In late winter there is a hot bite for walleyes between the time ice comes off til the river starts to rise with snowmelt, usually 7-10 days.

There is a seldom window of opportunity in late summer when water temp drops to 72 before a never-ending mass of sandgrass makes any crankbait presentation on River mainstem rocky structures like wingdams & closing dams essentially impossible.

There was a short window which checked all the boxes late last week. I got out ‘fun fishin’ one afternoon and put 13 legals in the boat pulling a purple ghost MR-6. kept 2 fish.

Water temp went back up to 75 the next day. similar amount of effort where I KNEW ‘eyes were holding produced only 2 legal fish.

By Sunday afternoon water temp had climbed back up to 77. Active-bite window with water this warm is just an hour or so at dawn/dusk.

So this blog is about “you shoulda been here next week”. Water temps are supposed to cool down beginning next weekend. There will likely be a few days when we see that 72 degree trigger temp before the Sea of Weeds shows up.

When the weeds of September make their appearance time will be better spent chasing flathead cats with bluegills (or better yet bullheads if you can find ’em) at the leading edge of deeper River holes along the channel edge.

The best fishin’ should be Sept. 15-20 hen flatties should be active all day long during influence of the full moon.

The Upper Mississippi River is one of the most dynamic, challenging riverine fisheries in North America. THIS is a primary reason I’ve chosen to live here in my waning productive fishing days on the planet.

It takes me AT LEAST an hour to figure out the River’s mood every single day–even being out there 5+ days a week during the open water period. Sometimes all the ducks simply won’t line up. But at least 60+ years of fishing this Immortal River usually reveals why.

I’m no Ron Popeil (inventor of the Pocket Fisherman). No promise of “more fish…bigger fish”. But I WILL promise you’ll get out of my boat a better angler than when we howdied & headed out.

Water temp has dropped from 85>72 over the past week. River levels are at normal summer pool. A sea of sandgrass makes bait presentation challenging BUT walleyes are ready to eat if you can put a weed-free hook in front of them.

Willowcats are tough to come by now. If they were available the action would be close to sure thing as it ever gets on the Miss.

Casting cranks on wingdams or pulling them in running sloughs would be my next choice. If you’re picking up weeds on about every cast this is not an option.

I would much rather use plastics than live bait. But sometimes the real thing is the right thing. A number of fish are holding just off the channel on the River mainstem in 10-13 fow on sand flats. Drifting a 1/8-1/4 oz. #BFishN tackle Draggin’ jig w/a half crawler threaded on the hook can be very effective. Ditto in running sloughs in 7-13 fow.

Spinner rigs w/ crawlers have been VERY effective lately, pulled along the 8′ contour above wingdam rocks if weeds aren’t a factor or pulling DOWNSTREAM in 7-13 fow in the running sloughs @1.2-1.6 mph.

My rig is a 1/2 oz. bead chain sinker with a 30″ mono leader. 2 beads above the spinner blade, 4 below. I use BIG blades–#5 Colorado in hologram shad color. For the hook, A #4 sudden death with a long shank, threading a half-crawler on the hook .

Sheep @ shorts will bend your rod most of the time. but stick with it and you’ll get some eaters and maybe a whopping big pig.

In the past I have avoided politics and religion both when guiding and in this blog. But with the USA & this world spinning out of control I will. This is MY blog, not subject to FB bot intrusion. Read no further if you’re looking for fishing info.

I am a born again Christian and never hide my belief. I am NOT gonna vote for TRUMP!

I AM gonna vote for Constitutional Rights, especially the 1st & 2nd amendment.

I am gonna vote for secure borders. More than an army Division of military age Chinese has crossed illegally into our country over the past 3.5 yrs–not to mention terrorists, fentanyl, and human trafficking.

Seems to me the 1st step in controlling inflation is brining down fuel prices by tapping the vast resources here in the USA. Cheaper gas is the 1st step in providing more disposable income (for real important stuff like fishin’ tackle and guide service!)

I cherish the concept that my vote counts. Our election process has worked for over 200 yrs. Pick your candidate in a caucus or primary, cast your voice for the best candidate in the general election.

Doesn’t matter if it’s D or R. Forget red vs. blue. One party says THIS is your candidate. Then 2 months later says, no….THIS is your candidate. This happends in russia & the thrid world NOT in the USA!

I use St. Croix rods cuz I believe they are the best rods on earth. But if your fishin’ license was only valid if you used a St. Croix rod I would give up fishin’ and spend all my money on canned goods & ammunition.

