There are really only two things standing between you and a nice mess of walleyes for the next several weeks: priorities and creature comfort.

Water temperatures have fallen into the mid-40s. River levels have fallen to classic late autumn levels–and walleyes have fallen into predictable patterns which they will remain in until we can’t get after ’em due to ice.

Family, employment and other critical life factors like hunting all tug for our time when November rolls around. A boat on the open River feels less comfortable than hunkering in a duck blind or perching motionless up in a broad-shouldered oak. There is much to be said for following a savvy dog across the field on a sunny afternoon. But there’s much to be said about a solid walleye thumping a jig, too.

With falling River levels, walleyes are relating to depth contours both out off of the main channel and back in the running sloughs.

In either case, you can trigger a bite with a blade bait, hair jig or plastic once you find the magic depth. When fish move up shallower on a point or wingdam face to feed, the bite is even more aggressive. I like using a search bait like a Rat-L-Trap or Shad Rap until temps drop to about 40, then switch over to dragging a Moxie tail or ringworm.

Dragging a ringworm on a 3/16 oz jighead alone or as part of a 3-way rig with a stickbait is also a killer presentation at times

Between now and Thanksgiving catching a mess of walleyes all boils down to motivation and desire. The fish are easy to find. I just told you how to catch ’em. If a couple of fresh caught, pan fried walleyes sounds better than Mrs. Paul’s fish sticks hot out of the oven when you’re standing there in your jammies and slippers, all you have to do is pull on the parka and mukluks and face the sleety wind with a smile. the bite is on!

The first whisper of winter arrived overnite in a howling northwest wind, bringing plummeting temperatures–pretty much right on schedule.

River levels continue to drop slowly and steadily. Seasonal changes in Spring and Fall bring considerable turmoil. We’ve been working through the Fall change for a couple of months now.

The high water which brought drastic change simply moved the presentation baseline do a different set of attack parameters–like starting a little later in the morning and playing closer attention to the barometer.

With high water receding as temperatures fall, current seams and similar ambush points take on greater importance–especially for bass and pike.

Walleyes show up when the food is there, too. But when high water started coming down the River, the marble-eyes were already beginning to stage on the “steppes” like they do every spring and fall.

Depth is a major key during these times of transition. At ice out, walleyes are holding in deep water wintering holes. As waters begin to warm just a couple of degrees, they start moving shallower and shallower–22 then 18 then 8 then SPAWN. River flow and the barometer are major factors, but the predator/prey relationship is even more critical. Movement of food, flow and the barometer may push the fish a little deeper before they move shallower again.

The migration on the “steppes” is reverse in the fall. Before the high water came, walleyes were active on the wingdams and closing dams on the main channel. In the backwaters you could find them pitching and dragging–or even vertical jigging–hair and plastic along the 11-13 foot contours.

With water still high, these contours will be a good starting place when I hit the water tomorrow–unless a mudline or current seam causes an audible at the line on the way to where I thought would be a good place to start fishin’.

The biggest key to consistent fishing success on the Miss–or anywhere else–comes from listening to the water. After all, this is what the fish do, and when you go after ’em you’re just another link in the food chain.

No matter how close you listen, there may be subtle things you aren’t aware of–or can’t be aware of. Because of this “X” factor it is even more important to stay attuned to all other clues and queues.

For example, on a trip a few days ago I knew walleyes were gonna be tough–with more aggressive species like bass and pike just a little less tough.

The River was well into the ‘action’ stage. The barometer was spiked well over 30.

But the forecast called for a slowly falling barometer after about 11 a.m. Told my clients action would likely pick up considerably about that time. Between 9-11 we only had one fish and several short hits and follows–even though we were in a spot that I knew fish were holding. Moved to a different spot and the guys suddenly had double doubles. time? 10:55. When we went back and tried the first spot an hour later they hooked up with 4 different species in 5 minutes.

Sometimes the fish make it look like you know what you’re doing. But they get a vote, too. Sometimes this vote is “no” because of something you’re doing–or not doing–even though you’re on the fish. Sometimes they vote “no” because of that “X” factor.

Jesus is the only guide who can call the shot correctly every time, just like he did in Matthew 17:27.

All we can do as mortal fishermen is spend as much time on the water as possible, with all senses trying to tune into the River. There are few absolute truths in fishing. But here’s one which comes pretty close: you can’t catch any fish if your line is not in the water!

Several weeks ago walleyes were easy to catch trolling crankbaits back in the running sloughs and casting cranks on main river structures like wingdams and closing dams.

anglers had less success once the annual influx of eelgrass started coming down the River. Patience, frogging around to different spots and sometimes a barrel swivel 18 inches up the line above the crank allowed many folks to enjoy continued success.

