Water temperatures dropped to 61 degrees on pool 9 yesterday, with a sea of eelgrass coming down the Miss making pursuit of the preferred species :walleyes extremely difficult. My guys opted to go after pike and bass which were just beginning to move into areas fed from downstream where grass was not a factor. In one place catching fish where there was just a dry mudflat less than a week ago.

If the River held at the level it was in yesterday, fishing for bass, pike, panfish and even walleyes would be eazy peezey for the rest of October.

Unfortunately, it continues to rise rapidly, passing the ‘action’ stage in the next 48 hours and entering ‘minor’ flood territory a week for now.

If the River crests at minor flood, both fish and fishermen can adjust by the weekend after Friday the 13th. But this MIGHT be one of those years when the River comes up and keeps on coming up as the water temp begins to tumble by the end of the month.

This means the fall bite for SMB and LMB will be real tough. Panfish will be catchable. Pike will be too. And walleyes–if we can fish around the weeds.

The past several years we’ve had high water conditions until ice up. good news is, as temps drop into the low 40s, walleyes and perch become a lot more determined to feed–once you find ’em. And you may not find them in the old familiar places as winter closes in.

Two years ago the boat was wet every day til almost Christmas. Last year it went in the barn just after Thanksgiving—but was back out there rippin’ walleye lips by just after Valentine’s Day.

The Miss is a different River every single day. For the next week to 10 days she’s gonna be ugly–but if she doesn’t get more ugly with a continued rise and falling temps we should be OK.