After seven weeks of flood conditions water level of Pool 9 has returned to normal summer levels, leaving behind a brand new River in the backwaters and running sloughs of the flood plain.

Siltation wasn’t a major issue on the Pool until 2019 when we also experienced prolonged high water conditions. Now that we’re at summer pool level use caution when navigating to honeyholes beyond the channel.

A couple days ago i was headed for one such spot on the upper end of the pool where I have run wide-open to for years. Even with the lowest of pool levels there has always been at least 4 fow
on a 20 yard cut on the way to this sweet spot.

Good thing i idled through there the other day. Just 18″ of water under the keel–and the level has dropped since then.

Following a route on your electronics at warp speed can bring a boat from 60 to zero in about 18 feet! Fog is one condition where following a route on the electronics is invaluable. We experience fog in the River valley about 70% of the time during the month of ‘Fogust’. Usually, the fog burns off by about 9 a.m.–and the humidity/temp jumps from bearable to hotter than Billy Hell.

A sea of sandgrass has made bait presentation challenging on both the River mainstem and in running sloughs for the past week or so. This situation is getting worse, not better. Kinda like September came early.

When you can get a salad-free hook in front of a finny face, your string will almost certainly get stretched. Talkin’ ALL species here.
I’m catching quite a few eyes drifting sand cuts in 7-13 fow. Had to go to a B-Fish-N “draggin jig” for consistent success. Pulling salad off of a jointed crank about every 50 feet is not very productive–or much fun.

There is a legion of 6-10 inch buck bass in the system this summer, both LMB & SMB. Talking fish on every cast. Find them, and quality fish are holding just a little deeper.

Quality SMB have been holding in 6-10 fow on the deep side of main channel rocks. When you slide just a couple feet deeper on a steep break the big marks on the screen are sheepshead–many of mongo dimensions. Don’t disparage these wonderful fish! They pull great!!

My sure-fire goat killer is a B3 blade bait, snap jigged right along the breakline. Find the sheep and you’ll hook up about every 10 minutes. Not a slow bite when you consider it takes a good 5 minutes to tussle with a big one!

For this old River Rat goat ropin’ is the definition of fun fishin’! Every once in awhile the blade finds a quality toother. With surface temp a solid 80 degrees the quality pike are usually in deeper water with a little current or suspended under emergent vegetation–in either case you’ll find ’em where the food is.

Shad are a popular forage for all gamefish. Find a nice pod and the gamefish don’t be far away. I always keep a fluke rigged on a swim jig head–just in case.

With all the high water now downstream I feel like a guy who just had a near death experience with a passing freight train…one month ago I was catching nice bass fishing the flow of a pair of drain tubes which pass under the Army road about a half-mile west of New Albin, 1.5 miles west of the boat ramp. My Lund was spot-locked on the Army road, with 10 fow under the keel.

When the Army road opened up last Friday The Admiral & me drove to the launch in her car. I stopped at the drain tubes. Had this been possible a month ago, the water would have been up to my eyeballs IF I WAS STANDING ON THE ROOF OF THE CAR!

Consider the awesome power of all that water, flowing with purpose down the immortal River!

I have quite a few days still open this month and in September if you wanna book a trip. Regardless, I’ll be out there at least 4 days a week, lord willin’

Pool 9 is falling out of ‘action’ stage to normal summer levels now. The New Albin boat ramp should be open Thurs. or Fri. DNR crews put the courtesy docks back in yesterday. There was about 6 inches of water in the parking lot this morning.

Although access is still somewhat challenging these condtions are absoutely PERFECT for summer fishin’!

Pulling jointed cranks for walleye in 7-11 fow has been frustrating due to so much eel grass coming downstream. A half-crawler on a 1/4 oz jig vertical fished along these contours has been more effective.

Bass are chasing shad wherever they can find a sharp-breaking edge to pin them. Birds have been a big help locating pods of rambling fish. It isn’t uncommon to catch SMB, LMB and WB when you find a bunch of fish.

I actually got sick of catching bass this morning and fished for bluegills, boating a dozen fat ones in about 20 minutes in 11-12 fow. Bass were hitting Rat-L-Trap, Yamamoto senko, Ned and Z-Man chatterbaits. Effective tactic was locating bass either by seeing minnows dimpling the surface or throwing Trap/chatterbait, then switching to Ned/senko once aggressive fish had been stung.

Fishing success on the Miss is a pendulum. It has been really, really bad since early June. Now it’s really, really good and getting better every day.

