My Dad was born 107 years ago. He learned fishin’ from his Dad who was born late in the 19th century. I never met great Grandpa but learned pearls of wisdom passed down from this River Rat who fished the Mighty Mississippi before the dams changed it forever in the 1930’s which hold true in these days of forward facing sonar, AI and programmable trolling motors.

Previous generations had to rely on nature’s queues to put fish in the boat. The River reveals a great deal about fish location. The ability to read winkles like current seams , tell the difference between deep water and shoaling riffles, the importance of woody structure, shoreline and offshore transitions with a keen eye on prevalent forage base are really all you need to catch species like bass.

Charts, maps, surface temp and fishing Apps on shiny objects just confirms what nature already told you if you were paying attention.

“Bass bite when buds appear on cottonwoods “is one observation you can take to the bank. This tree species also reveals timing of catfish spawning. But that is a blog for later in the year.

I’m on the River about five days per week. When walleyes went into heavy spawn mode last week I started targeting bass, but struggled to catch one fish per hour. Water temp was about 50 degrees. Had I been looking at the trees instead of electronics there would have been less frustration.

Buds started popping on the cottonwood trees the afternoon of April 14. Bass suddenly got stupid at current seam ambush points, off rocks and weed/wood transition zones. Surface temp had jumped beyond 55 degrees. The catch rate jumped to 5-9 bass per hour.

Yes, spot-lock on my MinnKota played a major role in this whack-a-thon. But having folks in the boat with sensitive St.Croix rods and the ability to cast 2.5″ paddletails with pinpoint accuracy made a profound difference.

Two St. Croix pros jumped in the boat last Thursday. Jesse hadn’t fished open water for almost five months. He was HUNGRY. I knew it was gonna be a long day.

There was a light fog just before sunrise when we started flying up a backwater to a current seam. Electronics were turned off because light from the screen impeded my night vision.

We stopped at a spot where Mike had been pounding the SMB the day before. I stopped there two days prior and only popped two fish. the buds weren’t on the cottonwoods yet!

The bite slowed after we educated 22 SMB, cookie-cutter fish 16-17”. Jesse wondered what the surface temp was so I turned the electronics on. At the second spot we started where the bass would be on a rapidly rising River. although it was coming up like a rocket, they weren’t there yet. Moving downstream about 50 yards to another current seam produced another 9 SMB that were just a little bigger. When action at this spot slowed down it was almost noon. We picked up a few fish at some of Mike’s spots and some of mine. The species count grew to 9. I mostly just netted fish and watched these exceptional anglers ply their craft. The guys doubled up a bunch of times. We only had one triple–and it was three different species!

This time of year the bite gets smokin’ hot when the sun is about to side below the bluffs on the west side of the River. We popped another 8 or nine fish at the first spot we went to in the morning, then slid downstream to the second spot, adjusting just a little to allow for a River rise of at least 10 inches.

Jesse popped a good one on the first cast. Six more casts and six more bass later he said “this is STUPID! Maybe the best day smallmouth fishin’ of my whole LIFE!”.

This brought a smile to my face. We’ve been pals for 29 years, experiencing a pile of adventures in this time frame. It was almost dark when we loaded the boat, 13 hrs, 45 mins after leaving the launch. 142 fish on the clicker. I was whupped.

75 years on the planet. 4-6 hours is enough for one day when you’re out there pretty much every day. Getting ready for church. Probably won’t get back on teh River til maybe Monday afternoon. The River should be cresting. Think I know where to start fishin’.

Stay safe out there! lotsa logs & dunnage in the River now