mississippi river Mississippi River North Fishing Reports

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

Think I figured out what carmike's fish was. Pretty sure it was one of these oversized redhorse. Snagged one tonight that fought a lot like his.

Also got 3 smallies, 2 party crappies, and one eye about 13".

[Rick G]

I think I recognize that Maple tree in the background . Nice redhorse!

[Stick in Mud]

Bummer to hear they've not been chewing. I'm hoping the colder weather gets them snapping.

Whew...thanks for the redemption, LPcrow. In all honesty, I caught a big, fat walleye throwing shad raps on Mille Lacs on Tuesday, and the thing fought nowhere near as much (and in a very different manner) from the fish I hooked on Monday evening. Now, I know river fish have big shoulders, but not THAT big.

[Rick G]

Been hitting the river around town the last couple days, bass are biting pretty good right now. Just a reminder, the season for smallmouth is catch and realese only right now , I have had to remind people yesterday and today that had full stringers of bass Atleast everyone has been good about throwing them back once informed of their error. Ok, off my soapbox Like I said the bass are going pretty good right now, I figure we got another week ten days of good smallie fishing left for the year on this stretch of river.

The walleye bite has been hit and miss for me since the full moon, I get a few each night but not near what it should be.

[Brad B]

Why would anyone want to keep a smallie even if it was not C&R season. plus don't they know there is a slot size on smallies from st cloud to dayton.

[Stick in Mud]

I don't know, Brad....they actually taste just fine if you keep the smaller ones. On my BWCA trips when I can't get a walleye to eat, I'll fry up some smallies.

But yes, the catch-release only season does seem to either 1) confuse people or 2) not matter to some people. I never keep them in the river so I don't pay much attention to it, but for those who do keep fish, it's a problem just about every year.

[UglyStick12]

Smallmouth bass are biting good. Caught around 12 today in an hour. Nothing big couple around 17in but most around 12in.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

The eyes are starting to heat up more, got 4 nice 14-17 inchers before dark this evening all released for next time. Also got a few bass, the size is starting to get better with the bass.

[Rick G]

Yes they sure are. I have been fishing for an hour or two each morning and a few hours each evening in my normal spots, been getting about one big girl a day along with lots of runts . I'm headed down right now to see about getting another one to cpr

LP, where you been? Haven't seen you down around here in a while.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

Guess I have just been having luck in other places. Also have been busy with work and school. Have to pick the spot you have the most confidence in.

[Rick G]

I hear what your sayin' about the confidence thing I would rather fish a mediocre spot that I have confidence in than a good spot I don't feel right about.

[Stick in Mud]

Slow night for me tonight....went out for a bit with only a dinky walleye to show for it. Threw about half of the tackle box at them.

Only good thing about the night is the nice Rapala I found in the rocks.

[Rick G]

Slow night for me tonight....went out for a bit with only a dinky walleye to show for it. Threw about half of the tackle box at them.

This sounds like the last two evenings I have had, only good thing is a few bass are still biting. Could be worse though, I could be catching dog fish like someone I know from here or doing back flips on the granite boulders

[Stick in Mud]

Um, yeah, regarding those backflips, it was raining the night I was out, and it was definitely safer to be wading in the hipboots than walking around on the rocks. Note to self: Make sure I have one arm free to help navigate those rocks...a few times, holding the tackle boxes in one hand and the rod in the other, I just about biffed it.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

I like to think it was a bit of a controlled back flip. I somewhat landed on my feet and managed not to break anything I was holding or hurt myself too much. I think I may have learned my lesson though, wet rocks are bad, at least around here they are. I also do what I can to save people from the terror that is the dogfish.

[eyeguy 54]

felt :>)

[Nhamm]

I fish the river south of CR dam and north of minnehaha and would like to get your guys opinion since u r in some shallow water river as well......the walleyes I have caught all fight different from that of lakes. They surface immediately and start rolling, like the channel cats. Every single one does this and I find it strange and was curious if any of you have similar experiences. Possibly it's because of current or how shallow they are (always less than 8ft)? Bit of a noob on the river still.

[Rick G]

Welcome to HSO Nhamm, I think it's because of the shallow water and long line tactics. We get quite a few every year that come to the surface immediately after being hooked. When we fish deeper sections of the river I am usaly not making the long casts like I would be in the shallower sections of river, thus giving the fish less time/room to come to the surface. We will get quite a few walleyes that come to the surface while trolling crankbaits over shallow water while on the lakes too, so I believe it's just a shallow water thing.

[Stick in Mud]

Went out last night for a wee bit to see if the full(ish) moon would help the bite. Ended up catching two decent walleyes and one bass before heading out to do other things. Not bad for forty five minutes, but not great, either.

[Rick G]

Went out last night for a wee bit to see if the full(ish) moon would help the bite. Ended up catching two decent walleyes and one bass before heading out to do other things. Not bad for forty five minutes, but not great, either.

Our reports are almost a mirror image of each other theese last couple times. Between LPCrowRiver and myself we got two decent walleyes so you got me there. I know I got a few more bass It's a good thing the bas are still biting, they saved my day

[The Grebe]

Yuck, "A smoked egg a day" keeps everybody away! ;-)

[eyeguy 54]

they are crazy good, especially when deviled :>)

[hockeybc69]

I will get that Grebe guy some smoked deviled eggs at the secret hunting shack located in Ottertail County..... Wooohaahahahahahaa

[Nhamm]

Full moon was in full effect tonight got out to the dam and got 5 nice eyes between 17" and 20". Think the cold weather got the fish moving up finally and they opened up 3 more gates on the north side compared to just the 1 they had open on the south side a week ago, which may have moved em around as well. What a fantastic resource to have just minutes from the cities to go out on a night and catch several walleyes in a couple hours. Jig and minnow was bait. Hope It's not too cold for the nov. full moon, can not wait.

[Rick G]

Great report Nhamm, I just got off the river myself, what a nice night to be out, I stayed a bit longer tonight than I usaly do. Fishing was slow but consistant. Got one small walleye and a few nice bass while it was still light out, and about one walleye every 30-45min after dark. I would have stayed longer but the guides were starting to ice up on my rod . 3in grubs got most of my fish and a huskyjerk got the rest.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

Nice 24-25" eye tonight, one smaller around 22" and a small pike. Slow but the eyes were nice. Rick got a couple smaller ones and lost a nice one. Very nice out tonight. Here is a pic of the bigger eye.

[Rick G]

I thought it was going to be a good night, turned out to be just a ok, but short lived prime time. At least I got to SEE a nice one .

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

I think Rick is going to start a new business. It will be called Rick's Lure Retrieval and Pike Relocation Services. This coming after his little incident with a little pike tonight. Otherwise it was quite slow with only 1 19" eye to show for tonight.

[Rick G]

Like I said, precision casting even if it was a little freekishly accurate.

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

I never posted this picture on here, but I was looking back at some past posts from this thread about catfish size and thought maybe some of you would appreciate this catfish I caught in the St. Cloud area this fall. Yeah it may have been a fluke, but it shows there are some really nice fish if you put the time in.

32.5" and 16 lbs