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Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

by Marty Hahn on 11/02/2009

Dominic Marchese -22inch
pair
The sauger fishing on the upper stretches of pool 4 has been going strong for about 2 weeks. Great numbers of fish from 15 to 23 inches have been the norm for people in my boat over that time frame.


Another 22
Many different presentations have been taking fish but my go to method has been a double rapala rig fished behind a three-way swivel. Original floating raps in a variety of colors fished one behind the other with about a 24 inch leader in between is the norm for this rig.

Typically #9 or #7 are the favorite sizes but we have been throwing in a #5 or #11 just to keep the fish honest. The best combination as of late is a #9 in front and a #7 of a completely different color in the back. If the fish show a preference for one size or color we make the switch. I try to stay away from getting all the eggs in one basket though as a sunny/cloudy switch can leave you high and dry. Kind of like the stock market.

Gold has always been a favorite color of mine when fishing raps but never so much as this year. Most of my fishing has been done on dark days and this may be a big factor in that preference.


Mason Mayer-Low 20inch eye
I did tag this as a "sauger report" and that's not to say we don't catch any walleyes with this method but the primary take is saugers. We have been catching a few walleyes each day with some into the low 20" range. I would say though that lately, 90% of our take has been saugers.

One key element to pay close attention to is water depth. My GUESS is water temp, flow and fishing pressure all play a roll in this. I know last week we caught fish deeper than we usually do this early in the year. My assumption is it had more to do with how quickly the water temp dropped than the actual water temp itself.


Trace Mayer-First River
Walleye
I have fished with a lot of folks over the last couple of weeks and caught a bunch of fish on most trips. None however was more fun than my Saturday trip with the Mayers.
Trace Mayer won this trip at the "Kids Fishing Clinic" put on by the New Prague Sportsmans Club in February.

We hedged this trip a couple of times and finally got together on a time that would work. I really second guessed our decision as I looked at the weather forecast for Saturday. Well, tough kids and willing fish made for a memorable day. Watching and listening to kids catch fish is an absolute riot. Trace and his brother Mason are shown in the pics with a couple of their fish.

These two were all about throwing the bigger fish back as well, good job guys.



Location : Minnesota
Water Body : Mississippi River
Species : walleye
Water Temp : 46
Stage : 4.33
Flow : 24700
Technique : trolling


--------------------
Hahn's Guide Service
www.mississippiriverwalleyes.com

marty@mississippiriverwalleyes.com


happycampin

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831567 - 11/02/09 12:48 PM

Thanks for the report Marty! Do you remove the rear treble on the front stick when running dual on your 3-way?

Ryan


BriankAdministrator

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831569 - 11/02/09 12:55 PM

I was watching you put on the show yesterday morning.

Your boat control is totally awesome.

--------------------
Briank's Trophy Catfishing and Sturgeon Adventures
'09 Photo's<<


Pete Bauer

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831574 - 11/02/09 01:17 PM

Great Report Marty!

zonar

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831576 - 11/02/09 01:27 PM

Great report

Everts Resort

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831604 - 11/02/09 02:18 PM

Thanks for sharing some of your 3 way rapala tips! As of late,this has been as consistant fish producer as any.It is really a outing saver for windy days too !

--------------------
Dean Marshall - Everts Fishing Resort
Located Below Lock & Dam #3 near Red Wing, MN!



Click on the Everts Resort banner above to visit our website!


Erick

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831634 - 11/02/09 03:14 PM

awsome report Marty! Got to watch mason fight that nice eye as we were heading out and he had a battle on his hands! See ya this week again I am sure

Stuart

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831649 - 11/02/09 04:18 PM

Very good report Marty.

--------------------
About as useful as a back pocket on a shirt


Jason Halfen

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831661 - 11/02/09 04:45 PM

Well done Marty, and welcome to the team. The 3-way/crank bite is one of my favorites....here's hoping we keep enjoying it for a few more weeks. See you again soon.

--------------------
Jason Halfen ~ IDO Pro Staff

Guided walleye and smallmouth bass fishing in western Wisconsin:
JasonHalfenOutdoors.com



Marty Hahn

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831726 - 11/02/09 08:18 PM

Quote:

Thanks for the report Marty! Do you remove the rear treble on the front stick when running dual on your 3-way?

Ryan




Ryan,
I don't remove any trebles. I do get asked that a lot but in all honesty have been told to add a treble on the back rap when getting short hits. Many times in the last few weeks we have been feeling fish hit or nose the bait and can't get the hookset.
Something I need to experiment with.

--------------------
Hahn's Guide Service
www.mississippiriverwalleyes.com

marty@mississippiriverwalleyes.com


BigZamer

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831816 - 11/03/09 07:32 AM

Great post Marty! We are heading up tomorrow to hit pool 4. I haven't tried 3 way too much and had a couple of questions. How long is your dropper to the weight from the 3 way and how long is your leader to the bait? Are you fishing more towards the lake or up towards the dam. Any info would be appreciated.

Redneck

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831886 - 11/03/09 09:48 AM

Great report Marty and it was good talking to you out there the last few weeks. You definitely put the hurt to the Sauger when the bite was less than stellar for the average redneck

85Lund

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#831902 - 11/03/09 10:03 AM

Great report Marty! I will have to give the 3 way presentation a try.

--------------------
Russ,

A life of learning to think like a fish!


Marty Hahn

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#832143 - 11/04/09 05:32 AM

Quote:

Great post Marty! We are heading up tomorrow to hit pool 4. I haven't tried 3 way too much and had a couple of questions. How long is your dropper to the weight from the 3 way and how long is your leader to the bait? Are you fishing more towards the lake or up towards the dam. Any info would be appreciated.




Usually 40"s to the first rap, 24"s to the second rap and 12 to 18"s to the dropper. Weight really varies on the current and depth. Went up to 3 and 4 ozs on Tuesday.

--------------------
Hahn's Guide Service
www.mississippiriverwalleyes.com

marty@mississippiriverwalleyes.com


Tom P.

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#833437 - 11/10/09 08:04 AM



What a great thing to do donate your time and energy to give a couple of kids a day they will never ever forget.

Way to go Marty my hats off to you.

Great report allso

--------------------
Do to fiscal constraints the light at the end of the tunnel wil be temporarerly turned off.


Ben Garver

Re: Mississippi River Upper Pool 4 Sauger Report

#833442 - 11/10/09 08:10 AM

Great report Marty. I'm deffinately going to be giving the double stick baits a try next time I'm 3 waying.

--------------------
Ben Garver

Bass Pro Shops Pro Staff

Salt Valley Guide Service - Guiding available on all Nebraska waters.
Call 402-890-3057

I say we work 2 days and fish 5!!!


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