slow fishing

[wheelierida]

I went out yesterday for a hour or 2. Me and a buddy only caught 2 fish. 1 tiny bass and a 14" walleye. all the rain really screwed up fishing. there is weeds and sticks everywhere. it's almost impossible to fish. second the water is so cloudy I don't think they could see your lure from more than a foot away. I will definatley wait untill the river goes back down and clears up. I would rather hit a rock here and there than catch weeds every cast. Any one else have a similar experience?

[EBass]

I hear ya on that. Fishing the river after a big dumping like we got is tough. The only species that gets turned on that I know of are cats. Per infisherman show back a few years ago cats will swim upstream to a dam or creek mouth and become active. Probaby because their other senses can lead them to prey.

But at least you got out and gave it a shot, it was a nice night

[FishinFix]

Yes, I would have to agree on the dirty water. Bass fishing was pretty slow. We managed 6 bass, in a couple hours. But the catfishing was a blast. Biggest fish was about 6 lbs. I also caught a clam the size of a small dinner plate. I thought I had a nice fish on when it bit.

[BigMike]

River fishing is weird in the sense that a cold front may not impede activity like lakes, but changes in flow after a storm or draw downs will throw things all out of wack!

With the rain we got, I would expect bass to be active again by the weekend. Plus the higher water dislodges everything (weeds, wood, etc...) that has dried up due to low water or be lodged on shores & rocks! It's a major pain - especially for topwater baits. But we really needed the rain. Based on water level & flow rates, we have been at half (and many times below 1/2) of normal flow/water levels all summer. It will make for tough fishing now, but give it a few days and it'll get active again!

Like it was said above - at least you got out!

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Mike
TJ Tackle Pro-Staff

[Chris-Neises]

I was wondering what the problem might be. I was skunked last night. That almost never happens for me when fishing on the Miss.

[wheelierida]

my guess is the water clarity is the problem!
all the rain we had washes runoff into the river. before the rain you could see over 2 ft down. now it is about 6". I probably should have tried a lure that makes some noise. oh well it will clear up again in a week or too.

[river rat316]

not only did the the rain displace those weeds but they are also starting to die off me and my son were out there for.... ohhhh about 5 minutes before we packed it up and called it unfishable it was like a continuos mat of weeds in otsego area floating down but we should be good to go by the weekend!!!

[wheelierida]

well I won't be around to find out. Headed up to mille lacs to catch some of the gigantic smallies they have there. I've fished the river in search of a 20" for quite a few years, my biggest being 18.5. a couple weeks ago I went to mille lacs I caught a 19" my buddie caught a 20 and a 21". I woulda hung the 21" on the wall It was a hog. he let it go (his step dad has a 23" on the wall). I don't think he wanted to get ripped on all the time for mounting a little fish like that. however the 23" came off the river a couple years back in the coon rapids pool. he let the fish swim and had a replica made!! maybe it's a state record now!! you guys should catch it and call me a fool for leaving the river to fish a LAKE?????

[BigMike]

Wheel - if I had the opportunity to fish the big pond, I'd be there too! I love the river because of it's consistant action and good numbers and quality fish, but the big pond grows them faster and bigger.

In a DNR study, a 19inch river smallie takes a lot longer to reach 19inches than a lake smallie. By the time a smallie reaches 19-20 on a river it is pushing OLD AGE! A lake smallie can be trophy size within 5 years. Good luck on Mille.

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Mike
TJ Tackle Pro-Staff

[Mark Christianson]

Wheel
You can be sure a river smallie won't be breaking any state records.
The records are by weight. If anyone ever hooks an 8+ lb smallie in the river, it would be one in a gazillion.
Not possible in my opinion.
35 years of DNR data on the Mississippi in the stretch from Coon Rapids to St Cloud has never turned up a fish over 21 inches.
That is a 6 lb fish max in the river.

Its hard to argue the numbers they have.