pool 9 has been flowing between high pool and low Action stage since ice out mid-March. Water temp fluctuated between 54-62 the entire month of April.

On April 30 the temp was 58–down 2 degrees since April 28. Clients wanted walleyes. With wind a factor trolling with the 90 Yamaha and spot locking/pulsing a crankbait in the current seam were what they wanted.

There are a lot of active walleyes cruising seams in the 4-9 foot contour on the 1st of May. I usually start searching with a #7 glass pattern Shad Rap, red craw MR6 and Caitlin pattern bomber 6A.

Yesterday the Caitlin produced 3 fish in 10 minutes. This is a pattern. From that point forward it was all Caitlin, all day. One client is a push button reel guy. Had trouble casting accurately with spinning gear. I cast the Caitlin downstream and told him to just pull it a foot or so and let it drop back about every 30 seconds while spotlocked on a current seam that dropped away from 3-9 fow. he caught 4 ‘eyes this way, including his PB.

SMB have been active on current seams as well. More of a finesse bite with a 2.5′ paddletail pulled/paused with a 1/16-3/16 oz jighead with Liquid Willowcat on the plastic causing fish to hold on just a half-second longer to allow a hookset with gutter wino reflexes in a fairly stiff breeze.

The pike bite has been easy and straitforward: a white 3/8 Z-Man jackhammer chatterbait with a 3″ Z-Man paddletail in shad pattern over dark bottom bays in ,6 fow.

Gills have been easy up by the dam with a pinch of crawler below a split shot in 4-9 fow over the rocks. Crappies in the wood, susupended fairly deep. Perch are in the wind. You find ’em when you find ’em.

Same thing with white bass which are always on the move but nutso on current seams where they are herding schools of shad or river shiners.

As of right now I have a couple open days in May and 10 in June if you’re looking for a guide. If not you may see me out there someplace if you’re fishing where the fish are.

tight lines & stay safe!

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

postponed a couple trips this past week due to passage of a monster cold front with brutal wind. Pool 9 crested last nite. The River is on the way back down gradually.

Crest was about a foot into “Action Stage”–the point at which the boat launch in new Albin closes due to high water. Please to announce the road never closed. Kudos to the IDNR for listening to common sense based whining and dropping a few loads of gravel at the low spots which has closed the ramp in the past!!
Weh I was out last thursday water temp was a solid 43. Walleyes were holding @ 17-19 fow, sauger a couple feet deeper. There was a fair amount of dunnage coming down, making pulling 3-ways challenging,,,and 3-ways is pretty much what they wanted.

Fishing should start picking up by Sunday afternoon and get progressively better until arrival of the next cold front. But even this will just be a hiccup.

The launch sequence for walleye/perch spawning has started. Typically, show time is about April 15 on pool 9. looks like we’re in this ballpark for ’26. moon phase won’t be a factor this year. If River level remains fairly constant the process will likely run 7-10 days.

Pike have completed their spawn. SMB action should pick up substantially by Easter.

A lifetime on this River teaches fishing can change drastically over just a day or two. This will almost certainly happen for 2-6 weeks between now and November. But as of Palm Sunday, everything looks rosy .

Hey, I’ve got A shoreLand’r galvanized bunk trailer for sale, deisgned for an 18′ Lund Alaskan. Essentially all new components. Asking $1300. Also selling a 10′ jon boat/trailer with essentially new 2.5 hp Yammie for the same price.

Just trying to ease the burden on the widow for her eventual garage sale…or not. Still pondering the Viking check out. A $20K pyre of hunting/fishing gear will bring tears to even the saltiest River Rats

here was a fair amount of dunnage coming down yesterday on a rising River. Forecast calls for Action stage on Pool 9 by Thursday.

Action stage is when some boat access points close. No big deal on the Wisconsin side with 8 ramps from very marginal to not so bad.

