May brings some of the easiest fishin’ of the year on the upper Mississippi River–especially for those who listen to the River and cash in on the bounty she reveals.

Throughout the year it is common to tussle with several other species beyond your primary target. In May 7 or 8 different species may swim up and stretch your string.

LMB are finished with their spawn. SMB strapped on the post-spawn feedbag almost 3 weeks ago. Crappies are done spawning and bluegills are just about ready to go.

Several different things trigger the annual rite of fish procreation. Water temperature is a major driver. Moon phase and river level changes also part of the matrix. On Mother’s Day water temp on the River mainstem was 70 degrees. A cold front pushed thru the following weekend dropping temps to about 62. The fish didn’t care. On May 19 rain started. forecast calls for about 2″ before it quits on the 21st.

This may impact water clarity a little bit, but the USACE says it won’t move River levels. The fish don’t care. They’re still gonna bite.

The shad color Berkley #5 flicker shad pulled @ 1.6-2.2 mph in the 7-11 foot contour has been a multi-species killer the past couple weeks–matching the dominant forage base now EXACTLY. By far my most productive bait has been the #Zman NED rig with a black/blue TRD soaked in “da juice”, aka liquid
willowcat.

fun fishin’ yesterday this lure caught walleye, sauger, SMB, LMB, WB,pike, a flathead and a big dogfish with anger management issues.

It also caught a pile of drum, several of gargantuan proportions. Drum are great “bird dogs” for revealing the presence of more desired species like walleyes and SMB. They are hard fighters, aggressively attacking artificial lures. Fish shorter than 14″ also TASTE GREAT.

With these characteristics why aren’t drum classified as gamefish? Maybe its cuz they lack discretion when a hook passes by. this is also true with LMB, which are classified as gamefish. Many folks release LMB for this reason. I release LMB because they taste terrible–not even close to the cheek meat of female muskies.

Muskies will never be overharvested on the Upper Miss simply because there is no catchable population of this Esox species. The other major Esox–northern pike–are all over the place.

Apologies for digressing from the headline of this blog. Drum, a.k.a ‘goats’ are a finned lump of coal in the fishing Christmas stocking. Countless giant walleyes morph into goats just before they are led to the net.

Mathematically this trend will continue to progress. Studies by Wis & Mn. DNRs reveal drum can live up to about 72 years old, producing viable eggs throughout most of their lifetime. Walleyes max out at about 15 years, with egg production dropping off dramatically after about age eight.

Every time I’m jig fising and a goat finds the hook before a walleye or SMB i wonder if they got there first because they lack discretion and there are so darn many of them swimming in the same niche as target species.

Then higher thought processes are fully consumed with piscatory combat. The tug is the drug. goats punch far above their weight.

May & October are my favorite months living in the Driftless.Harvesting nature’s bounty is pretty much easy any place you venture.

River levels now are great and should be at the near perfect level; 2 ft. below action stage–by next weekend. Water temps have warmed to the solid mid-60s.

Submergent vegetation in backwaters and running sloughs is becoming emergent. Time to break out topwater bait for bass, Pike and WALLEYES.

With high ambient temps in the low 80s and no rain in the forecast for the coming week crappies and bass should be seriously spawning by may 18–pretty much right on schedule based on the past 10 yrs.

There is an incredible forage base of 3″ shad in the system right now. Last week a #5 chrome Flicker shad was the hot biat, pulling a current seam in 7-9 fow @ 1.5-2.0 mph. My client boated 22 walleye/sauger in just a couple hours. he kept four fish, I kept a couple 13″ sauger for lunch. One of these fish had THREE shad the EXACT size and color of the #5 flicker shad in its belly.

On subsequent trips this lure has produced walleye consistently up to 22″, some handing suspended 6′ down over 11-13 fow.

The only thing which is discouraging is a cost of $8.25 per lure at Walmart–for a stinkin’ flicker shad!

