Minnesota river newbie with a couple questions

[jeepguy]

recently I decided that I would take advantage of a waterway that is 5 minutes from my front door.  I live in Carver and decided to start exploring the river.  I went out and tried for walleyes.  As I expected it was tough because I am not an experienced river fisherman.  I had two nice bites and even had a fish 1/2 way to the boat and lost it.  I AM NOT LOOKING FOR ANY SPECIFIC AREAS, just want to see if I am approaching the river correctly.  I found some areas where log jams and land created small eddys and setup both up and down stream and tossed a jig and minnow doing my best to keep my minnow feeling bottom and a reeled it with a twitch here and there.  I then setup in front of a creek mouth and pitched a jig and minnow around.  What technique should I be using, this felt a bit wrong as the current was taking my jig downstream pretty swiftly?  Also, is the current higher than normal right now?  Just looking to give myself a chance when I head out on the river.  Any input would be appreciated.  Thanks

[Capt. Quicksteel]

Pretty quiet on this thread isn't it?? You're right, the water is high. It all gets a little easier when it goes down some. I mostly catfish but do some walleye fishing. You need to use enough weight to keep the jig on or near the bottom. The current will move it downstream but you need to be close to the bottom and be able to feel what's going on. Another technique is a crankbait like a Rapala tail dancer. I have used a 3 way rig to get the right depth and trolled or just even held in the current. I mostly fish the deep holes for walleyes Spring and Fall. (look for outside turns). In the Fall I will shore fish at the deepest hole I can easily walk to and just stand and cast a jig and minnow, slowly jigging as it sweeps down stream.(buy a lot of jigs!!) Good luck.

[GeluNumber1]

As long as river tips are being discussed: how and where do people catch shovelnose on the river? I've heard the MN is one of the better rivers in the state to get shovelnose sturgeon.

[Capt. Quicksteel]

Never seen one, but it's not like I'm fishing for them.

[therat]

Creeks are always a good place for eyes. Try using small bullheads for bait. And don't be afraid to use plastics. Recently I've found a lot of fish on the edge of backwater...where the river butts up to a dead water area. 

As for shovel nose...they seem to bite really well early in the year (water temps 40-55) almost everywhere, after that I catch more on shallow sand. Like a sand flat near deep water.