Fishing was a major topic of conversation yesterday as the fmaily foregathered for a holiday feast. My nephew Darrin is a BASS tourney guy, now good enough to be cashing some checks.

He is a technological angler. Maybe one of the last sportfishers whose passion for the sport was born from actual understanding of the way nature works.

He has all the toys needed to compete professionally, including that damnable forward facing sonar. But when Darrin showed me what an AI driven Google search can do for an angler discovering the joy and challenge of fishing ‘new’ water it forced me to ponder continuing with this blog and write one more book taking a deep dive on all popular fish species on the upper Miss and how to catch them under different conditions throughout the year.

There is some comfort in knowing any river is more challenging than deciphering a fish catching program on the average lake. This enigmatic proposition is true in SPADES on the Upper Miss, where nearly seven decades of experience which began on the shoulders of three previous generations of true River Rats has simply provided a good base from which to start fishin’.

With an AI driven Google search of a specific fishery the techno angler is about to step off the fly section of an extension ladder on to a roof over a raging house fire with zero knowledge about placement of the ladder rungs which brought him to the roof in the first place.

Darrin told me to pick a lake–any lake–and tell him the general conditions and species being sought. I selected 7000 acre Crab Orchard Lake in southern Illinois where i chased crappies dozens of times under cloudy skies with mid-40s water and ambient temps in the fall until moving way up the River about 20 years ago.

Darrin’s shiny object query told him where to start fishin’ , what baits/colors to use…and even which coves and causeways would likely be most productive….sort of like waking up on 3rd base believing you just hit a triple.

Darrin said that AI essentially takes in every word that was ever spoken or published about late November crappie fishing on a cloudy day on Crab Orchard Lake and compressed it into the nut of things on his shiny object.

Why should I write a book which includes precise information on catching trophy walleyes on the upper Mississippi River under threatening skies the day after Thanksgiving which ambient temps below freezing and water temp just five degrees warmer?

I will be out there shortly after posting this blog, prepared to deal with unspoken hazards and situations should they arise goaded by sometimes painful experience from a lifetime on this water.

This part of the equation would not be available to the techno angler about to step off that allegorical top ladder rung on to a roof over an inferno planning to vent the roof with saw, axe & pike…not talking northerns here, kids.

Almost all access points to the walleyes on Pool 9 will be covered with ice by Monday with the probable sitution we’ll be lightfooting out there with hardwater gear by Dec. 10–the 1st day we were able to get out there in 2024.

If your shiny object says its time to waltz out there with the short sticks I hope AI tells you to fill the hand which holds the screen with an ice spud…just sayin’

My guide book is officially closed for the year. Sincere Thanks to all who shared the boat with me in 2025.

Water temp on Pool 9 today is 47 degrees. It has been consistent for a week now. i’ve been on the water the past 4 consecutive days, chasing walleyes & SMB with generally good success. At least in the pursuit of happiness.

It takes me an hour every single day to get in harmony with the River, even though I’m usually out there 4-5 days a week during the open water period.

This time is short. maybe a month. maybe more, maybe less. Active fish are still in <10 fow. Today I started where i left off yesterday. The fish were still there. today they wanted cranks pulled @ 2.2 mph. at least at that spot. On other spots with similar habitat parameters they wanted cranks casted, plastics pulled or snap-jigged blades. Feels good to be on fish. Good fish.

There was a stiff SW breeze under leaden and ominous skies when the only fat girl slurped in a B-Fish-N Pulse R pulled slow over rocks on a 1/4 oz black draggin’ jig. She was photo-worthy at just over 25 inches. It was then i realized my smart phone was at home.

This generated a metaphysical discourse with a comforting outcome. No need to share a pic on social media. I have nothing to prove to anybody. There were no boats as far as the eye could see. All alone on the mighty Miss. No other humans far as the eye could see in all directions.

