Mississippi River

[GunDr]

Current Brainerd Fishing Reports - Click Here. Show us your pics. 

 

Since I've found this site 4 yrs ago, I just don't remember anyone mentioning fishing Ole Miss. in this area.

I do see a few ice shacks set up during the winter months just north of Brainerd, apparently panfishing.

Are there crappies to be found, maybe some smallies?

[Bobb-o]

done pretty well on both and eyes right outside of Crosby, most of the talk aboot the river in that area is in the Mississippi River North forum.

[Crappie Kid]

shhhhh! Its quiet and the fishing can be good(great) at times. The scenery is also fantastic in the fall.

[fishroger]

Theres some monster crappies and gills but you got to find them. If you do your in for some great action. You can get into anything from pannies to muskies. Got to find the honey hole though. Great scenery along the river.

[Ouimon]

Mississippi in Brainerd... Great fun fishing downstream of the Potlatch dam in the pool and there is a wide variety of fish. Large smallmouths, some really nice northerns, good walleye, rock bass, sunnies, crappies, perch, and even channel cats! Other species too. Thats why I like the river.. you never know what you might catch. Above the dam is Rice Lake, where you see all the fish houses usually going for crappies, sunfish, and a few northerns and walleye. As you move out into the channel, there tend to be more walleye and northerns. Upstream even farther there are a lot of beautiful areas for fishing, either rice beds or river channel. Just watch out for dead heads and sand bars, and below the dam rock bars can really hack up a prop. Some of the biggest smallmouths, up to 4 pounds, have come from below the potlatch dam that I have caught. A 4 pound walleye was also a great surprise! Many reports from fishermen who work the stretch from Brainerd to Little Falls tout it as one of the best untapped fisheries for walleye and Muskie in Minnesota! The river is a treasure. Even if the fish aren't biting, the river can provide scenic secluded fishing worh the trip.

[GunDr]

Going over the bridge from Baxter to Brainerd, the river looks quite shallow and rocky. Is the whole river like this? Is it an optical illusion??

How deep is the channel? Would I be better to take my 14 footer with the 15 horse.

[fish500]

It's not an illusion. Most of the river is like this. It's a series of riffles, runs and pools. On higher water levels larger boats can be used. When the water is at it's lowest, things can be tough even with a fourteen foot boat. Washington Street bridge and the two bridges below it become nearly impassable with any boat on very low water. You also have to watch out for log bumpers (dead heads) left from the logging days. They are telephone pole sized posts sticking straight up and down usally just beneath the waters surface. The three bridges in town are dangerous even for experienced river runners because of the fast current, rocks and dead heads. It's a great place to fish, but it requires a lot of caution.

[traveler]

I gew up fishing the stretch of Miss between Little Falls up past camp ripley; our main boat was a 14 ft jon with 6 horse motor. Most of that stretch is shallow and rocky. We'd catch the majority of our walleyes in little current channels often in less then 3 feet of water. Never anything big there tho'.

[fishroger]

Below the dam it is quite rocky and shallow. When the water is higher you can use a regular boat and motor, but be careful or you could lose a lower unit. When the water is lower as it is now I use a canoe. Its good exercise and you can access some of the shallower areas without any problem, make sure to wear a life vest just in case

[guide2live]

is shore fishing an option this time of year? What rigs would a guy use? Also, how about fishing carp in the Miss? Anybody tried some areas that have been good?

[fish500]

I know that the redhorse bite well in the summer.

[Ouimon]

IMHO Carp are a valuable resource as are sucker, buffalo, bullhead, eelpout, and other commonly "Slandered as Trash" fishes. In many communities carp, for example, are considered delicacies. As long as harvested fish are put to good use I don't see the harm as long as the species has the opportunity to reproduce and the harvest is not wasted. It is strange to see how some fish are glorified and some species are so commonly disrespected. Bowhunting is a great sport, carp on light tackle or ANY tackle can be some of the most exciting fishing available, eelpout is SO delicious but ugly (Really a codfish), and catfish and carp are both a very good meal. I guess it is what you grow up accustomed to appreciating that builds our opinions and prejudices. I realize the need to control species that share waters and can destroy or crowd out others, but just because a species is tagged as "Rough" I don't think we have the right to cal them "Trash". They are also God's creatures.

I apologize for cutting in on this post with my opinions which may appear to change the subject of this forum. I grew up fishing on the rivers and have lived in communities that make the most of the local species. The great variety of fish in our rivers is one of the most exciting things about fishing them. OK . Last note: If you want to find a few channel cats in Brainerd, you can find them in the stretch of river downstream of the potlatch dam. They are there, and the last time I caught them in 2004 the size was almost two pounds average. I heard they were once stocked in the Kiwanis Park Lake, and escaped through the culvert into the Mississippi and then naturally worked their way upstream from there. I was delighted to catch and release those silver beauties! There are also some very nice sized carp around the Kiwanis Lake culvert into the river. They can be seen milling around the shallows of Kiwanis lake. Thanks for listening.

[gorrilla]

IMO a nice sized carp in its non native evironment is 0.0 inches long...

Send them to your private pond with lampreys, spiny water fleas, snakes, and deer ticks. Some other of God's creatures I don't need to be hugging anytime soon...

[Ouimon]

OK Gorilla... I get a kick out of your comments and enjoy the fact that I got a quick hot comeback from the famed Gorilla! Thank you for reading my post! Tell Ya what... I don't have a private pond full of lampreys and spiny water fleas, but hows about putting all those unwelcome carp in my river of zebra musels and milfoil? I just love those carp, but am aware that they can be extremely destructive to other species in many environments. So, I wish for you, many days of catching limits of walleye and crappie and that you get severely skunked in your quota of carp. Best wishes, Paul W.

[gorrilla]