The only thing which has kept me going with perpetual high water since ice out mid-March was knowing that when River levels finally dropped below the ‘action’ stage @ lock & dam 8, fihsin’ would be off the charts.

That day has arrived! Gravel is starting to poke through the mud at the New Albin boat ramp. Access should be possible here by Sunday afternoon–Monday morning at the latest.

When ‘fun fishin’ instead of guiding I like to catch 20 fish then go home. The past 2 days this mission has been accomplished in just 90 mins. each day, throwing an oxbow pattern Rat-L-Trap.

Wingdam action is just cranking up, But its real hard to justify heading toward the rocks to chase ‘eyes when magnum white bass and quality smallies smack your bait every 4 minutes until your arms get tired.

I’ll be fishing rocks for wallies throwing a Bill Lewis MR-6 after the weekend, anticipating almost sure thing success. A major key to consistent success on warm water walleyes–and bass– relating to rocks in the Upper Miss is a technique I call ‘snap burning..

Water temps and fish metabolism are both high right now. It’s virtually impossible to retrieve a crankbait faster than walleyes, smallies or white bass can swim. Fan casting an area with the quickest burning retrieve your reel can muster catches fish–speeding the lure up with quick snaps of the rod tip catches even more fish!

In the typically stained water of the Miss gamefish will frequently follow a lure back to the boat and turn away at the last instant.

Doing a variation of the Esox angler’s ‘figure8’–a ‘figure L’ with a 90 degree change in lure direction about six feet from the boat with a final quick snap of the rod tip often turns those myopic lurking cruisers into would be destroyers just before the lure is lifted out of the water.

I use 20 lb. ‘Moon shine’ PowerPro braid to absorb the shock when those cruisers try to become destroyers–anything less and you might mistakenly call the fish a frigate as it swims away with your bait