Fall Fishing Is Starting On The Mississpippi River

By Mike Yurk

Snow driven, slanting down the river as twenty mile per hour winds lashed us. We huddled in jackets, hoods pulled up, snow pelting us. In so many ways it was a typical day of fall fishing on the Mississippi River.

Tom yelled he had a fish. I looked out from under the hood of my jacket and saw his spinning rod, bent in half, the tip plunging as a fish was pulling away.

“I think this is a big fish,” he said. “I need the net.”

I dropped my spinning rod, jumped off the front deck and grabbed the net. As Tom was getting the fish closer to the back of the boat it took a different direction and started toward the other side of the boat. I grabbed Tom’s other spinning rod, reeling it in so it would not get tangled in his other line. Then I reached for my spinning rod and got it in as well so we would not have to worry about it.

The fish changed directions again. I was standing next to Tom and the fish made another run but Tom was getting it closer to the boat. Finally we saw it as it finally was pulled into view in the murky water. It was a fat, brown catfish. We were hoping for a walleye but the catfish was ok too. It was putting up one heck of fight.

It finally got close enough so I could extend the net and Tom pulled hard on his spinning rod, dragging the fish into the net. I pulled up on the net and the fish was thrashing in the mess. It still had a lot of fight left in it. The fish was about eight pounds. After a quick photo Tom slid the fish back in the water. For some reason, I am not sure why, I find it strange to be catching catfish in a snow flurry but that is the way it is on the Mississippi River.

My neighbor, Tom Parker, and I left our homes in Hudson, Wisc., about mid morning and drove to the Mississippi River just north of Red Wing, Minn. We put the boat in the water and motored up river to the dam. It was a gray day with clouds hanging low to the river. Trees had changed color but it all seemed subdued in such a washed out day. We were suppose to have sunshine but that did not look like it was going to happen. We saw strings of geese struggling against the wind with bald eagles gliding above, twisting and turning on the wind currents.

It is getting to be that time of year. Bass fishing had already dropped off. The hunting seasons, with the exception of the gun deer season, were well underway. For me it is time to fish the Mississippi River.

Fishing this time of year on the river is primarily for sauger with an occasional walleye thrown in. However, a little bit of everything is possible on the river. It is not unusual to catch half a dozen different species of fish a day on the Mississippi.

A few minutes after Tom’s catfish a thump hit my spinning rod and setting the hook I felt a fish pulling back. The fish put up a strong fight and my rod tip was bucking as the fish made a short run. Turning the fish I got it closer to the boat and once it was splashing alongside I pulled it in. It was a walleye. It was about fourteen inches long which is an inch to short for the Mississippi River size limit so I dropped it back in the river.

It was still snowing and now the gray bottom of my boat was starting to turn white. Another fish banged my bait and it ran off as I was cranking on the reel. A moment or two later I saw the fish coming through the water and it was a gray shadow. It turned out to be a keeper sauger. Neither Tom nor I wanted to clean fish that night so I returned the fish to the river but it was nice to think we could have put it in the livewell if we wanted a fish fry.

Tom and I were regularly getting strikes and more fish. The fish were all sauger and we had a couple more we could have kept. It was mid afternoon and the wind continued strong and cold, blowing snow down the river.

I heard Tom yell again he had a big fish. I looked over at him and his spinning rod was doubled over. I brought my rod in and grabbed the net. The fish was taking line off Tom’s reel. I was thinking catfish again. The fish started getting closer to the boat after a long battle when it rolled in the water and we could see it. It was a three foot long sturgeon.

Tom wrestled the fish closer to the boat and the fish dove, making the drag on his reel sing. Suddenly the rod sprung back. He lost the fish. We were disappointed we were unable to get a photo of it but otherwise just considered it a clean release.

By late afternoon we decided to head back to the boat landing. We caught and released over twenty fish. There were enough keepers one of us could have had a fish fry if we wanted one. It had been a good day of fishing.

As we are getting later into fall one of the best places to find good fishing is the Mississippi River. The river is open for fishing even as many of our lakes begin to freeze over. I fish the Mississippi River once bass fishing begins to decline sometime after the middle of October. Then I will fish the Mississippi River until about Thanksgiving or sometimes into the first few days in December if the weather stays mild enough. For me, once the temperatures drop below the mid twenties for a daytime high I put away the boat for the year. However, you can fish throughout the winter if you want to put up with the weather.

Fishing is getting better on the Mississippi River and will continue to improve as fall begins to slip into winter. In fact, much like duck hunting, some of the best fishing will be when the weather is at its worst.

One of the best spots on the river for late fall fishing is to fish below any of the many dams on the river. Fish seem to bunch up there and they will be feeding aggressively.

There are any number of baits that work well on the river this time of the season. Blade spoons such as the Heddon Sonar seem to work best in the fall. Let the spoons drop to the bottom and bring them up a foot or two quickly with a ripping action and let them flutter back to the bottom. My favorite color is chartreuse followed by gold.

The most popular bait for many river fishermen is a jig and minnow. Again chartreuse is my favorite color followed by gold. Also bait rigs with a heavy slip sinker is another favorite.

My favorite river rig is a combination of the jig and bait rig. I use a three way swivel, attaching a foot long leader to it with a three quarter ounce chartreuse jig. Secondly, I add a foot and a half long leader with three chartreuse beads and a hook. This double rig is extremely deadly and has the best of both baits. There are times the jig works better then the hook and other times it is the other way around. But with two baits you double your chance at fish.

Throughout November the Mississippi River is the hot spot for saugers and walleyes regardless of how cold the weather gets. So dress for the worst weather and find the best in late fall fishing on the Mississippi River.

 Editors Note: Mikes Yurk’s column is sponsored by Warner’s Dock in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Warner’s Dock is the premier marine dealer in northwestern Wisconsin. They have a complete supply of new and used boats, motors, and trailers as well as other marine supplies plus a complete maintenance staff for all your boating needs. They can be contacted through their website at www.warnersdock.com or by telephone at 1-888-222-3625. 

Tom Parker shows off the catfish he caught on the Mississippi River during a snow flurry.

Saugers, like the one Mike Yurk is holding, is the most predominate game fish taken in the late fall on the Mississippi River.

A two way rig, as seen here, combining both a jig and bait rig is especially productive for fishing the Mississippi River.