Month: September 2013

And Now for Something Completely Different

Well, not completely different–I was on the Mississippi, and I did catch smallies, but the section was quite a bit different from what I’m used to.  Just a week ago I was on a section of the Miss that was barely big enough to navigate with my jon boat. No worries on getting around down here, and I actually had to beware of 40 foot cruisers and even barges. I was on the section called “Pool 4”, this is the area from around Wabasha up to Red Wing.  I went down there for a change of pace, and while on an exploratory trip you can’t really expect the fishing to be great, I had gleaned some intel from a friend to get me started.  And I have been on this section before, but it was about 15 years ago and in the spring. I was hoping to get into some walleyes, but was open to catching anything.  Turns out we caught a little of everything, except for walleyes.  Put a smallmouth guy on a body of water with smallies in it, and well I guess I just gravitate to any water that has a smallie look to it. Smallies were caught, as were largemouth, black crappie, white crappie, white bass, bluegill, pike, sauger, and sheephead.  We mostly fished around the many wing dams in the area, and most fish were on the top...

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Chasin’ River Muskies

Another year with my least favorite river conditions–LOW WATER! At least it is low now, after a summer of nice, high water.  I often talk to anglers who think low water is better as it concentrates the fish.  I actually find the opposite to be true–during low water the fish spread out all over the place, while in high water the strong current forces them to hug the shorelines, and generally puts them in a more aggressive feeding mode. I couldn’t take it any more, and decided to check a section of river I had not been on before.  Despite the low water, I convinced myself I could get up the river far enough from my chosen access to be worthwhile.  Just to cover all bases, I swapped out the good prop that was on my trusty 30 Yamaha to an old, beat up one.  I figured I would be doing more grinding through rocks than running at high speed anyway.  I also brought waders in case I had to walk the boat through any super shallow areas.  I have fished above and below this section, and was excited to be “connecting the dots” between a couple of access points. I was really on a muskie mission, but this river section also boasts a nice smallie population, which can prove to be a major distraction when I supposed to be targeting something...

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