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Mississippi in Brainard


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Does anybody have any info on fishing the river around Brainard??? I dont know anything about it. I wanted to try for some muskies.

I will be fishing in a 17 foot boat with a 90 horsepower motor. Is that to much??? Is there a lot of hazards there???

Also is there a boat ramp around the area???

Like I said I know absolutly nothing so some general information would be fantastic!!!

Thanks

Brian

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The river is really low right now. I've only been fishing it for the last two years, so I don't know if it gets much lower. But I haven't fished it under lower conditions than we're at right now. I go out with a 16 foot boat with an 80 on back. So you can do it. But when it's this low, there are lots of trouble areas. But if you take it slow you should be alright. Especially if you have someone else with that can scout off the front of the boat. The river is relatively clear right now (for the river), so a person in the front of the boat should be able to spot the trouble areas before you're on top of them.

Access points...there's one right in Brainerd on the east side of the river, just below the Potlach Dam. This can be a little tricky to find if you're not familiar with the area. There's a ramp at the Crow Wing State park, about 7 miles south of Brainerd. And there's a ramp near Fort Ripley right where the Nokasippi River empties in. Further to the south, I'm not sure where the ramps are.

Aaron

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Thanks a lot for the info!!! I will be coming from the Lake Alexander area so i will probably use an access to the south of Brainerd.

Have you seen any muskies around that area??? I heard that there are a few but the are normally bigger and thats what im after. My dad will be going so it will be nice to have a person to look in the front of the boat.

Also how is the smallmouth fishing???

Where would be a goods start to find some skies also??? I would imagine bends, trees, rock piles, and that sort of thing!!

Thanks a lot again!!

Brian

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I’ve fished the river quite a bit over the past two years. And in all honesty, I’ve been kind of disappointed by the size of the fish I’ve been seeing. Not that it’s been terrible. But just pretty average fish. There are very big fish in the river, no doubt. But with some things that have happened over the past few years, I believe that you have much better chances of big fish in the lakes in the area over the river. Unfortunately, there have been a significant number of big (30+ pound) fish caught and kept out of the river over the past few seasons. With the relatively low population of muskies in the river, this has had a definite effect. The river will bounce back. But big fish like that take quite awhile to grow to that size. Again, it’s not that the river doesn’t have big fish. I just don’t believe it’s what it was just a few years ago.

I’m still learning how to river fish for muskies. So I’m not the best source of information on spots to fish. But if you look for your deeper water, slack areas, current breaks, fallen trees, inlets, I would think those would be your best bets. But really, this time of year they could be anywhere in the river. From shallow to deep to fast water to slack water.

I haven’t specifically targeted smallmouth in that part of the river. But if you do, I would bet that you would have decent success. Good luck!

Aaron

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Also how is the smallmouth fishing???

The bite has been awesome this week for us. Been getting most on topwater. We have been fishing from Little Falls north to the Nokasippi landing.

A couple years back we had good luck with muskies by the Nokasippi river. Tried it a few times this year but no luck, but that seems to be the case wherever I'm at confused.gif Like AWH said, if you take it slow and watch for rocks you should be ok.

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Hey thanks a lot guys!!! I think it would be worth trying just for a change for once. I normally fish Alex for muskies and I think it can be a very tough lake. I did get a 47 incher there a couple weeks ago though.

Shamalex: Are you gonna be on Alex this weekend?? I will be there from friday to monday. Maybe i will see you there??? I will be in a gray Alum. Competitor with a 90 johnson on the back. I normally only fish the sunkin island to the south of hackstacks or the north shore. There will be an old guy(my dad) and a younger guy(me) and a golden retriever(Gunner) in the boat. Stop by and say hi. Maybe you wanna get together cause I normally fish alone during the day cuz my dad cant handle the big lures.

Maybe you wanna try the river. I would like to try it with someone who has been there before if you know what i mean.

One more thing and Im done. Would you guys rather fish for muskies on Alex or Sham??? Ive never fished Sham before but i heard there is bigger fish. Is that true??? Or is there a better lake around the area that is better???

Anyways thanks a lot guys!!!!

Brian

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BrianLucky, I will probably be out there this weekend. I will look for you, then we can chat about the river.

I don't know which lake has bigger muskies, but I prefere to fish on Alex.

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I think what we are going to do is launch at the Fort Ripley ramp. If you were coming from Lake Alexander how would you get there????? Im looking at a map and it looks like there is no bridges over the Mississippi!!! Which way would you guys suggest???

I think were going on saterday sometime. We will probably go downstream by the Nokasippi river!! Is that a good idea?? I dunno!!

Anyways is there anything we should be aware of for hazards??

Thanks a lot again guys. I wish I knew something about this!!

Brian

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Coming from lake alex take state highway 115 out of Randall to state highway 371. Take a left at the tank, head north 7-8 miles and look for public access sign. It's about a 25-30 minute drive.

There is another access a couple miles south of the Camp Ripley main gate, the river is a little deeper in that stretch. That would be another possibility for you.

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Thanks for the directions shamalex!!!! I will be at alex on friday night and saterday morning so maybe ill c ya!!! Going to the Mississippi on Saterday afternoon and night. Then ill be on alex sunday and monday. Hope to c ya!!!! Good luck!!!

Brian

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