Things are drastically different on the west side of the River with the Lansing bridge being closed for TWO FULL YEARS. There is an outstanding access on the south side of Lansing @ Village Creek–roughly 13 river miles from Lock & Dam 8 at Genoa. This ramp provides access well into moderate flood stage. In fact it’s easier to get the boat in then than at normal summer pool where a big mud flat/sandbar puts the pin in the party hog just past the railroad tracks if you aren’t paying attention.

The next west side ramp is at new Albin, a solid 10 River miles north. This ramp is adequate. But you’re gonna need knee boots until the courtesy docks go in–and this won’t happen til the River comes down out of Action stage.

At Action stage access @ new Albin is truly a game of inches. Judicious placement of a few loads of gravel will allow folks to launch with another 6 inches of River rise. But @ 7 inches, the gate closes with hippers more for function than style at two truly marginal points between New albin and Lock & Dam 8.

Spent over two hours replacing the impeller on my jon boat after getting off the water yesterday. This craft is not suitable for hire, but okay for a River Rat who will not be denied.

Water temp jumped to a solid 42 yesterday, up from 35 just 3 days prior. Perch are cooperating, pike are active as the spawn winds down.

Yesterday the 21′ contour was holding walleyes. They wanted 3-ways but all the dunnage coming down made it challenging to keep a pulled rig mission capable. Casting/dragging produced a couple of decent fish–but when they respond better to a 3-way its usually better to pull off weeds.

Almost dawn. Thank You, Lord for another day! One more cup of coffee and its time to see what the River and those scaly critters have to say.

There was a time, back in my prime when I felt like the tip of the spear–out there on the water with a few other intrepid guys with more desire than rational thought.

This designation has included a #2 round point shovel & ice spud twice this month at the Army road boat ramp. Fishin’ Mission was already on the water, backing thru a foot of snow to get there yesterday. Mike is as hard core as fishermen get. Out there dawn to dusk pretty much every day. At age 75 I’m pretty much whupped after maybe 10 hours.

Being 2nd at the ramp in cold weather is a 4-S operation-shovel, spud, sand & salt. Last time i opened this ramp on March 9 water temp in Minnesota slough was already up to 40 degrees. Fish were out of the deeper holes, already at the 17-19 foot contour.

When I finally got the boat in about 10 a.m. yesterday water temp had dropped to 34-35. The walleye had slid back into wintering holes @ the 25-27 foot contour.

Cold water means a slow presentation. yesterday they wanted purple hair & a purple cracker Ribb Finn on a 3/8 Draggin’ jig. This B-Fish-N Tackle product in 3/8is gonna be a game changer in a few days when fish start climbing the ladder up to 16-17 feet!

of course, both presentations were soaked in Liquid Willowcat. I don’t use live bait for cold weather walleyes. Only averaged 2 fish per hour for the next 6 hours. Biggest ‘eye just 25″. But the tug sure felt good. Kept 2 15 inchers for lunch today whenever i get off the River.

Most of the guide trips scheduled this month rescheduled with advent of the last Snowmageddon.Only day I have booked as of right now is the 31st. OK by me. Can’t really fish when i’m guiding. And i really love fishin’ past the point of obsession.

The Creator only gives a finite number of days on this big, blue marble. mine are passing like pouring pee out of a boot–much quicker than driving a nail in the toe and letting it run out.

Call the land line if you wanna book a trip. I’ll get back to you when i get off the water–if the kryptonite in the La-Z-Boy doesn’t kick in too fast.

purple killer jig. LIQUID WILLOWCAT on both hair and plastic. No live bait.

Inclement weather MIGHT open up boat launches at New Albin & Lansing village Creek. Even if this happens gonna keep a real close eye on ice movement out of backwaters.

Several females up to 25″ yesterday @ Guttenburg. WAter temp 3 degrees warmer here than up on 8 below Dresbach dam where smaller males and saugers have been almost aggressive.

The North 1-90 ramp here is barely accessible during the best time times due to extreme siltation. Took almost an hour to recover the boat a couple days ago cuz ice BLOCKS moved in covering essentially the entire water column.
Problem solved with ice spud & 4WD

A couple different scenarios are possible over the next 10 days IF the ice continues to recede.