The outrageous prices for vehicles, watercraft and fishing gear is not sustainable. When we reach a point in the not too distant future where the average guy can’t afford to go fishin’ life as we’ve known it in the USA is over.

In the meantime, I hope to be out there catchin’ just about every day, getting back to fishin’ when serious summer arrives in a couple of weeks.

I was surprised to see so many zeros posted in last Saturday’s AIM walleye tourney on pools 10-11. Most of these guys are outstanding anglers on the always challenging Mississippi.

The walleyes were hot and heavy into spawning last weekend, as was predicted on the blog over the past several weeks. Not taking a victory lap by calling the ball on this. The Immortal River with all its nuances and complexities always drives the narrative.

The full moon period we’re just coming out of was a strong one. The day after the AIM tourney didn’t get on the water until late afternoon. Wind was a definite factor in boat control, limiting presentation to mostly pulling 3-ways.

I figured chasing the ‘fat girls’ was a low percentage pursuit. Their focus was not on feeding. The best option seemed to be probing for post-spawn saugers and capricious male walleyes.

Saugers tend to spawn just a little earlier than the ‘eyes, so they also move into post-spawn feeding patterns a few days earlier.

A catchable number of these fish like to locate in sand-bottom running sloughs with moderate current in about 8-13 fow. Fish tend to slide back downstream a little higher in the water column, making a 3-way with flies or the basic #9 Rap a good lure choice.

Drifting the same areas snap jigging plastic or hair is another option. But wind on this outing made pulling pretty much the only viable option.

The moon also played a major role in time spent on the water. One nice thing about living five minutes from the boat ramp is being able to go when conditions are most favorable. I didn’t launch the boat until 5:30 pm. by the time the Lund went back on the trailer the wind was laying down and it was almost dark. Two decent sauger and one 15″ eye were in the box–a perfect meal. The Rap & flies produced another 6 fish–shorts and too-small sauger.

Most of the guys on the AIM circuit are much better walleye hooks than me. The only reason my string got stretched 36 hours after more zeros were posted than bombed Pearl Harbor was time of day and targeting fish which likely wouldn’t cash a check.

Besides influence of the full moon, very cold morning temperatures have also had an impact on fish activity. Being cold blooded creatures a couple of degrees change in water temp can make a whale of a difference.

Although we’re out of the full moon period starting today, I suspect the late afternoon bite will still be a little more aggressive for this reason. Unfortunately, we’re still in a pattern when the wind blows a little harder in the afternoon.

A south wind is the bumpiest. This was the case on Monday afternoon. Conditions were borderline dangerous on the man channel. I got off the River.

Water temps on the River mainstem were still struggling to stay above 50 on Wednesday. I thought targeting perch and the always willing pike might be the best option.

Hayshore Lake at the north end of the pool is usually a good place to target in April. I launched at Millstone landing. Water that is almost always at least five feet deep this time of year was only two feet. After putting around for an hour with the Yammie tilted up I loaded the boat and moved down to the Army road launch at New Albin.

Bass and pike were right where you would expect to find ’em. The classic #5 Mepps Aglia double blade spinner with flash-a-boo tail and florescent blades has been the most effective bait for me in this pursuit so far this Spring in water >53 degrees–which means <4 fow with a dark bottom.

Believe I’ll go catch some pike this morning ahead of the rain. Yeah, i know–the fish are already we. But i don’t have to be since this will be ‘fun fishin’ instead of guiding.

I have several openings after Easter if you wanna go. One client’s buddy had a heart attack, so he had to cancel. A heart attack can put a sharp pin in the party hog of life.

Living what’s left of mine on my terms seems like a wonderful life plan. If this means working just a little so be it. But this year will truly be my last.

I love teaching folks to fish. It is my mission and my passion. But I’ve had more than enough of the overbearing federal government. I refuse to let clueless bureaucrats call the tune and demand that I dance to it anymore.

