Mississippi River walleye fishing on Pools 8 and 9

Why does the walleye bag change at the dam?

Wisconsin Administrative Code chapters NR 21 and NR 22 set different aggregate bags for walleye and sauger by pool group. On Pools 3 to 8 the daily bag is four fish. On Pool 9 it is six. There is no painted line in the water — only the concrete face of Lock and Dam 8 at Genoa. Drift fifty yards downstream on the same jig and you have changed chapters.

Where do walleye hold on these pools?

Current seams below the dam, the faces of wing dams, and the deeper outside bends after a cold front are the patterns that keep showing up in local reports — not because they are secret, but because they are where food concentrates. OnGenoa-to-La Crosse water, the Root and La Crosse rivers can colour the upper pool after rain before Genoa clears. OnLansing stretch notes, the longer pool and mid-pool state line add paperwork if you launch in Iowa water and fish Wisconsin rules by habit.

How does the Pool 9 protected slot work?

On Pool 9, walleye from 20 to 27 inches may not be kept. Only one fish in the daily bag may be longer than 27 inches. That structure is designed to leave mid-size spawners in the river. A 22-inch fish that looked like dinner on Pool 8 is a release on Pool 9 — the same river, different row in the code.

For the full cross-species picture, including catfish and panfish disagreements between NR 21 and NR 22, use theUpper Mississippi fishing regulations guide. License questions (which state card you need) belong in theMississippi River fishing license findertool, not in this species page.

How heavy is a fish once you measure it?

Length-to-weight on this site uses the Murphy, Brown and Springer walleye standard-weight equation, not a guess from a landing net. Open thewalleye weight calculator with total length in inches or millimetres; it refuses lengths below the published minimum rather than extrapolating.

For seasonal windows and light/pressure scoring, pair this page withMississippi River fishing seasons guide and thebest fishing time calculator.

Questions anglers ask

Is the walleye season closed on Pools 8 and 9?

No. Wisconsin lists walleye and sauger as a continuous season on the Mississippi River boundary waters. What changes is bag and length structure by pool, not a calendar closure.

Can I keep a 22-inch walleye on Pool 9?

Not under the Wisconsin rules that govern these waters. On Pool 9, walleye from 20 to 27 inches may not be kept; only one fish in the bag may be longer than 27 inches. Sauger has no minimum.

Does sauger count toward the walleye bag?

Yes. The daily bag is walleye and sauger in aggregate — four fish on Pools 3 to 8, six on Pool 9 under the Wisconsin–Minnesota and Wisconsin–Iowa chapters.

Where should a first-time visitor start?

Read the Pool 8 guide if you launch near Genoa or La Crosse, or the Pool 9 guide if you launch near Lansing or De Soto. The bag change is only a few hundred feet at Lock and Dam 8, so know which pool you are in before you fill a livewell.