There was unmistakable electricity in the air of pending weather change. When you essentially live in a treestand or on the water the interaction with nature is magnified manifold. All God’s creatures feel the vibe. maybe that’s why the fish were on the chew today.

All alone under leaden, ominous skies on a truly powerful force of nature. I felt small and insignificant, but at peace, cuz I knew where I was supposed to be and what I was meant to do. Such a situation might be intimidating, even fearful.

I thought of the 23rd Psalm. I smiled. The freedom of being alone out on that Grand River is exhilarating. Every single day is a gift from the Creator. Psalm 90 says measure and treasure each one. Lotsa good stuff in Psalms and in the Good Book overall.

A chunky 18″ walleye interrupted mental calisthenics. It went in the box. Perfect feed for my wife the Admiral & me tomorrow night.

it’s a great day when you lose track of how many times you set the hook. It was getting dark when I backed the Lund into the pole barn and cleaned the fish. Time for some leftover Jambalaya, two fingers of good bourbon and kickin’ back in front of the fireplace.

Happy and at peace. The only topic requiring attention between now and tomorrow is where to start fishin’ in the morning. tight lines, y’all

Water temps on Pool 9 are hovering around 50 degrees right now, signaling the last hoo-rah for aggressive SMB and walleye movement in preparation for the cold water period.

In fall when water temp drops to 50 degrees walleyes start to bite both more aggressively and for longer time frames, often in very shallow water on top of rocky structure.

There are some days when eelgrass makes anything but a single hook presentation virtually impossible–and single hook presentation tough.

If weeds are manageable I like to position the Lund with the stern in the 5-7 foot contour with the angler in the bow casting #7-9 shad Raps or similar crankbaits and the fisher in the stern swimming A B-Fish-N Tackle Pulse R plastic on a 1/4 oz. Draggin’ jig DIPPED IN LIQUID WILLOWCAT just over the rocks against the current.

On any given day one presentation will be more effective than the other. A couple little tricks make a HUGE difference when retrieving cranks parallel to rock when water temps are 46-54: Pulsing the retrieve in short bursts and changing direction of the retrieve when there’s about 5 feet of line out when you’re about to complete the retrieve to make another cast.

No need to ‘figure 8’ like you do for muskie. but walleye behavior is similar. If they are tracking you’re bait and think the bait is trying to escape being dogged by changing direction they will chase and chomp it. Sometimes almost 50 % off all ‘eyes strike within five feet of the boat!

Active walleyes hang somewhere between 7-13 fow all summer long. When water temps drop below 48 they start to stair-step deeper in the water column. 10, 14 than finally 20+ feet when surface temp dips below 42.

As the eyes move deeper I switch to Precision jigheads in ‘pyrokeet’ color , beginning with 3/16 oz. and either ringworm or Ribb-Finn profiles. Regarding colors–if visibility is >2 ft. some variation of purple firecracker with a chartreuse or white tail.

Sometimes I’ll go with hair jigs when water is below 45 degrees in a simple vertical lift-n-drop drift within 1 ft. of the bottom at the depth contour where fish are holding that day. Sometimes i’ll add a plastic fliptail with liquid Willowcat if a stinger hook isn’t needed. I haven’t used a minnow doing a hair jig drift in years.

When water temps drop below 45 degrees I like to swim plastics in a quartering retrieve downstream within inches of the bottom–or my absolute favorite way to walleye fish ;snap jigging blade baits.

Like many other presentations, snap jigging is a study in nuances with specific tackle to present the blade, which brings us to another number: I haven’t been on the water for almost 24 hours. Adios!

About 20 years ago I did a blog with the same headline. A radical lesbian took umbrage and did her best to get me canceled.

The only rationale i could come up with this vicious attack on my 1st Amendment rights was that she must have struggled catching bass in September when all fishing parameters seemed just about perfect.

That’s the tie-in with menopausal women. My sweet wife of 54 years and i survived menopause. Men tend to be consistent during this life passage. Men may be jerks–but at least we are consistent.

