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Message Subject: Winter Weather Walleye Window.

walleye express

Posted 1/4/2005 2:57 PM (#25870)
Subject: Winter Weather Walleye Window.

Member

Posts: 2680

Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay.

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After setting at home all day yesterday because of what the weather man predicted, and knowing that the Tittabawassee River was wide open and fishable, was almost to much for me to stand. Then especially since the freezing rain he forecast never showed up until last night, really frosted my (well, you know). I also knew that the river would be higher and muddier today, since the Sanford Dam usually stays closed during the weekends and starts it's run cycles during the week. And with the added rain from last night, I pretty much knew what to expect. But with just cold/dry temps predicted for today, I met my bud at the ramp at 10:30am.

The water actually wasn't that high yet, but she was plenty muddy, with visibility about 10 inches. But I knew exactly where I wanted to start. By 10:23 we were casting to one of my favorite wing dam areas with very little debris in the water. By 12:30 we had not landed a fish. We both had our minnows skinned back from (short biting) walleye teeth a couple of times, and I had snagged a huge scale off a carp, but no fish landed.

I was slowly working the boat down this deeper slot, downstream from the wing dam, in about 20 minute increments. Quarter cast the new water for 20, drop down 15 feet, and do it over again. Sometimes, fish in a river will pod-up in the tightest areas and not move. So you have to look for them. All of a sudden, it went from no debris to lots of debris and ice chunks hitting the boat. "They just opened the last wheel at the dam" I told my bud. Pull that anchor quick, and lets get back to the head of this hole behind the wing dam.

There is a narrow window of opportunity on rivers regulated by dams, when the current on the river changes. Rather it's faster or slower, that current change moves the fish from where they've been resting, to another spot where they get comfortable again. They also become more aggressive during this current change, because other fish, (including baitfish) get moved around as well.

My bud dropped the anchor exactly where we had started this morning, and we began to quarter cast again. On my second cast, WHAP. I landed about a three pounder. My bud two minutes later, had the rod almost pulled from his hands and he was into what I'd say was about a 5 to 7 pounder. This fish got off just after I took it's picture coming in behind the boat. Long story short, we went 8 for 10 from about 12:30 to 1:30 and then it was over. The water got to high and debris filled to make a clean cast, so we called her.

[IMG]http://www.walleye-express.com/albums/river/IM000790.sized.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.walleye-express.com/albums/river/IM000789.sized.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.walleye-express.com/albums/river/IM000788.sized.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.walleye-express.com/albums/river/IM000787_001.sized.jpg[/IMG]

Edited by walleye express 1/4/2005 4:47 PM

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