Then the river saw precipitous rise far up into the ‘action’ shade, within a couple feet of ‘minor flooding’ pushing many folks away from the River…at least when it comes to fishing.

A fall rise is a common occurrence on the Miss. We see high water in October at least 4 years out of every decade. When it shows up, walleyes and other fish don’t leave the system–they simply adapt.

Rivers don’t ‘ turn over’ like lakes. But fish experience definite changes in feeding patterns when water temperatures dip into the mid-50’s, this is especially true in those years when we see a fall rise.

The movement all comes back to the predator/prey relationship. Understanding this relationship is the MAJOR KEY to angling success on any water. It is especially relevant on the Immortal River.

Baitfish like shad and river shiners are the primary forage for almost all gamefish species in the Upper Miss from mmid-September until ice shows up.

When the river is running belly full, baitfish don’t have the gumption to hang around areas with heavy current like wingdams and closing dams.

With water temperature slowing their metabolism, baitfish move to where its easiest to find THEIR prey: current seams and structural breaks, usually in 8 feet of water or less.

To my mind there is no better lure under these conditions than a Rat-L-Trap. You can effectively fan-cast a main river point or current seam in 5 minutes or less. run-n-gun to a dozen likely spots and you’ll eventually find the fish. Once you do, anyone with time on the water can think of several more spots with similar habitat parameters.

On pool 9 where I spend a sinful amount of time, the killer lure when fish are holding in 3-7 f.o.w. is an ‘oxbow” pattern Rat-L-Trap, although recently I’ve stumbled across another color which may prove to be even more effective. For now, I’ve gotta hold this color variation close to the vest. If the fish jump on this pattern more than my faithful oxbow next spring, you’ll read about it here.

As waters continue to cool into the upper 40’s it will be time to ease into a swimming presentation with Kalin grubs and Moxie tails fished essentially on the same seams and breaks fish are holding in now. From that point the presentation will morph into dragging 3 ways, vertical jigging hair…and my personal favorite:blade baiting with the Echotail, most notably my Teddy Cat.

Back to the Rat-L-Trap for a minute. I’m forever amazed on how few fisherman have heard of a floating Rat-L-Trap. This lure has been around for decades. I’ve fished it for at least 25 years. When fish are back in the weeds I like throwing the old school red head/white body floating Trap. When fish are holding in less than 4 f.o.w on rocks I go with the Echo 1.75 squarebill which came out in 2014.

To my mind there is no better bait on the planet when chasing pike back in the weeds than the red/white floating Trap. There are times when the toothers show some preference for a Custom Carter Shaker chatterbait, swim jig with a substantial trailer or oversize chartreuse/orange Northland tandem spinnerbait –but most of the time I throw the red/white.

Last week Bill Lewis Lures CEO Wes Higgins humbled and honored me by officially designating the red/white floating Rat-L-Trap as the ‘Red Head Uncle Ted. How cool is that?

We all leave a legacy as we pass through this life. To an old-school fisherman, having your name on an old-school color scheme is far beyond SWEET.

In my father’s day, every tackle box in North America had at least a couple red/white lures. today not so much. My Dad was one helluva river Rat and fisherman. He had far fewer fishing tools than we have today. But he still caught a pile of fish…many on that ol’ red & white.

When it comes to life on the River, betting against an old guy is seldom a good idea.

Water temperatures dropped to 61 degrees on pool 9 yesterday, with a sea of eelgrass coming down the Miss making pursuit of the preferred species :walleyes extremely difficult. My guys opted to go after pike and bass which were just beginning to move into areas fed from downstream where grass was not a factor. In one place catching fish where there was just a dry mudflat less than a week ago.

If the River held at the level it was in yesterday, fishing for bass, pike, panfish and even walleyes would be eazy peezey for the rest of October.

Unfortunately, it continues to rise rapidly, passing the ‘action’ stage in the next 48 hours and entering ‘minor’ flood territory a week for now.

If the River crests at minor flood, both fish and fishermen can adjust by the weekend after Friday the 13th. But this MIGHT be one of those years when the River comes up and keeps on coming up as the water temp begins to tumble by the end of the month.

This means the fall bite for SMB and LMB will be real tough. Panfish will be catchable. Pike will be too. And walleyes–if we can fish around the weeds.

The past several years we’ve had high water conditions until ice up. good news is, as temps drop into the low 40s, walleyes and perch become a lot more determined to feed–once you find ’em. And you may not find them in the old familiar places as winter closes in.

