Mississippi River near Fridley, Mn – Any chance for fish from shore now?

All of my lake shore fishing spots are now frozen out, not that they produced anything in the few feeble attempts I made over the last month. So yesterday I took a short drive to look at the Mississippi River near Fridley. It’s ice free. I lightly scouted out a few spots. Some areas look pretty shallow and others look pretty deep. I didn’t see much structure and it looks to be moving pretty fast in some areas. I never fished the river but I have a couple of areas in mind that I would try first if anyone thinks there’s a chance. So :

– Is there any chance that fish might be around now that I might be able to catch from shore?
– If so, what species and what techniques might work?

Thanks,
BobP

Tough time of year to catch fish consistently on the river there. Fish will be in spots, but whether they bite from day to day or better hour to hour is tough to gauge.

Bunny’s bar NE has a park right next to it, boulder wall up from the bridge 10yds or so when water isn’t low provides smallies in the eddy that forms there. Natural plastics this time of year, very particular on color, pro stewart blue or similar, blue white jighead. Or just a hook line and sinker with a fathead. Key is slow, slow, and slow. It’s snaggy there, so it gets tough. Sometimes best bet is a Lindy just set on bottom.

Often times the best spots are where the eddy starts(where it bends into shore), that changes constantly, find it and fish it. Slow, slow, but moving water is key.

Catfish every winter pile up behind the most west RR piling north of there. Hard to target, but the exit of bassett creek they pile up behind the point out from they as well. Little easier. Again tho, snaggy as all heck, good luck getting the fish off that embankment under the water. Bigger fish will drag you right into the sh!t. Cut suckers. I’ve been wanting to try a suspended bait under a bobber there bc the sonar stacks up from 10-18′ with arches.

It’s a good stretch with decent fish. Holds walleyes but those secrets stay with me

Attachments:

1. 

   IMG_20200908_201545_exported_2155_1599619823402.jpg
   

Deuces wrote:

Tough time of year to catch fish consistently on the river there. Fish will be in spots, but whether they bite from day to day or better hour to hour is tough to gauge.

Thanks. Mostly I wanted to know was whether there was a even chance of catching. There are a few decent days coming up with expected temps in the 40s. I’ll probably go out and play around a bit.

Bob P wrote:

Mostly I wanted to know was whether there was a even chance of catching

There is always a chance of catching.

I’d be checking out the shore spots near the Ford dam right now. Or near fort snelling.

You really need deep water near your shore spots to get anything going on a day time bite. Not to say you can get them shallow but it’s unlikely.

The rock wall on the MPLS side near the dam drops fast….you get to it through Minnehaha park. The shoreline near the hidden falls boat launch has some opportunities. The hwy 5 area on the fort snelling side has some good shore fishing opts. Look for a video Mahtofire posted from a year or so ago on YouTube.

I’m with Beads….plastics or live bait. You can also slow roll a crank bait, especially if you have some rocks to bang them off of. If you think you’re moving slow go even slower regardless of the bait. A moxie fluttering in the current can be deadly right now.

PM me and I can give you a few more specifics.

Matt Moen wrote:

A moxie fluttering

This is specific to pool 2. I have beat bfnt Moxie’s and pulsers to death in the SAF pool with minimal luck.

Stick to ringworms or the original paddletails farther north IMO. Much different forage base.

Manomin Park off East River Rd is where Rice Creek dumps into the river. Good multi-species spot, but in December your mileage will vary. A few miles downstream on the other side is where Shingle Creek enters the river, which is also worth a shot.

dfresh wrote:

Manomin Park off East River Rd is where Rice Creek dumps into the river. Good multi-species spot, but in December your mileage will vary.

Thanks dfresh. That’s the area I was considering. I took a brief look yesterday. It’s good to know that there could be fish there. Rice Creek was really flowing fast by the trail bridge.

Follow up :

I went to Manomin Park on Tuesday (12/8) and Wednesday (12/9). I fished the mouth of Rice Creek and also a bit up and down the Mississippi on either side. No action. I also walked up Rice Creek to the spillway at Locke Lake. The water is pretty clear along Rice Creek and I didn’t see any fish hanging out.

Tuesday was pretty cold so I stayed less than an hour. Wednesday was a lot nicer and it was enjoyable to be out for a couple of hours. It’s a nice area that I’ll probably explore more next season.

Bob, I fish that entire stretch at all times of year, all species. Every spot has its shining moments at certain times.

Hope I don’t come off as an overly confident a$$ but I’d listen to my advice above.