Inviting all of the alphabet agencies to my place for Easter dinner. I’ve got a giant bird for you!

Recent rains brought the River up over five feet recently, tickling ‘action stage’, Like rebuilding the temple in jerusalem–a prodromal sign that the walleye spawn is at hand.

Rising water cooled the surface temp down from 45 to 40 degrees this past week. It was higher, dirtier and one degree colder on April 4 that on April 3.

A great deal of dunnage coming downstream with rising water made pulling 3-ways difficult at best. Switched to pitching purple firecracker Moxie plastics & snap jigging B-Fish-n Tackle B-3 blades, and managed to scratch 4 males and one female in 5 hours.

75% of the males were milting. The 20″ female still had a hard belly–so i’m sticking with the prediction that the ‘eyes will be spawning hot & heavy on April 9.

The USACE 10 day projection calls for stable River levels between now and April 9.

it takes the fish at least a day to adjust to changes like a 5 degree change in water temp or 2+’ change in River level.

Water temp will rise to 45-48 by mid-week . The full moon will rule the night sky on April 12. Stable River levels will help fish focus on the business at hand. Female bellies will soften over the next few days.

The male walleyes? They are like teenage boys–eager to take the fat girl to the prom, drop her off before midnite and head out with the crew for pizza and backroad beers.

With the River stage steady now the big dance will be over rocky-rubble bottom at the slack water/fast water interface away from the faster flow in <12 fow…maybe <4 fow–the places that were dry shoreline two weeks ago.

use considerable caution when motoring under power. A dirty 30 can ruin your day if its a six-inch diameter floating log!

After spending serious time on the River for the past six days lightning, a 40 degree drop in ambient temperature and the probable invasion of weekend warriors combine in a trifecta that will keep me off the River today.

This time next week the convergence of several critical factors may force me to launch the Lund, with the 75th anniversary of Barnum & Bailey’s clown show-a-palooza scheduled for Pool 9 the only thing that might keep me away from my beloved Mississippi River.

Perch are spawning now with the bellies of female walleyes caught yesterday in 16 fow beginning to soften. Water temp is a solid 44 degrees, with some backwater areas with dark bottoms actually tickling 60 yesterday, where pike & LMb were eager to chew.

The next full moon is April 12. All these factors combine to indicate the marble yes will get serious about procreation by April 9.

But a River level which is on the way up may be the final factor that forces me to join the soiree next Saturday. USACE forecasts a five foot River rise to 625 by next Saturday–this is just a couple 10ths shy of ‘Action Stage’ where west side access in New Albin at the Army road launch closes.

Many years the River is flowing a foot or more above Action Stage when it’s go time for the dual-dorsaled denizens of the low light that consume so much of my higher thought processes.

As of 10 a.m. on March 29 the rocky rubble bottom where these critters will be playing beach blanket bingo next Saturday are still dry ground.

I like to swim plastics for River ‘eyes in the Spring once water temp warms past 42. Prior to that my offerings are usually B-3 blade baits or hair jigs. But B-Fish-N tackle Ribb Finn plastics will also put fish in the boat.

At 44 degrees I switch over to the Pulse-R plastics.Lotsa purple, but if SMB are in the area I may pitch a Sassafras pattern. Jighead weight is also key when fish have stairstepped shallow into less than 10 fow to drop their eggs.

Next weekend i wouldn’t throw anything heavier than 1/4 oz. There are a couple spots where something as light as 1/8 oz. might work…but the IDEAL is usually somewhere between 1/8-3/8 oz. this is one reason why I’m a huge fan of B-Fish-N tackle’s “Precision” jigheads. These jigheads come in “oddball” weights between the standard sizes.

Next weekend 3/16 or 5/16 jigheads in pyrokeet pattern will likely be my weapon of choice. I may throw a Northland tackle Deep-Vee spin jighead.

I use exclusively braid line tied direct to the jig. Something hi-Vis, like Sufix 832 in obnoxious yellow. Sometimes you see the bite before feeling it, even with an ultra-sensitive St. Croix rod.

