Members workin4TheDream Posted December 6, 2022 Members Share Posted December 6, 2022 I'd read somewhere that the Black River has a great spot for trolling for Walleye. There's a specific area mentioned near a bridge and a boat launch that I'm targeting. I don't want to get to specific but has anyone fished for Walleye in the Black River recently? I was looking at going down there this weekend and figured I'd post on here to see if anyone has any new info on that topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmidwest Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 Walleye are in the southern part around Poplar Bluff. Deep holes all way down into Arkansas. Access near 67 Bridge north of town should get you started. Troll cranks and bounce jigs works. It's been 4 years since I fished for them but managed to catch a few shorts. River is low. workin4TheDream and bfishn 1 1 "Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously." — Hunter S. Thompson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Agnew Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 I know the spot you're talking about. Since it is right at a good boat ramp, it gets pounded pretty hard. There are walleye in that hole, but catching them isn't easy. I fished it a whole lot many years ago, before there was a good boat ramp; then you had to use a good 4WD vehicle to get any kind of boat other than a canoe into it; I fished it a lot from my canoe, which you had to carry down a high, steep embankment off the highway. Mostly fished with big live minnows, and caught some walleye. Since it was a good hour and half from where I lived, I didn't fish it all the time, but would make several trips each winter. There were some very big walleye caught there every winter back then, though I never got a big one there. Biggest I ever saw caught weighed 17.5 pounds. The boat ramp was put in about 15 years ago, and since then I haven't heard of any really big ones being caught there. workin4TheDream and dan hufferd 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmidwest Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 Those big walleye disappeared out of the Black, Current, and 11 Pt systems about the time the MDC decided to manage them. We always called them Jack Salmon and never caught them on purpose when I was young. Just hung them bass fishing with cranks. "Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously." — Hunter S. Thompson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Agnew Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 22 hours ago, jdmidwest said: Those big walleye disappeared out of the Black, Current, and 11 Pt systems about the time the MDC decided to manage them. We always called them Jack Salmon and never caught them on purpose when I was young. Just hung them bass fishing with cranks. Nope, they disappeared about the time jet boats got popular. The best wintering pools for walleye weren't easy to get to with a good boat until jet boats. Now, they get pounded unmercifully. MDC's management hasn't changed. In my opinion their management of the native Black River strain walleye has ALWAYS been stupid. This strain has the genetic potential to easily grow to world record sizes; they may be the biggest top end size walleye anywhere. But MDC has managed them with a four fish limit and a low minimum length for a long time. And NOBODY releases a legal size walleye down there. They should be managed strictly to produce true trophies, and catch and release should be the rule for everybody. Instead, the females get cropped off about the time they reach 24 inches or so, and never get a chance to grow big. dan hufferd and MOstreamer 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoCarp Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 The native river strain has the potential to get world record size…. in the late 90s early 2000s there was a nice year class in bullshoals then…state record was 22# caught in the early 2000s….I chased those monsters back then…caught and released a couple over 15….my PB was 17-8…..saw a fish under the bridge at swan in February of 2003 that was 7” between the eyes and longer by a heathy margin than a old truck tire…..it’s my understanding the pure river stain is difficult to hatchery produce…..Stockton used to have some river strain but haven’t heard of a big fish taken in many years….I had hoped the MDC would have done more with the native strain…..the act different than typical walleyes…. skittish…once spooked the don’t seem to hang around…..I always wondered if they were scared off traditional spawning areas….there are a few hidden populations I hope we don’t lose them forever dan hufferd 1 MONKEYS? what monkeys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoCarp Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Gleasons 19 almost 20 caught in bullshoals in 91 workin4TheDream, dan hufferd and Daryk Campbell Sr 3 MONKEYS? what monkeys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoCarp Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 https://mdc.mo.gov/magazines/conservationist/2018-08/missouris-weird-walleye MONKEYS? what monkeys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmidwest Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 2 hours ago, Al Agnew said: Nope, they disappeared about the time jet boats got popular. The best wintering pools for walleye weren't easy to get to with a good boat until jet boats. Now, they get pounded unmercifully. MDC's management hasn't changed. In my opinion their management of the native Black River strain walleye has ALWAYS been stupid. This strain has the genetic potential to easily grow to world record sizes; they may be the biggest top end size walleye anywhere. But MDC has managed them with a four fish limit and a low minimum length for a long time. And NOBODY releases a legal size walleye down there. They should be managed strictly to produce true trophies, and catch and release should be the rule for everybody. Instead, the females get cropped off about the time they reach 24 inches or so, and never get a chance to grow big. I have used jet boats for 15 years now and I release all walleye from those streams. But, I am probably a freak of nature in that area. First walleye trips were out of the Sportsmans ramp in Poplar Bluff in a 17' squareback canoe with a 5 hp motor on it. But we never saw anything over 5lbs. Maybe it was the MDC making it well known that Walleye existed in this part of the world that caused the crash. Castor River has a good population of them running out of the Mississippi, I have caught them there also. "Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously." — Hunter S. Thompson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Agnew Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Speaking of big walleye...Hog Wally and I went out today. We commented that it was a walleye kinda day, even though we were supposedly fishing for bass...See my trip report in the main fishing forum. Fish was just shy of 12 pounds. Daryk Campbell Sr, workin4TheDream, MoCarp and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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