Two years ago the boat was wet every day til almost Christmas. Last year it went in the barn just after Thanksgiving—but was back out there rippin’ walleye lips by just after Valentine’s Day.

The Miss is a different River every single day. For the next week to 10 days she’s gonna be ugly–but if she doesn’t get more ugly with a continued rise and falling temps we should be OK.

Yellow perch are one of the most sought after species on the Upper Mississippi River. They are also among the most elusive. Perch fishing is often a case of ‘here this morning-gone this afternoon’

But if you keep just a couple “rules of fin” in mind when prospecting for dark-barred gold from late September through October the prospecting curve will likely be much shorter.

The two most important things to perch this time of year and survival and food. This predator of benthic macroinvertebrates and minnows is also the prey of essentially any fish that’s bigger.

A fertile weed called elodea, a.k.a. coontail. meets both these perch needs in spades. Elodea provides optimum habitat for little green worms, freshwater shrimp, minnows and a host of other little perch treats.

Those little green worms were a primary driver in creating my Perchanator jig/fly, available at www.bimboskunk.com/ted .The Perchanator is primarily orange–a color which perch and other panfish find attractive under many water conditions. This lure weighs 1/32 oz. which considerable research shows is ideal for dropping into pockets of elodea where perch are waiting in ambush.

The Perchanator is a passive trigger lure. Fish don’t chase it down, they wait for it to drop close then slurp it in. At least 85 % of all bites happen when the lure is dropping through the water column. An effective presentation is using a rod long enough to drop the bait verticially in the water column. A 10-12′ pole is ideal.

One reason a long pole is ideal is that perch and other panfish relating to elodea are usually found in 5 1/2′ of water in River backwaters–give or take a foot or so.

A 10′ pole with 9′ of superbraid line allows an angler to quickly ‘doodlesock’ every weed opening in just a few minutes. Drop and move over a foot to the next opening, Drop and move, Drop and move. If a perch doesn’t inhale the bait within 10 seconds after it reaches the bottom in 5 1/2′ of water, keep moving until you find ’em.

Sometimes this means moving 20′–sometimes 200 yards. During the summer months there is an incredible amount of water and infinite number of elodea beds in many Mississippi River backwaters.

The good news is, weeds begin to die off in later August. By the first week in October, likely perch haunts in the weeds have decreased by almost 50%–with the number of green weedy patches decreasing probably another 8% per week throughout the month, until the situation is such that they can swim, but they can’t hide. These easy times usually last 2-3 weeks until winter is knocking at the door.

Of course ‘easy’ is always a relative term–especially with perch and walleyes. Every aspect of your presentation and habitat considerations can be perfect–but the fish get a vote too. sometimes they just vote ‘present’

Eelgrass coming down the River is an autumn fact of life on the Upper Mississippi. A week ago the grass was just a nuisance. The water has dropped a foot since then. The grass is now a plague.

River level and water clarity are both near-perfect for holding walleyes and smallmouth on wingdams and other rocky main channel structures.

Crankbaits like the Rapala DT series and Bomber 6A are the most effective weapons. But these crankbaits have six weed-grabbing hooks.

Active walleyes are holding in 7-1 f.o.w. right now. If you manage to get the lure down through weeds to bump the rocks, there is a good chance of hooking up.

But any cast which doesn’t quickly find a fish will most certainly find weeds on the way back to the boat.

One alternative is fishing a salt-n-pepper Kalin grub on a 1/4 oz. jighhead on a 10″ dropper line beneath a barrel swivel which will intercept at least some of the weeds. The Kalin grub or Sizmic Shad rigged weedless will intercept fewer weeds, but it is also less appealing to fewer fish right now.

Finding fish is the most important first step in catching them. It doesn’t make much sense to leave fish to go find fish–UNLESS you can’t get a hook in front of the fish!

Sadly eelgrass tends to head downstream along the same seams which hold active fish. Sometimes there is more eelgrass coming down one side of the channel than the other. Sometimes the eelgrass will subside for awhile making fishing a little easier.

Frog around long enough and eventually you’ll stumble into an area holding active fish where walleyes are eager to eat a crankbait. Unfortuantely, there are days when you run out of time before running out of weeds.

One alternative is seeking other species. Crappies and gills are hungry right now all over the River. Perch are too when you find them. But this is often a case of here today, gone or not interested an hour later.

Weeds will likely be a factor until almost ice up. They will be less of a factor if we get some substantial autumn rain. But a high and dirty River present an entirely different set of challenges.

My best advice for a successful day on the Mississippi is ‘listen to the River’, then go with the flow instead of trying to fight it.

