What kind of structure to fish on the Mississippi?

I’m headed over to the the Prairie du Chien area this weekend to fish and I’ll be trying for some cats at dusk/night.

Just curious what kind of water I should be looking for, i’ll be using gills for bait. I’ve never gone for big flats or channels so just curious where they usually hang out this time of the year!

Wood piles, snags of any sort, and current seams! Holes from pushed over trees in the flooding.

Last 2 times out I fished pads and slop. Many small ones.

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Last 2 times out I fished pads and slop. Many small ones.

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Drew, this isn’t the bass forum.

The River is very different down that way. Not a lot of wood from what I hear. If you find it, fish it for sure.

Your chances are best for flatheads after dark. Just make sure you know the area before venturing out at night.

I would focus more on wing dams and tributary outlet into the river. Think of two things. Oxygen and bait fish.

You actually have a ton of different kinds of areas you can fish on 10. There are sloughs all over that have wood in them. anywhere you find some wood 10 feet or more of water with current on it you will find fish. You can also look for places that barges turn and create a wash hole. You can fish the wash holes at noon and look for fish near there in shallow water after dark. I’ve also caught a few below the Lynxville dam in the slack water by the lock or on the humps downstream from the deep hole. Bring lots of tackle you will lose rigs for sure. Another thing to look for is how much of that freaking grass is coming down river. It makes fishing some spots nearly impossible. You have to clear your lines every couple of minutes and it will kill your bait when the grass slides down your line.

Thanks for the replies guys!

Brian – I posted on your Facebook wall, didn’t know you replied here. Thanks for the help. I’ll be sure to post results. You should have a daily Facebook “Ask the cat guy” session!

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Last 2 times out I fished pads and slop. Many small ones.

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Drew, this isn’t the bass forum.
Hey Brian I won’t get angry; I will let you post on the multiple speices post.
The River is very different down that way. Not a lot of wood from what I hear. If you find it, fish it for sure.

Your chances are best for flatheads after dark. Just make sure you know the area before venturing out at night.

I would focus more on wing dams and tributary outlet into the river. Think of two things. Oxygen and bait fish.

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I’d also think of depth – I know this isn’t a typical year, but late August is usually a time to start getting the kitties down deep. I threw a line into 45′ of water last night and came up with a cat before we got another line out.

Take a good look at this map and figure out what it’s telling you:

Bathymetry Pool 10

2 weekends ago we got 23 channels in 8 hours of fishing. this was on pool 3. we used chicken livers, fresh shrimp, garlic hot dogs, and crawlers. we set up on the back side of an island that was off the main channel with slower current than the main river. some stumps under us but not to many. we anchored the boat in 8 fow and were casting into about 10 or 12 fow. most hits almost pulled the walleye poles in the river so they were agressive! i would assume the same baits and spots would work down that far!

good luck,
millelacseye51

Too many garlic hot dogs and fresh shrimp along??

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I’d also think of depth – I know this isn’t a typical year, but late August is usually a time to start getting the kitties down deep. I threw a line into 45′ of water last night and came up with a cat before we got another line out.

Take a good look at this map and figure out what it’s telling you:

Bathymetry Pool 10

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nice, thanks for that link. I’ve been looking for maps like that. I know where most the holes are on pool 8 but its nice to have something to look at.

Pool 9 has been very good with stink bait or chicken livers. You can find them almost anywhere, from 4 feet of water to 20 feet. My best lately was to anchor in 7-8 feet and fish one side in 4-5 feet water and fish the other side in 14-16 feet. Pool 10 shouldn’t be that much different.

I would concentrate above submerged wood piles with some
moving current. The older wood seems better than new fallen trees.If you can find snags that hold bait-fish they can be good.
I fish pool 11 and the river dropped 2 and 1/2 ft this week. I have not been out in awhile so I can’t tell you how bad the floating grass is.

Good luck
Dave