The USCG has closed the River above LaCrosse and below Lynxville to recreational boating. Pools 8 & 9 are still open BUT access is a major issue.

yesterday I launched @ Blackhawk Rd. & hwy 26 south of new Albin. There was just 4″ of clearance for my boat under the railroad trestle just east of Hwy 26. With another 2+” of rain forecast for today a rising Upper Iowa River will t
take this access off the table for at least the next several days.

Yesterday I caught about a dozen big sheepshead on a ZMan ned/TRD casting to a very small area. A couple of these goats were 10 lb. plus. Big drum like that are one of the best tugs on the River! After 4 days of not fishin’ a good tug was needed to maintain sanity.

Once you find a pod of goats they are almost always willing. sometimes, the only fish that wants to come out and dance. Not fishing is no option. If I can’t get on the River @ Blackhawk & 26 by Monday morning it will be time for a road trip.

Back in ’19 pool 9 was at perpetual flood til late in the summer. April ’23 we had a crest higher than the River is now, but by July 4 last year the River was running near historic low levels.

IF the monsoon upstream abates soon the River will be at very fishable levels by about July 18. It takes about 90 days for a raindrop falling on L. Itasca at the headwaters to reach the Gulf.–shorter time frame if the River is running belly full and angry like she is now.

I haven’t been able to work since June 7. Next trip on the books is July 23.If the monsoon up north subsides the River should be very fishable by then. Success on the River is a pendulum–when fishin’ is bad it simply can’t get any worse. When its good, it doesn’t get any better–anywhere.

Have a safe & happy Independence Day y’all!

USACE projection calls for Pool 9 to rise again, just as fishing was almost down to ideal summer pool level. We are truly looking at 2019–all over again. That’s OK. Locations & presentations which worked so well in the summer of perpetual flood will work again in about 10 days.

Maybe the river will be down to 625 by mid-July. doesn’t matter. The fish don’t leave the River.

Finding and catching gamefish on the Miss is like playing chess. Only the game board which is normally 2 x 2 feet is now 3 x6 feet. Asymmetrical warfare. Easier to pin fish on the long edges than dance around on the middle of the board.

Write off downstream edges if water is coming through the trees from the upstream edge. Downstream edges of islands and running sloughs beyond the channel are real treasures when rising water is fed from downstream.

Worst case scenario leaves essentially the railroad tracks on both sides of the River as edges. Back in ’19 I boated inland from the River heading west up the Army road @ New Albin–approximately 2 miles between town and the boat ramp.

I eased 1.6 miles, finally blocked by a fallen tree. There was still over 7 ft. of water under the boat flowing over the gravel! The river has gotta come up A BUNCH before these conditions are seen again.

Have to put new line on the flippin’ stick reel. We’re headed for a time of flukes and beavers. That’s Okay. More river, fewer boats. Might even start fishin’ on Saturday again

Back in ’19 the River went to flood stage and didn’t recede til have past November. Ultra low River levels we have experienced the past two years are history. But in reality, this MORNING is history!

The River has been running belly full since late May. We have not seen ‘minor flood’ on Pool 9 since 2021 when the high water was driven by snowmelt up north. this Spring there was essentially no snowmelt coming from upstream.

All these notes are truly water under the bridge. All that matters is what’s headed downstream now. Currently (no pun intended) River levels are near perfect on the upper Pool. Several west side boat ramps are inaccessible. Wet foot policy on several others.

Bluegills, crappies and Bass are done with spawning. We are now officially in summer pattern for all species. There is a fair amount of emergent vegetation in backwaters and running sloughs. There has been a good topwater and buzzbait bite for the past 10 days.

With USACE predicting River rise of about two feet over the next week, emergent vegetation will once again become submergent, opening things up for more shallow-running presentations. This is a good thing.

Water is now in the trees bordering many islands in the flood plain. It is not yet running THROUGH the trees, so we still have ‘edges’ which will pin fish movement.

There are still a number of backwater sloughs which load from downstream, pushing clear water to the upstream end of these backwaters, creating very productive edges.

When water starts runnng through the trees it can reach the point where the only edges are River banks on both sides, winnowing easily productive water to the max. We’re not there yet. If the River crests at projected levels the bite will continue to be good all summer. If the River level starts going down after that the bite will be great.

The only constant in river fishing is perpetual change. Accepting this natural truth and adjusting accordingly will make your fishing exploits on the immortal River more consistently productive.

I take no credit for this epiphany. This natural wisdom dates back to the days of ancient Greeks (like my pal Spence Petros) lounging in togas, sampling fermented grapes.