River levels dropped almost a foot overnite last Friday, goading fish to move accordingly. With significant changes in River level it takes fish 24-36 hours before they start feeding aggressively again.

The bite was improving again by Sunday morning, on a mission of discovery with Brian and his wife Amy. Like most days it took about an hour to figure out both new fish locations and their activity level. Fishing a River isn’t about where fish were last time–it’s about anticipating where they’re headed.

When the River is rising, this means probing backwaters. When falling it means targeting structures just off the main channel.  Either way there are migration stops which fish make which are great checkpoints every time you get on the water. I’ve got several such spots just a short run from any boat ramp which are the first stop on any trip. These checkpoints enable me to check client’s skill levels and determine a good starting point on where we are most likely to find what they are looking for.

On Sunday’s trip, the primary choice was walleyes. The first place we stopped was holding fish a couple days prior, but after 10 minutes of casting cranks with only a couple of SMB , I had a fair hunch where marble eyes were liable to be. A cold front was blowing through when we got on the River. Cold fronts don’t affect fish on rivers as much as they do in lakes–but they still have an impact during late summer/early fall…and they impact walleyes much more than bass or pike.

We picked up one healthy fish, lost another and Brian tied into a hefty 19+ SMB by mid-morning. Sky turned bright, wind subsided and walleyes decided to take a break–so we went crappie fishing. Found crappies suspended down about 4′ over water at least 10′ relating to wood and eating my Perchantor jig/fly with a hint of crawler. Caught several respectable fish, lost a couple of real nice ones(have you ever lost a LITTLE fish?) and decided to go for pike, which were extremely active last week before the River dropped–but it DID drop, moving the fish out of the weedy habitat which they have been prowling in out to deeper water. WE caught a couple of mid-20s fish on Rat-L-Trap and Bombers before determining wingdams/closing dams would provide the most action–primarily for very willing bass.

As of Monday morning, pool 9 is low to the point of hazardous navigation away from the channel and profoundly clear due to lack of rain. Visbility is at least 2′ on the main channel now.  Water temp had also warmed from 63 last week to 71 yesterday, influencing fish activity in a slightly negative way. With cool overnite temps and mid-day highs predicted in the 70s this week, it won’t take long for temps to drop back to the low 60s, pushing fish to feed with a little more urgency.

The flathead bite is starting to pick up in deeper main channel holes, crappies are getting active suspended in the wood, bass action will be off the charts soon, perch and walleyes will bite when you find ’em and they feel like it. Same scenario with pike, always ready to eat once you find them…and you find them where you find abundant baitfish.

River bottom maples are turning color several weeks earlier than we’ve seen in recent years, with both pike and largemouth bass predicting we might have an early fall.
Fishing has been phenomenal recently on Pool 9 with a couple of hundred fish days and “slow” days of 60 fish, 55 fish and 25 fish–the latter being just a 4 hr trip over the past week. A major draw has been quality pike which have been active both just off the main channel and back in the running sloughs. Last Tuesday I had super sticks Ron Barefield of MinnKota/Humminbird and John Stone of Shimano/Gloomis out on a multi-species adventure in which they caught 12 pike over 32″, plus a pile of smallmouth, largemouth and a half-dozen non-targeted walleyes. It was a good day to catch 100 fish!
My nephew Darrin Marcure came up a couple days ago, ripped lips on pike and smallies then chased largemouth the next day, averaging a bass every 90 seconds for 2.5 hrs.
The pike wanted primarily Custom Carter shaker chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps. the LMB ate these baits and Bomber A’s.
With a surface temp of 62 degrees it doesn’t surprise me the LMB are schooling tightly off of early autumn structure like breaks out from main channel rocks. Pike are following the bass–which are following the panfish.
Will try to blog again real soon. Right now the fish are screaming my name. gotta go, gotta guide.

Water temperatures are beginning to drop, though you wouldn’t think so with summer-like weather still controlling our human environment. Cool nights are the reason for the change. After mid-month there will be more darkness than light til next spring’s solstice.

With water temps now in the 60’s channel catfish are feeding steadily in preparation for leaving their summer haunts for deepwater over-winter spots by early November. Although you are liable to find channel cat in a number of habitats–usually when trying to catch a different species–there are several habitat parameters to look for when on a species specific search for whiskered fish with forked tails.

*moderate current

*hard bottom, preferably rocky rubble

*close proximity to deadfalls or drift piles

6-14 f.o.w.

