Let me start by saying the river is very high still. Now with that being said the walleye and sauger are still going to do their thing spawning. You just need to find your way out on the water to have fun catching them like I have with my clients the last two weeks. 

I cant say enough times about finding current breaks and you will find fish in them.  I have been everywhere on the river lately finding nice pods of walleye and sauger in these areas.  And now that the spawn is wearing down it’s gonna be time to start switching things up and doing techniques like pulling three ways with bait, pulling double raps, pitching jigs and plastics, and trolling cranks.  Every technique mentioned will produce fish for the next few weeks.  

We have mainly been Dubuque rigging all the way up til Thursday the 25 th of April.  Each day weather it was cloudy or sunny would change your decision on what colors to use on your plastics.  One plastic I really concentrated on this spring was the fluke type bait Sauger Slayers that Hutch puts out.  You can get these plastics right at both Everts resort and four seasons sports.  They have ample supplies of them.  The rods we have been pulling the Dubuque rigs with is my favorite of all time the Limit creek 5’10 is a great rod for this technique.   

The other products I have been using is ringworms made both by B fish N tackle and also hutches ring worms. Both have really worked well this spring. Colors have been all over the board from chartreuse pepper, green core, orange core, pro blue, purple chart tail, and gold cracker.  Switch them out each day and you may find a faster bite. 

The next thing I would like to mention is Electronics, become a believer in what your using.  Danny Thompson is my hook up man for my Garmin 973sv’s I have on my boat. Since I got this boat last summer I have really noticed how much I like this product. I really can’t wait to try out the panoptics or live version they have come out with now. When I mark fish on my electronics I concentrate on that area and find out what those fish really want to grub on.  

Water depths we have been fishing have been all over the board that’s where the electronics help the best on where to fish.  Three to eighteen foot was a wide range, just follow the fish and you should be able to produce some for the frying pan. 

I would like to thank all the gentlemen that have chosen my guide service the last couple weeks. And again had several folks catch their biggest walleye and or sauger they have ever gotten. Biggest sauger has been 22 1/2 incher that was pictured and released.  And biggest walleye as of late was 27 inches.    I really enjoy watching everyone have fun and enjoy the great fishery we have on the mighty Mississippi River.  This resource is in great condition and with the lack of pressure this spring due to the conditions our spawn will be one of the best.  

Be safe on the water and good luck out there guys and gals !!!! 

Mississippi River, St. Croix River, Pool 3, Pool 4, Walleye Fishing, Sauger Fishing, Red Wing, Hastings