From the quotable Tony Soprano ‘it is what it is’. Even though i’m on the River pretty much every day, it still takes me at least an hour to find fish and a productive presentation for catching them..

A shiny object full of waypoints is of little value on the dynamic environment which is the Upper Mississippi River. Finding consistent success is all about time on the water.

Gotta rig for tomorrow’s trip. Hope the Admiral can get all the pike slime off of my summer toga. Tomorrow’s targets : walleyes and bass. Starting with #7 jointed ShadRaps and chatterbaits with jigs & Yamamoto senkos ready to go

If you’re fishing here the fish are over the next couple weeks, there likely won’t be anybody close to help you in a bind. Be prepared for self-rescue. The only difference between a miniature gherkin and a giant dill pickle usually is a matter of MPH.

The Immortal River runs by its own schedule. Most years bluegills & crappies are seriously spawning on Memorial Day weekend–which is next weekend.

Moon phase and water temperature also factor into timing of the great pannie egg dump. Water temp is already perfect71-73 degrees in less than 4 fow in quiet dark-bottomed backwaters. The full moon is Thursday. My guess is it will be go-time within 48 hrs.

Many panfish spawning areas–especially at the north end of River pools– have visibility of about 3′ right now. No need for electronics. A stealthy approach with the trolling motor and a quality pair of glare cutting Polarized sunglasses greatly enhance success.

Scan around deadfalls, brushpiles and open spots between submergent vegetation looking for clusters of plate-sized, scoured out depressions. If the water surface is flat bluegill activity sometimes results in clusters of bubbles on the surface around the beds.

A 12′ cane pole with 10′ of line and a #6-8 light wire hook baited with a waxie or pencil eraser sized pinch of nightcrawler has caught more bluegills than any other spawning bed presentation over the last 100 years.

Sometimes pegging a PENCIL STLYLE float 6-16″ above the hook will keep your offering in front of the fish more effectively. sometimes not.

Of course, serious anglers are prone to improve on perfection. A $200 fishin’ pole has GOT to be better than one which costs five bucks, right?

I have several #StCroix rod panfish rods from 7-9′ long. Reels are basic spinning cheapies popular with ice fishers spool with 4 lb. P-Line floro
line.

Ice fishing jigs/flies are perfect for chasing pannies on the beds. Black is always a good color for gills. Crappies are fond of pink/white. Perch like something about 1/32 oz with a hot orange head and pukey chartreuse body. When in doubt, tie on a gold jig.

Perch spawned back in March, many on the river mainstem and side cuts off the channel. A major segment of the biomass has since migrated into backwaters and running sloughs in 10″-6 fow where they lurk in elodea and similar weed patches feeding heavily on benthic macroinvertabrates : a fancy word for bugs.

Panfish limits are inconsistent in the three states which border Pool 9. Iowa’s limit is an outrageous 25. In Minnesota, 10-15. Wisconsin, pretty much 15.
Although I disagree with many Minnesota DNR policies the 10 panfish limit is a good one. Ten is the per person panfish limit in my boat. If you want to take home more fish, bring a kid along!

As of today River levels are slowly dropping. Water was standing in the trees of islands in the flood plain between the river banks. The water is now pulling out of the trees, bringing logs, limbs and other dunnage with it. Use considerable caution when navigating, both in backwaters and on the River mainstem.

My guide book is wide open over the Memorial Day weekend. Special holiday weekend rates apply $10,000/4 hrs./no more than 2 anglers. Due to the shameful rise in grocery prices I’ve had to modify the trip menu to Korean War vintage C-Rats. The canned cheese is still good. Meal includes six Kirkland saltine crackers and a 16 oz. bottle of single source spring water from a beautiful tap in Gary, Indiana. Those preferring a vegan option will be treated to a self-forage shore lunch on one of three islands with both dandelion and nettle options. Gluten free Ranch dressing is included.

Rates return to normal on May 28. Calendar is wide open until June 1. I plan on fishing every day, regardless. The bite is HOT for multiple species right now. You don’t really need a guide. All i really offer is a Master’s degree level fishing education, insight regarding the natural world and sarcasm intended to be self edifying .

Pool 9 is a couple of feet up into the ‘action’ stage right now, which means some of the upper pool access points on the west side require knee boots. High water crested about 2 pm. last Thursday. Level is stable now, with a slight fall beginning in about a week.

To my mind, all habitat parameters–including level–are pretty much perfect. Water temp is 61-66. Clarity is excellent off of the main channel and good in the channel itself.