Please know that hyping certain products in a fishing blog is something i consider personally cringeworthy BUT I feel compelled to do so in this case cuz i have faith in this gear thru experience based on 170+ days on the water over the past 50+ years.

2024 was gonna be my last year working as a fishing guide. But my health is still good (for a geezer) and the wisdom that sometimes comes with age with over 10,000 days on the water is something I feel driven to share with folks serious about learning the River until the Great Rainmaker calls me home.

With the knowledge that a man only has a finite number of days to fish in a lifetime I’m only gonna guide a max of 2 days per week going forward.

The headline of this blog speaks volumes about personal priorities. tight lines, y’all!

Several factors combine to trigger the annual Spring walleye spawning run on the upper Mississippi River. Water temp, moon phase ,walleye belly status, River level and weather are all considerations which drive the timing of peak spawning activity.

Unseasonably warm weather just after ice out warmed surface temps to 47 degrees. ‘Eyes typically spawn at 45-48 degrees. Take a dozen eggs out of the freezer and throw them in a hot skillet. They won’t be ready to eat in 45 seconds!

47 degree water temp on march 14 have since cooled to a more seasonal 43 degrees. Over the past 25 years we usually see 43 degree water about April 5. Six years ago we had an early spring warm up. Walleyes were goin’ at it on April 1. Long term the average is about April 20.

Rapidly cooling water temp or rapid rise in river level caused by snowmelt can moderate the timing and pace of the spawn. Not a factor this year.

On the upper Miss, walleyes tend to ‘stairstep’ into shallower water as the spawn approached. At ice out you’ll find them in wintering holes–30+ fow. As of yesterday ‘active’ fish were in 22 fow–at least for me. The bite was a sheep-o-rama. Goats usually got to the jigs n blade baits first.

The walleye behavior pattern is not dialed in for me yet. They are clearly starting to move up the stairs. Given the variables of water temp, moon phase and firmness of female walleye bellies I THINK we may see serious walleye spawning by April 9.

Barring outrageous weather conditions like howling wind driven sleet storms I’m usually out there on the River about 5 days a week.

Blogging today cuz the weather outside is a howling beast. Probably won’t get out again til thursday afternoon. i’m not a great fisherman. don’t claim to be. Just out there and average of 175 days annually for the past 50 years or so.

26 year old kids with stiff necks from staring at live target sonar probably catch more fish. I never plan on owning this level of technology. Nothing to prove. Joy is from the River experience, not a box.

If i was a 26 year old kid again I would have live target sonar, an electric outboard and EV pickup truck. The long term weather trend is definitely global warming. yessiree, Bob. Good thing they took down the coal fired power plants At Genoa & Lansing. Much less air pollution now….

There is a fine line between a fishin’ blog and an old guy rant, so adios

This time last week I was fulfilling a bucket list dream: Fishing the Santee-Cooper in S. Carolina. These lakes were 1st in the nation to see a population of ocean rockfish (pure stripers) which migrated in from the ocean 100 miles up the Cooper River over a half-century ago.

My guides, Kevin Davis & Johnnie Johnston, fish ’em out of a 30′ pontoon boat with foot-long herring for bait, spidering 6 rods around the boat, cuz when stripers hit, they RUN.
Santee guides call the fish in with an old 2-stroke, 4.5 hp Mercury outboard–not making this up!

The biggest fish out of Black’s Camp the week I was down there was over 30 lbs. We caught nothing that big. Santee also has a world-wide reputation for monster blue catfish. Blues over 100 lbs get caught every year. didn’t fish for those. We have plenty of big cats in the Miss, even though ZERO blue catfish swim this far north in the River.

There is lots of history around Charleston. Got to visit the grave of Francis marion–the Swamp Fox. Monck’s Corner, just a few miles away was the site of over 30 Revolutionary War battles.