Mood swings in a woman going thru menopause tend to come for no logic or rational reason.

“I love you, you rotten S.O.B” pretty much sums it up. Fishin’ has been tough on pool 9 for over a week for no logical or rational reason–except for an amazing amount of eel grass working downstream limiting presentation to essentially a single hook.

Water temp is 70 degrees–exceptionally warm for the day before October. River level is near-perfect. Water clarity is good. Weather is stable.

From a logical and rational perspective, fishin’ for bass and other species should be somewhere between good and excellent.

But lately, success rhymes with ‘ducks’ and ‘trucks’. The only rational conclusion i can come up with is is too much easy food in the water column.

Prey species have plenty of weeds, wood & rocks to hide in with species numbers at their highest point of the year. All a predator has to do is open its mouth and swallow a tasty, natural meal–without a hook in it.

A single hook like a jig, NED or wacky rigged senko in a finesse presentation just isn’t as desirable as a pod of baitfish swimming cluelessly in front fo a fish face.

Reaction bites are tough, cuz eelgrass usually finds the hooks before a fish does. The typical gamefish hook up rate between 5-10 per hour is now maybe one–especially with walleyes, which are a little smarter than stupid bass or pike.

Like menopause or a lesser glitch in rational consistency which younger females struggle with every 28 days the best advice this old guide with more than a half century with both menopausal women & September bass can offer is find something to occupy your time away from the love of your life.

Do NOT put yourself in an adversarial relationship with fish or women during these trying times. Fish just shut their mouths. Women don’t.

Think I’ll go squirrel hunting tomorrow.

Eelgrass is a MAJOR factor on pool 9 now. 20×20′ rafts of the stuff are easing down the main channel and clogging running sloughs.

Water temp on the river was 69 on Sept 23, down from 73 last weekend. The week before that it had dropped to 62, waking fish for their fall bite. With warm weather predicted over the next 5 days, many of the scaly critter will likely go back to snoozing–with the exception of bass which are even dumber than they normally are–and bluegills which are hanging in both rocks & wood.

Walleyes have been coming over the gunnel at a rate of about 1 per hour the past couple weeks. part of the reason is weeds, the other major factor water temp.

Perusing the fishing diary that i’ve kept for over 40 years, the surface water temp for Sept. 20 is a solid 10 degrees warmer than the ‘norm’ for the past 20 years 9with just a couple of outliers)

The diary also says Oct 12-20 offers some of the best fall action for SMB, eyes, pike & crappies. I hope to be out there every day during that time period. There are four days when i would consider guiding but not looking real hard for work.

Seems like every other trip a fish that refuses to be tamed decides to take the bait. Yesterday I was fun fishin’ for bluegills at a deep scour hole full of wood below a wingdam that usually gives up 3-4 tanks, fishin’ a bucket-sized opening between two tree trunks.

I was pondering why there were no bites when my 9′ St. Croix panfish rod bent DOUBLE, Then the fish got mad. I use 15 lb. braid on my panfish rods. If you’re fishin’ where the fish are, you’re gonna get hung up. With braid and a little technique you can get the hook back about 90% of the time, bend it back to function nd get back to fishin’.

The beast that ate my 1/32 oz. jig wrapped me up in wood twice, but came free with steady pressure. 15 minutes later I only had about 6′ of line out from the rod tip, 5′ away from the boat in a tangle of timber.

Ol’ ugly finally gave in to the pressure, hooked in the lip of a wide flat head, clearly visible just a couple inches below the surface, impossible to net. One Stevie Wonder headshake and the hook popped free, essentially bent straight.

She was at least 15 lbs. I don’t think she could have been much bigger. But tangling with a 15 lb. mudcat on a 9′ panfish pole in a woody jungle is about as good as fishin’ gets.

Putting a client on this kinda thrill is very gratifying. On the other hand, there are a finite number of times this will happen for me on this side of the dirt.