Crappies & gills are shallow getting ready to spawn. A lot of perch are shallow, too. Bass are within one week of spawning. Walleyes & pike are i the middle of the mix, aggressively seeking an easy meal.

In a nutshell: if you’re fishing more than 10 feet deep you aren’t fishing where the hungry fish are!

The past four days I’ve only turned on the electronics to check water temp. Don’t need electronics when probing shoreline/visible structure & mudlines. I like finding fish with a Rat-l-Trap: the quintessential search bait. With water so clear in areas that have loaded from downstream on a rising River, my go-to colors are Royal shad & Looosiana tiger.

Keeping the rod tip high with a ‘burning’ retrieve most of the weeds hid by high water can be avoided. If weeds still are an issue I’ll switch to a ZMan jackhammer chatterbait with a 3″ paddletail swimbait. I true multi-species killer! Once fish are located and ‘educated’ with the search bait slowing down and throwing a Ned rig or senko usually provides action until you feel like movin’ on.

Zman offers an unlimited number of plastic options. My fall-back is the TRD in purple sparkle. This is quickly changing , with Zman’s goby pattern baits (especially goby bryant) on a football head.

The goby is real close to a willowcat, a hot profile for SMB and walleyes.  Regardless of the plastic being thrown, “da juice” a.k.a. Liquid Willowcat, is part of the presentation.

In my final year of guiding, I’m working a max of 3 days weekly. Also, Saturday rates are now on a par with the holiday weekend rate; $10,000/4 hrs/2 anglers max.

Rate includes cheddar or pepperjack sandwich on artisan bread w/trimmed crust and ice cold bottled water from a single source spring located in Gary, Indiana.

As of right now I have about 6 open days each month through October. If not guiding, I will probably be fishing. I won’t promise you’ll catch fish, but i WILL promise you’ll get out of the boat a better angler than when the trip started.

I am truly blessed in being able to spend a lifetime fishing my beloved Mississippi. She still teaches me every single day .

Thanks for reading this blog. The fact that you’re doing so–instead of actually fishing–may reveal a need for personal priority adjustment. just sayin’.

Pool 9 at Genoa is supposed to rise 3′ over the next week–a couple feet downstream at Lansing. Yesterday water temps on the River mainstem were in the mid to upper 50’s. Wind has been a perpetual factor.

All things considered, conditions are pretty much status quo now after a roller coaster since open water became pretty much navigable in early February.

With River level climbing well into the Action stage at Genoa fish in the River mainstem seek water with less color and turbulence–like the downstream end of islands where River rise results in bays & pockets loading from downstream.

Once the River reaches flood stage and water is coming through the trees its an entirely different ball game. As of this morning, not part of the forecast.

Walleyes relating to structure near the channel on the mainstem move to the non-channel side rocks of closing dams and shore ends of wingdams–on the downstream side, joining bass, pike and other species.

Action stage also pushes a lot of fish into the backwaters and running sloughs Perfect for bass & crappies as they move toward spawning areas to drop eggs at mid-month, with bluegills following pretty close to Memorial Day.

The River is always changing. This is most notable in running sloughs between the mainstem and major running sloughs like Minnesota slough, also in downstream areas like the matrix of cuts below highway 82 in the Winneshiek.

One of these passages on the upper pool known locally as Goose Lake or Lost Cut–which I told Bassmaster editor James Hall was “Dead man’s Cut” when this 1st time visitor to the Driftless came up from ‘Bama to fish in May 2017.

He asked innocently “do you think we’ll see a dead man? Followed by ” Damn, you’re a prophet” when we came across a body near where the cut joins Minnesota slough.

I visited this spot for the first time this Spring yesterday. When walleyes go post spawn in May they like to cruise sand bottom areas with moderate current in 9-13 fow. Until this Spring there was a short –but very productive–drift here. It is now two short, shallow cuts with a sandbar island growing between them and some small trees/buckbrush already starting to grow.

Likewise, there are significant changes in navigating between the new Albin boat ramp and Hayshore slough at the northern end of the pool. James Hall caught his first ever walleye here on a Z-Man chatterbait back in ’17–a fat 26″er.

No problem navigating up there as we ease into action stage. But when the River drops back down to normal pool you’ll be able to hear the agony of big motors on bassboats stranded on sand flats where passage recorded on charts in their electronics in previous years echoes across the River valley.

I love the sound of waterfowl, sandhills and songbirds out there in the wildness of the backwaters. But the mechanical whine of a bassboat that has just gone from 60 to zero never fails to bring a smile to this old River Rat