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).