You can always make more money. You can never make more time

Glancing up at towering bluffs which shield the mysteries of pool 9 on the Immortal River the splendor of fall color is clearly visible behind the facade of late summer greenery.

Focusing on the business of serious fishin’ electronics should reveal a surface temperature in the low 60’s–maybe upper 50’s.
Just one week ago the river was flowing at a cool 61 degrees, maybe a couple degrees warmer on a sunny afternoon. She was flowing near action stage. Walleyes & bluegills weren’t biting aggressively on the wingdam rocks like they typically are by mid-September–and the leafy sentinels guarding the River’s passage were a serious summer green.

The carpet simply hasn’t matched the drapes so far this month–with the exception of eel grass sliding downstream making lure presentation ‘challenging’ most of the time.

On 9/11 the River level started falling toward typical summer pool levels. Three days later the water temp had rien a solid 12 degrees, goading fish to ponder instead of pounce.

Fish activity became incrementally better as we eased into mid-week with stable water temperatures and River level–even with grass forcing pretty much a single hook presentation to consistently hook up..

The white bass activity which was rampant on rocks and current seams on 9/11 with water temps in the 60’s has slowed from frenzy time to one or two between a pretty easy SMB bite with the occasional bonus walleye.

With River levels remaining stable these willing scrappers are subtly herding shad waiting for a 10 degree drop in water temperature to signal go-time.

Bluegills are now on the rocks in good numbers, crappies are staged in deep water trees about halfway down in the water column, willing to bite but not exactly eager yet.

With nature getting back in sync over the next couple weeks green bass will be dogging balls of baitfish in typically unproductive spots back in the running sloughs and joining pike to chase bluegills on the rocks.

A lifetime on the Mississippi has taught the importance of LISTENING TO THE RIVER. Curve balls like rapid & significant changes in water temperature and River level will always slow the bite for a couple days.

A change in wind direction carrying barometric pressure movement can have a similar effect. A passing towboat can have the same impact. Fishing can go from red hot to stone cold in a matter of minutes.

but the changes can go the other way, too. if you’re in harmony with the River you can actually FEEL it and take advantage of the bounty–just like dipping birds which see white bass or smallies chasing minnow to the surface.

eyeballs glued to the screen of a Forward Facing sonar might reveal bass hanging suspended off a tall muddy bank which didn’t look “fishy”, but eyes trained by grandpa to recognize a colony of crawdad holes on the bank often has fishers diving for landing nets before those folks playing NASCAR on the water bring their flashy , rude rockets down off of plane.

When the veil of green pulls back from the bluffs to reveal full autumn splendor in just a couple weeks most of humanity will leave the river to chase other dreams.

This ol’ dog can hardly wait. The time is fast approaching when the river might even see my Lund on a Saturday!

This year Labor Day weekend falls on the cusp between Fogust & Slumptember. The River doesn’t care if folks don’t find fish where they usually find them this time of year.

The River has been flowing long before our species came up with the concept of time, long before native Americans used the moon and stars in an attempt to find patterns that would help the hunters & gatherers feed the camp.

My time on the planet started about 30 trips around the sun after man thought he could bend the River to his will by constructing 33 massive lock & dam systems. A half century before this time that fount of wisdom : Congress, mandated the USACE maintain a channel for navigation.

With my time on the River winding down to just a few trips around the sun–maybe only days–the USACE is well along in achieving their mandate as far north as pool 9.

have you noticed the river mainstem seems to be moving just a little bit faster as we transition between Fogust & Slumptember? Gravity will force water to do that in a big straight ditch!

Most who have had some experience fishing on the fast flowing ditch mainstem of the River during the clownfest called Labor Day are wondering why bluegills aren’t hanging on mainstem structures like wingdams like they are SUPPOSED to do come Labor Day.

The short answer is that the River is running a couple feet deeper than thy are used to over this holiday. River level is driven by rainfall or snowmelt entering the system from across one-third of America. With Pool 9 morphing quickly into a big ditch this is the new ‘normal’…and ‘gills are gonna go with the flow.