1. Pool level will remain essentially unchanged, providing tailwater access with a serious shot at a fat girl once temps warm past 36
2. River will rise substantially with added snowmelt coming from upstream, opening many downstream opportunities for both ‘eyes & perch,

Apologies for blogging in 2 installments. My computer has a mind of its own, like the River, But the computer doesn’t respond to common sense or time spent wrestling with the entity like the River does.

If you decide to head out on the River be very, very careful! Don’t launch the boat unless you have a solid plan B option for loading it. The only way this can be achieved on Pool 9 for the short haul is a 90 minute drive to access ramps on the East side.

Not about to take clients on this kind of adventure.

River dynamics will change a great deal between now and the start of my guide season March 15. Forecasts call for rain, warming temperatures and wind over the next 72 hours.

This should change the River access picture a great deal on the west side of pool 9. As of this morning there are no open boat ramps on the west side of the River from Marquette Ia. to Brownsville, Mn. There are several access points on the Wisconsin side.

Demolition of the Lansing bridge last fall will make access from the West side challenging between now and sometime 2027. The Harper’s Ferry launch is open. But getting to the Lynxville dam requires navigating through an oxbow to get the River mainstem. Launch is possible, However sometime half of Antarctica is waiting to break loose upstream with a good chance of blocking you’re egress route back to the launch.

I’ve been on the River five days this month, launching below the Dresbach dam at the I90 ramp on pool 8 and Guttenberg city ramp on Pool 11.

The walleye bite has been predictable. Water temp 32-34 degrees. Water clarity decent. Walleyes holding in 19-27 fow, saugers in 27-40+. I won’t fish deeper than 30 feet to avoid barotrauma to fish coming out of cold water.

Productive techniques have been Snap-jigging B-Fsih-N tackle B3 blades in gold and orange glow, pitching/dragging 1/2-ounce orange pyrokeet Precision jigs with Purple firecracker Ribb Finn plastic and purple

The Immortal Mississippi is screaming my name. Most years I’m chasing ‘eyes by the last week in February. This year ice will keep me away until at least March 7.

There are several access points on the Wisconsin side below the dams at Genoa & Lynxville. With the Lansing bridge out Lynxville tailwaters are my closest option, launching At Harper’s Ferry.

Fishing dam tailwaters at ice out is profoundly dangerous. The dilemma boils down to risk/reward. The short window between ice out locally and substantial runoff from snowmelt is one of the two best times to potentially dance with a walleye of PB proportions.

The other big fish window is just before winter’s arrival is heralded by departure of tundra swans.

Last fall the bird white birds left two days after Thanksgiving. This was my last open water trip of 2025. I had just five bites. The smallest fish was 25″. Three days later the iceman cometh.

Wednesday seemed like a good day for a road trip. I headed for Guttenberg. Used to fish there a bunch in the last century before moving upstream to Pool 9.

Murray’s Outdoor store on the south side of town was a MUST stop. This is the only place I know of where 1 1/2 ounce jigs can be found. The phone # @ Murray’s is 563.252.3138.

My three fave ways to chase big ice out walleyes on the Miss are snap-gigging B-Fish-N Tackle B3 bladebaits. Vertical jigging Northland Tackle Buckaroo hair jigs and pulling three-ways with a stickbait like a #9 Rapala on the long dropper. The shot dropper is about 6″ long, requiring considerable weight–especially once runoff becomes a factor.

heavy sinkers are one solution for solving the weight issue. But i’ve NEVER caught a walleye on a sinker and jigheads weighing an ounce or more are hard to come by.

I like to run a 5″ purple, white or chartreuse fliptail on the jig–or a B-Fish-N Tackle plastic, usually in purple or firecracker.

After shooting the breeze with the boys at the baitshop for an hour I went to check the ramp behind the Casey’s in Guttenburg.

It was right around the time that the Casey’s opened here that an incident at this ramp made a lifelong impression. Angling legend Jimmie Oberfoell just showed up. We were gonna take my boat and start fishing down in Ackerman’s cut about 3/4 mile downstream from the dam. A couple other rigs were there, too. We were all waiting for some giant ice floes to pass before putting the boats in.

