Before monster cold front blew in on Tuesday dropping the ambient temp FIFTY NINE DEGREES water temp had risen to 38 with river running low and exceptionally clear.

The last full moon was 2/24. The next one is 3/25. If this weather pattern continues uber warm trend we’ve seen for several weeks I think we’ll see a quick spawn commencing within 3 days of the next full moon.

Since 2/19 I’ve put 134 ‘eyes in the boat “fun fishin”. Seven of which were slot fish. biggest 26″. About 1 in 12 saugers is 14″+. Turned a fat 19″ into a sandwich a couple days ago.

My guide season kicks off tomorrow. Wind will be a major factor for at least the first 3 days. This will limit presentation to essentially vertical jigging. Pitching plastics and snap-jigging blades is much more effective.

Walleyes have been holding in 21-30 fow. Sauger a little deepr. Perch still in deep water too 19-29 fow relating to current breaks.

Dance card is already full until 3/10. Several openings 3/10-3/15. Next open day is 3/25.

So far this year I’ve been on the open water 34 days in 6 states. 100% fun fishin’! This has made me realize i’m like the guy who beat his head against the wall cuz it felt so good when he quit!

This will be my last year of guiding. Fifty years is enough! Looking back, 1973 doesn’t seem like all that long ago. The MinnKota 65 & Lowrance paper graph were ‘state of the art’. Serious walleye guys were fishing out of 18′ vee boats with bench seats and 25 hp motors. There were no line counter reels. Used to catch double digit eyes in Sept. at nite, fishin’ #18 blue/silver Rapalas, seven rod sweeps back..

There was no spot lock, let alone something like Live Target. We watched the flasher dial, the waves, the birds…on the River we kept a close eye on the River, cashing in on subtle nuances like bubble lines, mudlines and crawdad holes.

Believe ’24 will be a drastic change for the USA. Blood in the streets. Chicoms will take down our comms satellites. No more shiny objects for you, kids! Gonna have to learn how to fish like Grandpa did. That’s pretty much what I do every day. tight lines.