The situation is akin to walleyes relating to wingdams. When the river is running faster and higher, eyes relating to wings will move closer to shore. when current here is too great, they’ll stage on the downstream side of the wing.

Closing dams run parallel to the flow. Wingdams run perpendicular. The active walleye bite happens on closing dams before marble eyes become active on wingdams when the River is rising or falling somewhere between easy fishin’ on the rocks because there is even less current on the backside of a closing dam than there is close to shore below a wingdam–generally speaking. They’ve been pretty active here over the past few days as the River continues to fall below ‘action stage’ after that big rain induced bump that happened mid-month.

The same pattern holds true with bluegills relating to mainstem rocks near that time we call Labor Day. The gills are staging on mainstem rocks, preparing to move just a little to wingdam rocks which will happen when the River is ready to fall another foot.

If you follow this blog you know about my special Saturday & holiday weekend guide rate. My good neighbor’s daughter just got home last night from college, with a #1 priority of goin’ fishin’.

Robert says he will help me take down an elm tree that’s uncomfortably close to the house once the ground freezes. I took him out Friday morning to look for ‘gills on the rocks close to the rocks where those who don’t fish the River every day expect to find ’em during clownfest.

We only fished ’em for about an hour. He took home 15 jumbos–my self imposed limit on gills coming home in my boat. I’ll wage young Violet will get her string stretched several times at this spot when the sun shows up in about 3 hours on Saturday morning.

Lord willin’ I’ll be back on the River Tuesday after all the Darwin award finalists are done ramp camping, returning to that world driven by clocks and calendars.

Be safe out there this weekend!

Gullywasher rains pushed through the upper Mississippi River Valley over the past 48 hours, bringing river levels up over TWO FEET. It is still rising on pool 9, but should crest by Aug. 20 and begin to fall, getting back below action stage by maybe Saturday.

Although the Army Road boat ramp was still open at noon, I expect it to close Wednesday morning for a day or too.

Fishing is tough when the River is in a state of major flux like that–with two notable exceptions.

channel cats will move tight against the shore above snags here there is a moderate current with a sandy bottom, still relating to the same snags/driftpiles they’ve been cruising for over a month.

Crappie have similar movement, typically dropping a foot or so deeper in the snags they have been relating to. Water clarity is the biggest problem. Slabs are never far from heavy cover. With “chocolate milk” you need to hang the lure just over their scaly faces.

Dirty water is about the only time I would even consider using minnows for crappies. usually I attack them with both a vertical & horizontal presentation. One will usually outfish the other by a wide margin. Figure out what’s working and go with it.

Jigging spoons are my fave vertical presentation. Top of this list is the slender flutter spoon by B-Fish-N tackle. Snags are a certainty if you’re fishin’ where the fish are–especially if you use something with a treble hook. I clip off two of the treble’s hooks.

One hook is all you need, cuz you’re in a stiking presentation. Crappies in wood are already staged, ready to make a rattlesnake-quick dash of a couple inches when ‘food’ comes by.

If the slab decides to eat it will be back in heavy wood before you can set the hook. Fish need to be moved instantly if you consistently wanna put them in the boat.

My fave stick is a PSG 102 crappie rod from HT Enterprises. The PSG 102 is 10′ long. HT offers 11 & 12 footers too. The 10′ justs fits better along the gunnel of my Lund.

For line I prefer hi-vis Sufix braid in 30-40 lb. test. Thirty pound braid is stiff. In hi-vis it’s a better strike indicator than the most sensitive graphite.

A 10′ pole allows you to fish directly over the hook. With fish suspended down -36′ over at least 10 fow, there is never more than 4-5′ feet of line between the hook and the rod tip.

This isn’t about a sporty tussle, kids. It’s all about putting meat in the boat.

Of course, when you try to lift a 14″ crappie out of the water her “paper” lip is gonna tear. I taped a fine mesh short-handled trout net to the end of an old telescoping cane pole.

