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how to fish the "mighty miss?"


Deputy Grizz

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What's the best way to fish the river? I tried a couple hours friday night from my boat, but just snagged and lost 3 jigheads onto rocks or logs. Looks like very productive water-I just need a technique!
Thanks for any help.
(First time river fishing!)

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I've done a little river fishing...I'll throw some info your way tommarrow evening, after work.

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Leave your jigs in the tackle box. The smallies will snap at the following (and you'll avoid many snags)
Mepps #3 (any) I like the firetiger
Mepps #3 or 4 Comet
Buzz Baits
Heddon Tiny Torpedo
Beetle Spins

Look for slow water adjacent to fast current. Fish these pools, or pools behind big rocks, or adjacent to submerged boulders.

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AH, did you just say leave the jigs at home? Jigs were the ticket in the 694 stretch. Just go as light as possible like 1/16 and 1/8 up to 1/4 and they must be snagless. Well not a must but it helps. I'm sure those other lures work to, but my confidence in jigs soared this year.

When we tried for cats(anchored and using shrimp) we only caught small ones then we toss out the jig n grubs and caught bass, bigger cats, and even a walter. Sometimes just dragging it in the main channel while talking on the cell was the trick - LOL.

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Don't forget to use crankbaits too...year round! If you want to minimize snagging, anchor slightly up-stream from the tail out section of a pool where the water starts to get ripples and fast. Also try this with mid-stream boulders and even eddies. Fancast these areas with jigs, cranks, topwaters, spinners ect. Nav

------------------
Jon Navratil
Navigator Guide Service
www.naviguides.com
Central MN rivers & lakes

[This message has been edited by Navigator (edited 07-26-2004).]

[This message has been edited by Navigator (edited 07-26-2004).]

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All of the above. And when all else fails a brown hook with a split shot and a fathead. Man it's hard to beat a Mepps though.
P.S. If trouble snagging tie the hook up about a foot and put your split shot at the end of the line. Don't have to retie so many hooks that way.

[This message has been edited by eyeguy54 (edited 07-26-2004).]

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All of the above, of course and don't forget the down stream side of bridge enbutments, the water swirls around and forms a condition the fish like to hold in.
It's also easier to anchor if that is what you want to do. You can fish the up side also, but I'm partial to fishing down stream.

If the smallies are tough, find a rocky stretch of moderately deep water, say 3 to 6 feet, (you can tell it's rocky by the way the current swirls) and use a single hook and a split shot...just enough to get a nightcrawler with a shot of air in him, down to the fish. Hook it once about half way between nose and collar. It works pretty good. Don't have a blower? A regular crawler works just as good, it just hangs up more..

Just let the current take it to any waiting customer, but don't be discouraged if that customer is a snag, it comes with the territory, fishing the river can be challenging!

Rapalas in the gold color, about 4 inches long, casting along the shore, up and down stream...even the cats seem to like em? Don't hesitate to use them in the surface lure mode...smallies will really blast them, so will the pike.

A bobber and a minnow, hooked through the lips, floated down stream with the current, so it is just off the bottom, (You'll know!).

Bottom fishing the current, up stream to down stream, as in line as you can get, so the current does'nt bow your line, with a drop sinker set up, a spinner and a minnie hooked through the lips.

If you can find a calm spot, or a spot where the current eddies and comes back into a pool, you can bobber fish it and the current will take your bobber out and then back around, with a few adjustments, minnows through the lips again.

Hope this gives you a little insight, river fishing is fun, you are never sure what it is you are going to catch.

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we got 34 on mepps this evening. yowzer that was fun!!

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Holy cats.
We got around 15. Nothing big.

What kinda Mepps?
We used spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and some shallow cranks.

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#3 and #4 aglias. you'll need to expieriment to see which color combo works best for you. the 3# deep runner has been doing a good job also.

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Thanks a lot, guys. It gives me a good base line to start from!
LOTS of good ideas!
Grizz

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