Mississippi River Tributariy - The Cannon River

[Rick]

I had the pleasure of getting out with Joel Nelson on one of the many tributaries to the Mississippi River in Minnesota - The Cannon River.

Joel Nelson (jnelson) asked me to come out and do some smallie fishing with him and I readily took him up on it. This little river has a little of everything in it as I was about to find out.

My first fish was a mooneye. I thought of Dennis Steele and cutbait right away. I believe Dennis will want to try this trip ehhh??? It might especially be up Dark30s alley:)

Any I digress, we parked the canoe, got out and did a little casting and then

Fighting Smallies

and then

Catching Smallies

Joel Nelson with a Cannon Smallie

Very nice fight on ultra lights, jigs and plastics.

We switched over to plugs and Joel put his licks into one of his favorite fish

Joel with one of his favorites from the Cannon-More Cutbait ehhh Dennis??

We then laid into some of Minnesota anglers favorite fish and table fair.

Walleye and Sauger:

I have to tell you it would have been an awesome trip just canoeing and enjoying the scenery. Throw in the fine fishing with an ultra-light rod along with the fine companionship of Joel Nelson and anyone would have a day to remember.

Thanks Joel and I recommend all of you bring out the kid in you or better yet bring out your kids for an outing like this.

[Mike Walerak]

Sounds like alot of fun! It has been nearly 4 years since I have been on the Cannon. Having just moved back to MN I am having a hard time fitting everything in this summer. Maybe this fall?

mw

[HateHumminbird]

Rick:

Thanks for the fun outing!

Fish weren't hitting like they can on this stretch, but we managed to tangle with quite a few different species and had a great day.

Being versatile here was key, as typical patterns were not producing at the outset of the trip. Most of these river smallies are opportunistic feeders that don't let much get past them. The trick is dealing with current, boat/canoe control, and presentation to put it in their face. As water levels recede in these smaller rivers throughout the summer, fish congregate into increasingly smaller locations within the river system. Fish that used to roam bank to bank now concentrate in a few different locations.

Most of our fish were caught in one of three main river areas:

-bank/shoreline cover – a good deal of our larger fish came from shoreline boulders and/or downed trees

-holes – slow, deep holes at the bottom of some good riffles were where the walleye/sauger came from. These fish seemed scattered throughout the holes

-riffles/current seams – Most of our smallmouth came from river current breaks that made a “seam,” a noticeable line of water where slack met rushing water. The slack was usually caused by either an eddy, or shallower water, so fish came on these breaks.

Fish were caught on a variety of lures, mostly crayfish/minnow imitations. A classic lure for the river is a Rebel WeeR in a variety of sizes and crayfish patterns:

Many of our fish came on 3” Black Exude Curly Tail Grubs, and this is my favorite river lure. I tend to straight swim this back to the boat, rather than hop along bottom. Detecting strikes is easier, and the fish seem to hone-in on the thump of that tail.

Most of the fish, including all of the walleyes, came on a few colors of shad raps. The oversized lips on the deep-runners banged away at rocks and seemed to be the ticket.

The Cannon is but one of many great rivers in the southeast for smallie/walleye action, with even more remote stretches of the Zumbro and Root that I want to hit!

Joel