A snap o’ the wrist shoots the net out to full extension under the fish like a spatula with a mesh bag under it. next stop: livewell.

Pool 9 has been flowing at ‘action stage’ for over a month. Heavy rain which flooded Rochester and Milwaukee over the weekend had no impact here.

The River is projected to fall to normal summer pool levels over the next few days. Water clarity is good. Temp 77-80 degrees. Weeds are already somewhat of a factor already.

Bass-LMB,SMB & WB have been the most predictable species…which is just what you would expect in mid-August. The walleye bite continues to be a dawn & dusk thing with active feeders cruising in 7-13 fow.

There are a gazillion 3′ long shad in the system now with all gamefish species chowing down on the bounty.

Bluegills are usually stacked on wingdams and other rocky structure by mid-August. Picking up a few good fish here–just one or two per spot.

If the River continues to fall as projected. The rock bite for gills should be pretty easy by about Aug. 18.

Shad should also be schooling in huge numbers by then too, with bait clouds typically suspending 5-9 feet down back in the running sloughs.

Find the shad and a chrome Rat-l-Trap will tear ’em up. I always have one loaded…but a wacky rigged #yamamoto senko or a blue fleck Ned TRD have been catching a lot of fish all summer long

The new Albin boat launch will close again soon due to rising water. Adding about 12 loads of gravel to the access road at 3 places near where the road enters the parking lot would enable critical mid-pool access to the West side of the River.

Recently, this access was closed for about 10 days. looks like this is gonna happen again by Monday. In both instances down time would be cut in HALF with judicious placement of just a few roads of gravel.

Several jurisdictions maintain this access. USACE is the bureaucracy with the final say. They told me an environmental impact study would have to be done before they could authorize some gravel placement on an existing road in the flood plain.

This is a huge raft of CRAP! Trees fall in the River every day more than equal to impact of a dozen loads of gravel inland. Does this require ‘study’?

Those who access pool 9 from the west side of the River can launch 2 places on highway 82 until this fall…then these access points will be CLOSED UNTIL 2027.

Any emergency response from the west side of the River on the upstream FOURTEEN RIVER MILES above Village Creek boat launch on the south end of Lansing will be the ONLY workable rescue option once Blackhawk Bridge closes and the River goes to ‘action stage’ at Lock & Dam 8.

In an average year there is about 6 weeks where the River has gone past ‘action stage’ to minor flood & beyond. Not talking these times. Talking about the THREE WEEKS so far this year when a boat could be launched on the West side north of Lansing where 12 loads of gravel could have kept the ramp open.

Of course I have a personal stake in this issue. i’m on the River at least five days a week during the open water period. Probably 60 % of the time I like to launch at New Albin cuz its close to home. But there are hundreds of boaters who access the River from the West side every year.

What will be the impact when all these folks are forced to launch at Village Creek? PLEASE contact USACE and tell them to initiate that bogus ‘impact study’ so we can get some gravel before the bridge closes !

Water temp was 77.2 yesterday on the upper pool. Water clarity was decent once you got away from tribs dumping chocolate milk from recent rains into the system.

Some days weeds are a factor. some days not. Fog is an issue many mornings lately. This issue will increase next week when Fogust arrives.

Black buzzbaits have been a KILLER on LMB & pike over submergent weeds on muggy days. There effectiveness is driven by static tension on the surface (bubble trail)…more than 2′ and a buzzer is the HAMMER.

When weeds are a factor, panfish are an option. Gills relating to wood 5-7 fow. Crappies slightly deeper. they are also relating to American water lotus (lily pads).eelgrass mats are perch magnets. Fish within 6″ of the bottom with a tiny pinch of crawler, a red hook & a couple orange beads.

Those who go out on the River telling the Almighty what their gonna do are setting themselves up for disappointment. Success comes when the ego is buried and you listen to the River’s quiet whispers.