Mississippi River

[Rick846]

Hello, I will be fishing the WalMart BFL All-American out of Moline in May of 2009. I have never been on the Mississippi river before and looking for someone to share any info on pools 13-17. I will be practicing in April if river conditions allow and am looking forward to talking with someone about this river. Please E-Mail me at rhaberjr@aol.com. Thanks.

Rick

[JoeBro44]

Rick, I'll shoot ya an e-mail later tonight.

[JoeBro44]

By the way? Where are you guys taking off from? Sunset Marina?

[Rick846]

Thanks Joe, they have not given ramp info yet.

[JoeBro44]

Five pools? That's a lot of water! Risky time of year too. Flooding could be a major player that time of year.

[Rick846]

I plan on spending a week in late April for practice and stay in one or two of the best pools. I know locking thru is also going to play in the decision process, I have never been thru a lock before.

[Wags]

Rick I just got your E-mail today sorry I do not check that account to often. Joe is correct about the flooding but we might be able to work around it in pool 13. Thats a long ways up and the locking could be a real issue. I have waited just over 2 hours before on a double barge, that can be bad if you have to make a run like that.
Let me know what I can do for you.

[JoeBro44]

Thanks Wags! Rick, if you're looking for the scoop on the upper pools, Wags is the man! If you need any help on 17 I can do my best for ya. Pool 16 is undoubtedly the weekest pool of the five in my opinion. I don't even fish it anymore. Pool 15 used to be one of my favorites but the floods this year wiped out my weed beds. I'll have to wait until next year to see if they come back or not. But I'll be fishing 17 quite a bit next year. If I had to guess, Pool 13 will be the gem of that tournament, but it will all depend on who's willing to make that run and if they can avoid getting stuck in the locks.

[Rick846]

I'm looking for general areas you guys feel might be worth looking at for that time of year, backwater areas, creeks or general areas along the main river. I am guessing the fish will be in spawn or post spawn pattern by late May? I do have river maps so i can locate any areas you think are worth looking at. At this point i will take any info on any pools and decide what i will do come practice time. Please e-mail me at (rhaberjr@aol.com)

Thanks again, Rick


Modified by Rick846 at 7:48 PM 11/30/2008

[JoeBro44]

Pool 13: Spring Lake!
Pool 15: Lower end of the pool if the grass comes in. If no grass, don't waste your time.
Pool 17: Big Timber (The Breaks)
Don't know much about Pool 14.
Pool 16 is a turd!

[Rick846]

Thanks Joe, I'm looking forward to fishing the river. I live in Maryland and my home water is the Potomac river so I have river knowledge, the only difference is we are tidal. Thanks again!

Rick

[JoeBro44]

If I have the weekend open you're planning on prefishing I'd be more than happy to show ya around Pool 17. Either way, make sure you have a good river map. The water should be high enough you won't have to worry about hazzards but I'd play it on the safe side regardless!

[Rick846]

I'll let you know when i plan on practicing, let me ask you this, how long on average would you say it takes to lock thru? What is the process for locking thru?

Thanks, Rick

[JoeBro44]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rick846 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'll let you know when i plan on practicing, let me ask you this, how long on average would you say it takes to lock thru? What is the process for locking thru?

Thanks, Rick</TD></TR></TABLE>

Depends on how nice you are to the lockmaster . On average I would say probably 30 minutes to 45 minutes..... UNLESS there's a barge locking through or approaching, then you are screwed. Anywhere from 1 to 2 hours sometimes depending on how many barges. It can be risky. I've been real lucky so far. And I'm serious about the lockmasters too. SOme can be real pains in the arse. Others are pretty cool. The guys at the Moline lock are pretty cool! I think the lock between 14 & 15 runs an auxilliary lock too so you don't have to wait on the barges, not sure though, someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[Rick846]

Is there anything special you need to do when you pull up to the lock? If it's open do you just pull in or wait for instruction from the lockmaster?

[JoeBro44]

Step 1: there's a chain you have to pull to signal the lockmaster. Pull that chain and stay behind the sign (you'll see it).
Step2: WAIT!!! After the doors open you'll see a flashing light (like a traffic light).
Step 3: Once the light turns green the lockmaster will blast a horn. Now you can proceed (slowly).
Step 4: Once inside the lock, the lockmaster will show you the rope to hang onto. Grab the rope and wait for the lock to rise or fall depending on where you're going. Some lockmasters will allow you to free float in the middle.
Step 5: After the lock fills or drops, the doors will open. Do not proceed out until the horn blows. Again some lockmasters will allow you to go early but do not do it unless they tell you to.
Step 6: Idle out till you reach the end of the lock wall, then you're home free. SOme lockmasters are real sticklers for the rules and some will turn ya loose early. The lockmaster at Rock Island has let us go early before... really ticks off the pleasure boaters!

I always offer them a pop on a hot day

[JoeBro44]

If by chance ya screw up and mess up the procedure, just explain that you're new to it. When I first started locking I had no idea what I was doing, I explained I was clueless and they were very understanding.

[Rick846]

Thanks Joe, I appreciate all the help!! Hope I'm not a pain. I may have a few more questions thru out the winter and I will keep checking out this board for further info on the river. Thanks.

Rick

[JoeBro44]

No problem, that's why I'm here.... I think . Keep an eye out next spring, that's when the reports will start coming up. Wags and Hooked on Legend usually have some good reports from 13 early in the year. Pool 17 is my home pool so I'll probably on it a bit too early in the year. Anything else ya need just check in post, we'll be here (it's gonna be a long winter )