Kevin Davis’ brother-in-law is descended from Rebels who found a treasure of Yankee gold buried in the cemetery of an old black church. After the War of Northern Aggression they built the nicest brick house in Cross, SC.

Kevin, Johnnie & me caught a nice mess of slab crappies and honkin’ big LMB. Specimens of both grow bigger than they do here on Pool 9, but I could hardly wait to get home–after convincing my new fishing brothers to visit the Driftless later this year.

Over the past week the River has entirely opened up, with just small vestiges of ice remaining in some of the backwaters. Navigation is easy beyond the channel BUT as the remaining chunks of ice break loose and become growlers those bassholes running willy-nilly looking for walleyes might discover the sticker shock of lower-unit replace.

A flotilla of boats are camped below lock & dam 8. Clement’s fishing float is pretty much elbow-to elbow. walleyes, sauger & perch are being caught, but playing ‘bumper boats’ is something i just don’t wanna do.

The fish are also swimming downstream, with boats clustered at community spots in lesser numbers, still something i try to avoid–and in 5 other spots I probed where only one boat was within a quarter mile at one of them.

Water temp is beginning to tickle 40 degrees on the River mainstem. With little snowmelt coming from up north we may see a spawn around April Fool’s day like we did a few years ago rather than the usual April 15.

That’s the beauty of the Immortal River. Who would have thunk we would be at major flood level for 6 weeks beginning in June last year?

A cold front and heavy rain is supposed to blow in later today. We’ll deal with these pickles if and when they arrive. Right now, dawn is just breaking. The boat is hooked up & I’m gonna go catch a couple ‘eyes for supper before the crowds & weather show up on a Saturday morning in the middle of March.

Back in the winter of 2015-2016 i did a couple of ice fishing segments with Tom Gruenwald Outdoors on Pool 9. It was an exceptionally cold winter.

In one segment we were catching crappies & pike in Indian slough, a little wing of Minnesota slough just north of the Iowa/Minnesota state line. The ambient temp was -15 degrees. We caught some respectable pike on tip-ups and talked about using HT Enterprises product to catch a 13″ crappie. Tom said “we better put him back down the hole before his eyes freeze”.

The next day we lightfooted across the ice from Wisconsin just above Lock & Dam 8 at Genoa then walked down to catch walleyes, sauger and perch in the pool 9 tailwaters below Clement’s fishing float. Perch were in about 13 fow, sauger and eyes about twice that deep. (some things never change!) We were standing on 13-20 inches of GOOD ice.

The tailwaters segment aired the weekend after we filmed. The Week after that. A couple days before the Indian segment aired Tom called to ask how the ice fishing was going below the dam. He was blown away when told ice below the dam was already GONE.

Fast forward to Feb. 26-March 5, 2025. Mark Clements used his work boat to clear the area between the Genoa boat launch and the dam tailwaters of ice for fisherman access on March 1.

On Feb. 26 I had already been catching slab crappies up in the Indian for a couple of weeks. Nice fish up to 14.5″. Since its almost a mile walk up there, I took my UTV equipped with 1000 lbs of floatation.

There was 20+” of clear ice on the Minnesota slough mainstem on Valentine’s Day. By Feb. 26 ice depth in areas with a slight current was 13″. You needed to drill two holes about 18″ apart, putting the transducer down the 2nd hole to monitor a #3 puppet minnow fished thru the upstream hole.

My ol’ pal Ronnie Barefield jumped in the UTV yesterday for another trip to “the well” looking for those slab crappies that have been coming thru the ice for over a month. We caught a few, plus 8 walleyes/sauger. All but one was short. But Ron got broke off 3 times.

I went to check the ice down by the “S’ turn. Had to use a #5 puppet minnow with the transducer 2′ downstream, fishing thru just THREE INCHES of good, clear ice.

Needless to say, the UTV was parked on white ice out of the current before lightfooting out to look for walleyes. From 13>3 inches of ice in less than a week!

