fishing the Mississippi near Monticello

[bigbucks]

My father-in-law lives in Monticello, but doesn't fish much. I'd like to learn the river so I could fish when I'm down there for the weekend & wind up with a half a day with nothing to do. I went out of Montissippi park in August last year, but had no luck & was very paranoid of the depth. I was drifting in 5' of water & didn't see any obstructions, when my skag pounded a rock I assume. It seemed to be fine as far as I could tell, but when I got home from the weekend a significant chunk was missing.

How do you know what part of the channel to boat in?

Where should I fish out of either of the Monticello landings & what tactics would be best for walleyes primarily, but crappies, northerns, or smallies would interest me too? I live 1 1/2 hours away & don't visit that often, so it's not like I'll be down there every night if someone shares there hotspot, nor will my f-in-law. I'd appreciate any help I can get & would be more than willing to share any results. I guess I'd be mostly interested in the July & August fishing as that's most likely when we'll spend a weekend or two there.

[panolo]

I am by no means an expert on river fishing. I always have a few spots that I fish but the current conditions can really dictate where the fish are. Take last year for example, if you could find any hole that is where alot of the fish were. The river was very low. Also any current obstructions are good. An example would be a large boulder sticking up or the back side of an island where the currents meet. Also I have always had good luck fishing eddys. I don't fish the Monti area much, I fish mainly north of there, but if you find the structure there will be fish. I am sure somebody else can help give you some pointers too.

[Aquaman01]

I've yet to have my boat out there - I fish from shore there, but when I'm at the park I usually see people go out quite a ways from the launch before heading upriver. I've also seen guys wase out into almost dead-center during low water. My guesss would be that the channel is past the centerline.

If you take it s l o w or maybe use your trolling motor - the damage of discovery will be minimal.

Honey Holes? Water level and speed dictates where the holes will be. The cats are answering the after-dark pre-spawn call (my boy landed a nice 5 lber). Last time I was out ther, the smallies were feasting on yellow mayflies and I couldn't BUY a hit on a spinnerbait or jig-plastics.

Best Fishes,
Rob

[This message has been edited by Aquaman01 (edited 06-03-2004).]