We heard the sound of a small outboard across the River. A few minutes later a silver shallow vee boat–maybe 12’ long came putting out of Ackerman’s heading back to the ramp.

We all watched in horror as the lone occupant tried to navigate between the floes. The little Johnson outboard pushing this boat didn’t have the power to dodge between floes. The boat was caught between two huge chunks. It looked and sounded like somebody crushing a Coors can under a Muck boot.

The boater disappeared for a minute , then popped up–clinging for dear life to one of the floes. For just a couple minutes. Then he just slipped away.

There is nothing any off us standing at the ramp could have done. I don’t know if his body has ever been recovered.

Looking east from the ramp this morning my mind’s eye replayed the scene. Seems like it happened yesterday. But it was 30-40 years ago, bringing to mind Grandpa’s sage observation ‘ On the River all mistakes must be paid for immediately. Sometimes in full.

Don’t be in a hurry to get out there! I plan to start the 2026 guide season on March 15.

After more than 70 trips around the sun every single day i get to chase walleyes on my beloved River in March are few…and so, so precious. But stupid isn’t going to be part of the equation.

Tundra music overhead prompted me to look up from my spring bobber and smile on Valentine’s Day. The big white birds are harbingers of rapidly approaching winter.

Two days after Thanksgiving they were flying tall, loud and southbound. The walleye bite was aggressive on B-3 blades. Old guy wisdom says three days after the tundras leave, the River ices over. Once again natural wisdom insight was spot on.

Sadly, I missed the part about tundra’s return from the Chesapeake when my mentors were passing the Korbel around the old surplus army stove.

There was 16 inches of good, clear ice in the backwater where lotsa little gills and a few keepers were making the spring bobber dance on a Chekai tungsten jig in Sam Darnold’s old colors. I’m even happier about not settling in Minnesota than I am about leaving Illinois.

Refugees from both these states will be welcome in my Lund when the guide shingle goes back up on March 15. This will be my last year working. Yeah, I said that last year. But teaching secrets of the immortal River to those who really want to listen are still a driving force in life, and this precious life force can change for the worse or end at any time with 7 plus decades on the planet already downstream.

With essentially every backwater, running slough and even the river mainstem pretty much locked up in ice on Feb. 14 I couldn’t help wondering what kind of cosmic compass goaded this vee of about 20 birds to push north. did the Creator whisper refuge and a happy loafing area are somewhere on the Pool I’ve never been?

Valentine’s Day has no natural significance other than my bride of 54 years seeming quite happy that i’m headed out the door with a bucket full of short rods.

Feb. 12 is an entirely different manner. For some reason this has been the day crappies start biting aggressively on Li’l Cecils–either purple or gold–half way down in the water column of DeSoto Bay and more cloistered spots on Pool 9.

My fishing diary confirms this subjective belief over the past 20 years, regardless of ambient temperatures. Data for 2026 is missing cuz i was coming back from South Alabama after an extended mental health escape.

We’ve had a long, brutally cold winter. The roughest in at least 10 years. But runoff from temps tickling 50 was already making the ice pop on Valentine’s Day, with open water at the tailwaters and in tribs increasing in surface area by the hour.

I plan on launching the boat on Monday or Tuesday, either alone or with a couple of kindred spirits who have managed to avoid compulsory attendence at a sanity hearing thus far.

The Mississippi is a dangerous, unforgiving place, even during quiet times. But ice in various configurations will make fishing even more treacherous and hazardous in open water and at the boat ramp for another month at least.

I’ve never been a fan of “bumper boats” at the tailwaters, avoiding this circus if there is any open water downstream. Looks like a red rubber nose and orange fright rig. Will be part of the attire besides my Striker float suit for at least a couple more weeks.

We still have plenty of winter weather ahead. But if the ambient temp is above 32 degrees the eyes on my St. Croix rods won’t freeze and these sensitive sticks will be in a state of perpetual bendage, Lord willin’

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’