolling motor while he is guiding. Nor does he believe in the more modern baits such as the Bulldawgs or Show and Cow Girls. John is very knowledgeable about musky fishing on the flowage and the history of the flowage. I would rate him as a very good guide and he seemed to be genuinely interested in getting me a musky. I also learned a lot from John as far as types of locations to try and baits to use.
The biggest fish I caught this trip was a thirty-six inch pike that just smashed my Lerue Creeper. In fact, I had to repair it that night. Most of the other guests were mainly fishing for crappies and they did well catching them. There is a huge population of crappies on the flowage. One thing I have noticed the last couple of years is the absence of the mill foil plant that was plaguing the lake. For the last couple of years the power company has been drawing down the lake in the wintertime to kill off the milfoil and it definitely has been successful.
The weather for the week had its ups and downs. I got caught out in a hail storm that produced golf ball sized hail. It is quite an experience to be in a hail storm with hail that size. When they hit the water it makes a pretty neat splash. I also fished most of the morning on Friday in a very hard rain. We had several other fronts come through with wind and cold on their heels.
Chippewa Flowage, Hayward, WI
Caught: Couple of SMB, pike and LMB, no musky
It was our annual family vacation on the Chippewa Flowage. My main goal was to fish for and catch musky. Well, I fished for them but I did not catch any. I had one fish wake my prop bait and I also lost a mid thirty fish when I was out with guide John Detloff.
John is pretty much an old school musky fisherman. He doesn’t believe much in using a trolling motor while he is guiding. Nor does he believe in the more modern baits such as the Bulldawgs or Show and Cow Girls. John is very knowledgeable about musky fishing on the flowage and the history of the flowage. I would rate him as a very good guide and he seemed to be genuinely interested in getting me a musky. I also learned a lot from John as far as types of locations to try and baits to use.
The biggest fish I caught this trip was a thirty-six inch pike that just smashed my Lerue Creeper. In fact, I had to repair it that night. Most of the other guests were mainly fishing for crappies and they did well catching them. There is a huge population of crappies on the flowage. One thing I have noticed the last couple of years is the absence of the mill foil plant that was plaguing the lake. For the last couple of years the power company has been drawing down the lake in the wintertime to kill off the milfoil and it definitely has been successful.
The weather for the week had its ups and downs. I got caught out in a hail storm that produced golf ball sized hail. It is quite an experience to be in a hail storm with hail that size. When they hit the water it makes a pretty neat splash. I also fished most of the morning on Friday in a very hard rain. We had several other fronts come through with wind and cold on their heels.
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