Fishing Spots: Red Wing to Wabasha

Are there any spots along the backwater areas of the River between Red Wing and Wabasha that you guys WISH you could fish, but aren’t accessable by motor boat? I decided to focus my energies on kayak-fishing in hard-to-get-to areas and would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Putting in at Evert’s Resort, or the landing in the WI Channel, you can access a lot of places like Cookies Cut, and Goose Lake. Otherwise the Bay City area has shallower water, and less boat traffic.
Good Luck!
Tuck

Thanks for the info. I forgot to mention that I want to fish for bluegills or crappies. I realized last night (at about 3 a.m.) that I’m making things more difficult for myself because I’m not targeting one particular kind of fish. I’ll be kayaking along, trolling for walleyes or northerns until I hit upon a good panfish spot, so I switch rods and go for those, until I spot a good stand of lilypads and think to myself, I wonder if there are any bass in there? So I then I want to fish for bass! And now, I’m realizing that there may be MUSKIES lurking around there too! So I want to fish for THOSE! I’ve GOT to narrow my options, or I’m going to end up more of a nutcase than I already am. Or I’ll just have to carry rods/tackle for ALL possible fishing options.

Talked hubby into going kayak fishing with me tomorrow afternoon on the backwaters somewhere, so if any of you see two red kayaks, please stop by and say “hi”… but slow down first so you don’t dump us.

I’m not that familiar with the Red Wing area, but I know the Wabasha area fairly well. You can find some decent panfish almost anywhere in the Nelson Bottoms. The backwaters/sloughs along Hwy 25 is good. I would not suggest taking a kayak through Indian Slough to access any of these areas though. It can get a little leary in our deep V 18 footer. That water really flies through the first closing dam. If you are looking to make a day of it, there are some crazy sloughs (Gov’t Light, Parent, etc.)along the east bank just upriver from Wabasha. Dad and I have spent some time exploring back in some of these. Very peaceful and lots of wildlife. Depending on time of year you may even run into some huge white bass in the deeper holes.

As far as slowing down, I think most fishermen/fisherwomen respect everyone on the river. It’s the nuts (not all, but some) on the Jet-Ski’s, Waverunners, and other PWCs that sometimes show no respect. Sometimes I’d like to show them just how far I really can cast a 1oz. Dardevle ! Good luck!

If you want crappies, I used to get a bunch of them this time of year just south of the landing in Maided Rock along the rocks on the WI side. Very nice ones at that. A slip bobber, and about 5 feet of line below it to a jig and minnow ought to get you started!

Thanks for your suggestions! We’re going out today. I’ll let you know what we find.

We fished near Maiden Rock today (actually this evening by the time we got out there). I caught 3 sheepies (at least I think that’s what they were) and 1 crappie. The weather was warm, the scenery spectacular, and I caught fish. What could be better?! (Well, a walleye would have been nice… or a BUNCH of crappies)

And now, hubby and I are seriously talking about buying a boat when we lifted our middle-aged bodies out of our kayaks after sitting for 3 hours. So, there’s ANOTHER good thing about the day!

Thanks again for all your help guys (and gals)!

Good to hear you had a good day. Any pictures to show???

Not yet… because, as I was trying to get this MONSTER sheepie off my hook without actually TOUCHING the fish, so I could lift it up for hubby to take my picture with it… the sheepie made a last ditch attempt at getting free and succeeded while I was trying to get a good hold on him. So, no picture. (And yes, I know… I need to get over my squeamishness over handling fish I’m unfamiliar with!) What is the size of a normal sheepie anyway?

All sheepies are abnormal! But better than being skunked by far. Glad you had fun!

dd