FALL SAUGER AND WALLEYES ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
We just dropped the anchor and the current swung us around until the anchor finally held. The wind across the Mississippi River was gusting and the high water with resulting strong current tugged at our boat. We were in about sixteen feet of water.
Bruce and his grandson, Jack baited their three way rigs, dropping them into the fast moving water. I was still baiting minnows on my rig when I heard splashing. Looking up I saw Bruce’s spinning rod doubled over. His fish was thrashing on top of the water at the back of the boat as Bruce pulled up on his spinning rod. A large golden brown fish flew into the boat. I didn’t even have time to get the net. The fish was a twenty inch walleye. It was a great way to start the day. Although we wanted to keep a few fish to give to an older couple, the walleye just seemed too big to keep. Bruce slipped it back in the water. It was a female and would produce a lot more walleyes in the future.
It was the Saturday of Halloween weekend and Bruce Gervais of Lakeland, Minn., and his grandson Jack Johnson, of Wilson, Wisc., joined me for a day on the Mississippi River fishing at the lock and dam north of Red Wing, Minn. Jack just celebrated his thirteenth birthday the day before and it was Jack’s first fishing trip on the Mississippi River.
We hoped Bruce’s big walleye was a good omen but it seemed to bring false hope. In the next hour we caught a couple small sauger and a couple small white bass. Jack finally yelled he had a fish. His light spinning rod bounced as a fish raced off. A moment later Jack flipped a fat white bass in the boat. It was Jack’s first fish caught by himself on the Mississippi River. The fish put up a great fight, a fun fish to catch and a good way to break into fishing the river.
Fishing the Mississippi River at the dam north of Red Wing, Minn., provides late season sfishing for sauger and walleyes.
LATE SEASON FISHING ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Fall fishing on the Mississippi River as well as other Wisconsin rivers such as the Wisconsin, Wolf and Fox River hold the best in late season fishing. By mid October fishing for bass in the lakes of northwestern Wisconsin slowed dramatically. When that happens it is time to head to the Mississippi River where fishing for sauger and walleye is taking off.
Usually we see sauger first but as the fall progresses walleyes begin to move in. Bruce’s large walleye is just the beginning. As well there are a number of other fish caught this time of year. In the last couple years we are seeing a lot more white bass in the fall. We also see sturgeon this time of the year along with the occasional catfish. Essentially any fish seen in fresh water can be caught in the Mississippi River.
Jack Johnson celebrated his thirteenth birthday by catching his first keeper sauger on the Mississipp River.
Although water levels are normally low in the fall, this has not been the case this fall. The water seems to be a couple feet higher than normal which is also causing stronger currents than what we usually see in the late season. The rule of thumb when fishing the river is if the water is high, fish shallow and if it is normal or low, fish deep. With the higher water, I fish in less than twenty feet of water and were finding most of my fish from twelve to sixteen feet of water.
There is an island between the lock and the dam where I found good fishing a few days earlier so we motored over and dropped anchor. We wanted to keep a couple of boat lengths off the rocky bank but the wind and current battered us, pushing the boat around. We shifted wildly from eight to sixteen feet of water. We tried our best but never got a strike in the next hour. No one around us caught any fish either. A light rain began, splattering and dimpling the water.
We decided to move back to the side we first fished but just a little downriver were perhaps the current wouldn’t be quite as strong. We dropped anchor, drifting in about ten feet of water. We saw fish on the depth/fish finder and it stopped raining. Things were looking up.
Bruce Gervais and his grandson Jack with a sauger caught on a three way rig.
A few minutes after we anchored I felt a fish surge off with my bait. My spinning rod was bent in half as a fish pull away. As the fish came closer we saw a long gray shadow in the water and Bruce netted the fish once I got it alongside the boat. It was a sixteen inch sauger and went into the livewell.
THE THREE WAY RIG
One of my favorite baits for late season river fishing and the one we were using on this fishing trip is a three way rig. I tie a foot long leader on one of the swivels which has a three quarter or one once jig. With the unusually strong current we use one once jigs. I believe color does matter so I only use chartreuse jigs. The other leader is a foot and a half long with three chartreuse beads and a chartreuse hook. The beads give it a bit of color which is important with the discolored water found in the Mississippi River. I know it doesn’t take long for the paint to chip off the hooks but I like to at least start with a chartreuse hook.
Fishing the three way rig is simple. Just drop it to the bottom. Lift it off the bottom about six inches to a foot and let it fall back to the bottom. The secret to walleye fishing in general and certainly in the river is to keep your bait on or close to the bottom.
More white bass like the one Jack is holding are being caught in the fall.
In the next three hours we steadily got strikes and caught fish. I heard commotion at the back of the boat and looked up to see Jack’s spinning rod plunging as a fish fought against it. Dropping my spinning rod I was grabbing the net when Jack hoisted in his fish, flipping it into the boat. It was keeper sauger. Jack’s first. He was proud of that as he dropped it in the livewell. Our friends were going to have their fish fry.
By late afternoon the wind turned colder and I was starting to put everything away for the run back to the landing. Bruce yelled as he had a fish splashing next to the boat. Jack grabbed the net and Bruce led the fish into it. Jack pulled up on the net and a walleye twisted in the mesh as it was brought in the boat. It was sixteen inch walleye and the last fish of the day. Bruce caught the first and last fish of the trip and both of them were the only walleyes we saw.
As we left the landing the rain, which held off all day, began pouring down. It would rain for the rest of the evening. We had six keeper fish from fifteen to seventeen inches in the livewell. Our friends were going to have their fish fry and later that evening I delivered a bag of fillets to them. In addition to the six fish we kept, we released another six keeper sauger we could have kept and another dozen and a half fish such as white bass or smaller sauger too small to keep.
Fishing on the Mississippi River will remain good for the next month. Even after that there are those who will fish throughout the winter, finding good fishing if you are willing to put up with colder weather. The Mississippi River is open to fishing the year around.
We had a good day. As we drove home we congratulated ourselves on our good timing, getting off the river just before the heavy rain began. Sometimes there is something to be said for having good luck. Jack had a great thirteenth birthday and caught his first fish on the Mississippi River. Happy Birthday Jack.
Editors Note: Mike 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.