Ice fishing trips on the River will be by foot only starting today. I plan on being back in the boat by March 15–Lord willin’. Between now and then a quick raid down on the Santee, which will likely be the subject of my next blog.

The guide biz shingle goes back up next week. The first open date is March 24. FINALLY got my Coast Guard credential on Feb. 27. Now River legal til 2030…if i live that long. The USCG has had the completed paperwork since Oct. 24, 2024. Maybe i’ll call ol’ Elon and sic the DOGE on these loafers.

So what’s the headline about a snapdragon ? The winter River is a lot like that. Don’t think the winter River will kill you quick? buzz around and find out!

Fishing has been ‘tough for almost 3 weeks. Foot surgery and a blown powerhead on my outboard hobbled me til Valentine’s Day. Back with a vengeance since then but the fish just didn’t wanna dance much

here’s the deal…for the past several days I’ve been on quality panfish in 9-12 fow,  walleyes in 22-24’. Only averaging about 1-2 fish per hour. Reason is low dissolved 02 levels and profound arctic high pressure until 48 hrs. ago. Since this time we’ve seen a lot of snowmelt which is finding its way into the River. There is now water on the ice. ATV access still fairly ‘safe” in the backwaters for the next 7-10 days. 12+” of clear ice this morning, but we’re losing 2+” per day. There is less ice at creek entry points, around springs and current areas in running sloughs.

I predict the bit will pick up dramatically within 72 hours as water starts to run into the holes which fish have refused to come thru for the past week or so.

The River mainstem is still ice covered. This should change by the weekend, both on pool 9 and the River upstream. I plan on being back in the boat here by March 1 WITH A SOLID PLAN B FOR RECOVERING THE BOAT as upstream ice will likely block egress for awhile.

I plan on fun fishin’ until March 15. Available to guide after that, but first open day is March 24.

The decision to continue working was not an easy one. Purpose is a major drive in a man’s life. My mission is teaching others about the majesty of the Mississippi as long as physically and mentally capable, or until age 78–which ever comes first.

However, the days of grinding as a fishing guide are over! I plan on working a max for 2 days per week going forward, with at least 70% of the trips being established clientele. I’ve had to adjust multi-angler guide trip prices slightly this year primarily due to outrageous cost of gear replacement.  All taxes & fees are included in stated trip prices.

Every healthy day on the planet is a gift from God. When this alloted time is counted in dog years fetching the stick isn’t part of the program.

Going forward I’m just gonna sit in the boat and bark. A select few who are good with this situation are welcome to join me.

Stay safe out there!

The last time I got out fishing was January 19. Ambient temp was tickling 40. The only open water was essentially trout streams–with ice a factor on trout streams, too.

The recent arctic blast which had folks making snowmen on the beach at Panama City, Fla. Shut hardwater fishing down on the upper Miss for a few days too.

Experience teaches the most productive dead-of-winter action in near French Island on Lake Onalaska and off of Fisherman’s road off I-90 exit 2 in Black River.

Use extreme caution here. There is one secret spot where the bottom drops away from 6 fow to 20+. Walleye/perch right on the breakline, crappies suspended about halfway down.

On lake Onalaska, the flats out from the “goal post” landing lights on the approach to LAX airport hold a nice mess of panfish, mostly perch, on tip downs baited with rosy reds while working a 3rd rod with a # Puppet minnow or small Buckshot Rattle spoon in perch pattern.

Last winter we had fairly safe access to the Genoa dam tailwaters by Feb. 16 via boat @ the power plant launch. This winter it may be March 1st before we can break out the long rods here again with at least a 50/50 chance of not getting trapped by the ice.

I’m going under the knife next Thursday to fix a foot which has been giving me grief for the past 21 months. The doc says i will be off the foot for about 3 weeks. Plan on honoring the MD’s order…unless we see above freezing temps for 3-4 consecutive days which should mean at least limited access to the open water option.