Early Season On The Mississippi River
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I was watching Paul as I moved the boat with the trolling motor into the current. Suddenly he jumped up from his seat. His spinning rod was bent in half with the rod tip plunging. I reeled in my line waiting to see what he had. The fish made a short run and Paul turned it and started getting it closer
to the boat.
Finally we saw it in the murky brown water of the Mississippi River and it was a nice walleye. “Just give me a moment to get the net,” I yelled. Jumping down to the floor of the boat I grabbed the net and extended it out over the side of the boat. Paul led the fish into the net as I pulled up underneath it. The fish was twisting and turning in the mesh as I hauled it in. The fish was a seventeen inch walleye and our first keeper fish of the day.
Not only was it the first fish of the day but it was also our first fish of the season. Paul Valle of Oakdale, Minn., and I were fishing for the first time this year in a boat on open water. It felt so good.
The day was pleasant by early season fishing standards on the Mississippi River. It was early April and the day before it snowed and the next day after our first fishing trip northwestern Wisconsin got another four inches of snow. It looked like we were hitting it right just between storms. There was a light wind and chunks of ice occasionally bobbed in the water as the current dragged them downriver. There still was snow on the banks where the sun had not penetrated to yet.
Twenty minutes later we were drifting with the current and I felt a pop on my bait and set the hook to feel a fish pulling back. It felt a little on the heavy side and without seeing the fish I yelled for Paul to grab the net. The fish fought hard but a moment later I was leading it into the net. It was a fifteen inch sauger. We now had two fish in the livewell.
GOOD MEDICINE TO OVERCOME WINTER
This is the best medicine to get over the long, cold, snowy winter we had. Lakes in both Wisconsin to the east of the Mississippi River and Minnesota to the west are still covered in ice. There are reports from lakes in the far northern counties that there is up to three feet of ice still on some lakes. A lot of people are still ice fishing and there is talk, although a bit premature yet, that perhaps on some lakes the ice may not be off the lakes by opening day which is now only a month away. It happened last year and this winter was colder then the previous one so it is a possibility.
If you are tired of ice fishing and you need to put a boat in the water the place to do it is on the rivers. Rivers such as the Fox and Wolf, the Wisconsin and Mississippi are open for fishing. Not only are they free of ice but the walleyes and sauger are starting to hit.
There are always a couple of concerns when fishing the river; they are all related to the weather. The current weather dictates how comfortable it might be to be sitting in a boat on open water. I have fished in blizzards and ice storms and high winds with low temperatures. Dress like you are going ice fishing and generally you will be alright.
The weather also affects the water. How high will the water be and how fast is the current are the two major concerns for early season river fishing.
This winter has been a tough one with near record amounts of snow, at least in the northwest part of Wisconsin. Much of it has melted but the thaw has been fairly slow and seems to have filtered into the ground. This is a good sign since water tables have been low after almost a decade of drought. Also it has been good for the river. The day we fished on the Mississippi River the water seemed just a bit high and the current was fast but not impossible to fish.
FISHING THE DAM
The rule of thumb is if the river is high fish shallow and if the river is low fish deep. Paul and I were fishing the lock and dam just north of Red Wing, Minn. A small island separates the lock from the dam side at Red Wing.
We first fished the dam side. The current was stronger there but over the years I found it to have the best fishing. I started to see fish on the fish finder at about thirty feet so we dropped anchor at about twenty seven feet. The current was too strong to get a three quarters ounce jig to the bottom so we used a bait rig with a ounce and three quarter sinker. That got the bait to the bottom but after an hour without any luck we moved closer to the shore where the current wasn’t as strong.
There we were able to get a three quarters ounce jig to bottom and many times I have found fish in the quiet water close to the bank. But that wasn’t the case on the day we were fishing. After another fruitless hour we moved again. This time we went to the lock side were the current was considerably less and we were easily able to use a three quarters ounce jig. We were fishing in water from twelve to seventeen feet in depth.
FINDING FISH AT THE LOCK
Here we found our fish. There were a number of boats there which is an indication we weren’t the only ones sick of winter and needing to get a boat on open water. Two older fishermen drifted around us and one of them said “this sure beats drilling holes in the ice.”
“It sure does,” Paul responded “But I am still dressed as if I was ice fishing.”
The one nice thing about fishing in the spring is you know that regardless how cold it may be on the river to start with it is only going to get warmer as the season goes on. However, water levels and current can change in just a day or two depending on the thaw. Many parts of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin draining into the Mississippi River still have a lot of snow on the ground. If that should suddenly thaw or if they get a bunch of rain in April adding and accelerating the thaw all that water will flush into Mississippi which could push it into flooding.
If the river doesn’t flood fishing will only get better as the month goes on. With the lakes covered in ice and walleye season closed one of the best places to catch walleyes and sauger in Western Wisconsin, from now until the general fishing season opens on the first Saturday in May, is on the Mississippi River.
THE TIME FOR BIG FISH
It also is the time for big fish. I have seen a lot of twenty eight to thirty inch walleyes caught this time of year. Thankfully most of the fishermen who caught those big females released them after taking a photo. The eggs those females are caring are the future of fishing. There also are several other big fish in the river such as sturgeon and catfish. A few years ago in the first week in April I caught and released a fifty pound catfish.
We were within minutes of leaving, having decided to leave at four in the afternoon. Paul yelled he had a fish. I looked over at him and his spinning rod was doubled over and the fish was racing away, line slicing through the water. There was no doubt it was a bigger fish so I immediately brought in my line and grabbed the net.
The drag on Paul’s reel began to sing and it was a beautiful sound to hear. The fish stayed deep and continued to run. Paul stopped the fish and then it took off again taking more line out. He stopped the fish again and started getting it coming back toward the boat. The fish dove but this time did not take any line off the reel and Paul was getting the fish closer to the surface.
Then we saw it. It was a sturgeon. The fish made a short run and then Paul had it alongside the boat and I extended the net. A moment later the fish was in the net and I was dragging it into the boat. The fish was about two feet long. I looked at my watch to see it was two minutes to four. It would be our last fish. It was a nice way to end the first day on open water in a boat on the Mississippi River. I think spring is finally here.
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 atwww.warnersdock.com or by telephone at 1-888-222-3625.
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 Sturgeon like this one Paul Valle caught and released are a bonus fish for a day on the Mississippi River.
 Paul Valle shows off the first walleye of spring taken while fishing on the Mississippi River. |