The name “channel” cat can throw you off on big water like the Mississippi. The actual channel is a minimum of nine feet deep. With the exception of the wingdam bite, there is simply too much force coming down the channel to hold dense populations of channel cats. The BEST place to go looking for forktail habitat is back in the running sloughs and tributary junctures–which is really a small to medium sized river by its very definition.

Electronics play a major role in a 21st century cat hunt. Once you see a promising deadfall coming out from the shoreline up the slough a ways check the depth and bottom signal on your sonar. A double-bottom echo indicates hard bottom.  The digital depth readout is right in front of you.  But what’s directly under the boat isn’t necessarily what is under the structure you want to fish. make a pass upstream from the snag before deciding to anchor up. Old snags which have been in the River awhile often have scour holes passing underneath them. The best ones usually have 4-6 f.o.w. for at least 100 yards upstream, then fall into a 10-14 foot deep scour hole right at the snag. Locate this kind of water and its definitely worth wetting a line.

Catfish location changes throughout a 24 hour day on a deadfall they call home. On a rising river, the fish will typically locate on the shore edge of the snag around the clock. With a stable or falling river, you’ll usually find them on the shore end from dusk til dawn with movement out to the branches end by mid-day…and a reverse migration as sunset approaches.

Using these rules of thumb when first anchoring up above a promising driftpile simply puts you in the ballpark. Boat position may have to be tweaked a little bit until your lines find a seam which is holding the most aggressive fish.

Sideways is the best way to anchor up, permitting a greater spread of lines across the water column. If lines on one end of the boat are getting all the bites, moving the boat just a few feet in that direction will often put everybody into the action.

CAUTION: deadfalls in current are ‘strainers’ by definition. Let your boat drift into one–especially sideways–and it can flip the boat and kill you. When re-positioning above a snag, start the motor first. Then pull the stern anchor, followed by the bow anchor once you’re under power.

When the boat is finally positioned sideways, an easy cast upstream from the snag, cast your lines out and check the time. Clock watching seems counterproductive in recreational fishing, but if you don’t take note of the time your lines go in seeking fish it is very easy to pee away an entire afternoon without catching many fish–especially if there are few bugs and you’re nestled in a nice, shady spot!

When channel cat fishing driftpiles in the summer I use Sonny’s super sticky channel cat bait exclusively. Sonny’s is great right out of the jar…but I almost always tweak my bait a little bit with something like fresh chicken liver–or better yet mayflies.

Put this stuff in front of them on a dipbait worm below a snap swivel with a 1/4-3/8 oz. egg sinker above it and if catfish are home, you’re gonna get bit in less than 15 minutes. if you don’t get bit in this time frame try re-positioning the boat a time or two before moving on to a different snag. Once you find the fish, if you don’t get a serious bite at least every five minutes its also time to move on.

Bait consistency should be just a little thicker than a runny milkshake. You can adjust the consistency by adding soybean or vegetable oil if it’s too thick or cattail fuzz if its too runny.

One you find a catfish honey hole, it will likely produce in following years. I’ve got a number of spots which are usually sure-fire producers  that have given up fish every September for over a decade. But on every outing, I always try to fish at least two new spots. Sometimes you don’t get a chance to probe new waters. Four hours can pass quickly when it seems like there’s always at least one rod bouncing with a feisty forktail.

I’ve run out of gumption without delving into a discourse of the finer points of September forktail fishin’. The fog is starting to lift. Time to git out on the River.

 

The panfish bite is really heating up on pool 9 with both size and numbers of fish pretty easy to catch. I’ve been catching most of my crappies and gills relating to woody structure back in the running sloughs, targeting deadfalls with at least 6 fow. Crappies have been suspending VERY close to the wood about 2-4′ down in the water column. Gills are holding a little deeper. Fish are holding on pretty much every snag which meets their habitat needs, so you need to keep moving until landing on fish of suitable size. Crappies have been garwoofling little Northland Tackle tinsel jigs and Blond Bimbo Skunks, with most gills coming on either the original Bimbo Skunk or my Perchanator, tipped with a tiny piece of crawler. Most of the better perch have been relating to elodea, feeding on little green invertebrates, making the Perchanator a deadly bait. have also been catching a few on the Northland buckshot rattle spoon in perch pattern. Weed edges where there is at lest 6 fow have been the most productive, but some quality perch have also been coming from water as shallow as 18″.  Smallmouth bass also continue to be active. shade is a factor in fish activity. Best baits have been Rat-L-Trap Echo 1.75 and Kalin ghost minnow fluke style baits. also Chug Bugs/PoP R’s at dawn and dusk when water is flat. Walleye action has been spotty, but manage to catch several jut about every time out on Bomber 6As