New to River fishing – Few (dozen) questions

Greetings all!

I recently decided to get back into fishing. I grew up in Texas and fished for bass often with my Dad. This was mostly fishing with plastic worms, jogs, and hard plastic topwater lures.

I bought a new boat a week or so ago and since I live in Eagan, decided to give the river a try. We went up to the Ford dam (what is the name of that island next to the lock?). Mainly anchored off to the side of the island in slack water and used crankbaits. Caught 1 small northern.

I learned a few things though:

1. I don’t know squat about how to catch a walleye in Minnesota.

2. My anchor is too small.

3. I am going to have to spend a lot of money on new tackle.

I would like to ask for some help from the folks on this forum. I have already read about trolling techniques and wing dam fishing (not sure what those are, but I think I would recognize one). I was wondering if I can get some feedback on lures and presentation.

1. What are “ringies”? If this refers to a plastic “ring” worm, then how are they commonly fished in the river? Texas rigged, Carolina rigged? Jig heads?

2. What are some of the more common crankbaits? I have some RattleTraps and a couple of “wally divers”. What else should I stock up on? What are good colors and sizes?

3. Live bait. Is it common to use live bait on the river for Walleye? If so, what is the most common type? Leeches? minnows? crawlers? How is it commonly fished? Live bait rigs? Jigs?

4. Presentation. As I mentioned, I have read a few posts on trolling, but to be honest, that is NOT my favorite technique. Is it productive to float with an electric motore and cast? Anchor and cast?

Thanks in advance for any info y’all can provide. I apologize for the length of this post. I guess I have been storing up a few questions after a few days of reading all the excelents posts in this forum.

Elonm
Eagan

Sounds like you are learning all ready. One does need a good anchor for the river.
I would think with all the pitching a bass fisherman does you should be right in line to catch walleyes on the river. Deep diving cranks pitched to the shore lines and wingdams. Ringworms on jigs pitched to the shorelines and wingdams. Just picture the walleyes using the shallows during high water and low light periods and during clearer water and middle of the day moving deeper. Throw in about a million other different conditions that make a walleye (or any other fish) do what it does and you should be right on them.

Trolling and pitching should work great in many areas. Hidden falls is on that comes to mind.

Fire tiger, Chartruse, White, Craw colors, are some of my favorite crankbait colors.
Bomber 5A is my go to bait. Shad raps, Grappler shads. I like something with a lip to get you down the bottom and tap it a little.
Hope this helps. See you on the water.

You might want to consider watching videos on this subject the IDA staff offer a excellent video on fishing plastics on the river plus there are many others out there that are very good on river walleyes. You also might consider hiring a guide they can answer alot of questions with hands on learning another tip would be if you could fish a pro am on the river would help also

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1. What are “ringies”? If this refers to a plastic “ring” worm, then how are they commonly fished in the river? Texas rigged, Carolina rigged? Jig heads?

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Yes, Ringworms. Usually the 4 inch version and usually fished on a jighead. Pick them up at http://www.bfishntackle.com/

ELONM;Please let me be the first one to invite you to the IDA get together being held at EVERTS RESORT on Saturday July 31, a great group of people will be there with tons of river fishing knowledge.A fishing tournament is planned fo the day,I would think someone would have an open spot for you.Hope to see you there.

Thank you all for the information. I appreciate your response.

I did not think of buying some videos on the subject. You mentioned that I could get them from the IDA field staff, but I looked over the site and can’t seem to find the spot to order these videos. I apologize if I am overlooking something blatently obvious.

Thanks also for the invite to the IDA gathering on the 31st. Unfortunately, I will be out of town that weekend.

I am getting excited about these rings worms. This is familiar territory for me.

Once again, I appreciate the information everyone has generously shared so far.

Elonm

I know I have said this before in other posts, but at risk of being labeled an kisser, you can’t go wrong with booking a trip with one of the fellas that guides who also regularly post on this site.

I took a trip with IDA guru ecnook this past May and I learned an awful lot about the river. Golfers do it all the time, they hire an experienced player to show them some pointers. I don’t think of it as guiding, I think of it as teaching. The cost is very reasonable when you consider what you will learn when you are on your trip.

I am new to the midwest, having arrived from the Middle Atlantic last October. I took my new boat in the river last week and I have been starting to catch walleyes and saugers using the techniques that I learned while on the water with Dave, and what I have picked up from the IDA brotherhood.

By going on a guided trip, you’ll catch some fish and start to see what types of areas hold the fish, how the bites feel, and what tackle works. You can’t go wrong.

Regards,

Joe Jiacino

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I did not think of buying some videos on the subject. You mentioned that I could get them from the IDA field staff, but I looked over the site and can’t seem to find the spot to order these videos.

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In-Depth Angling’s Mastering Plastics for River Walleyes

I agree with KornKing………

Get a good guide…..

I’ve fished below the dam on Pool 4 a few times in early spring and late fall for walleyes……….Did ok, but I wanted to learn more……

I’m the type of person that would rather go home empty handed than “lower my standards” to hire a guide to teach me how to catch a walleye…….I didn’t need it………I thought……..

I went with James 2 times and he has “shown me the light”.

The biggest return of investment that you will get with a guide is this:
1: You won’t waste a ton of money on tackle that you will never use.
2: You will get set up right the first time when you buy the right rod/reel/line combos.
3: You will learn the basics of where to fish, why to fish, how to fish, when to fish, for what to fish. This is going to save you hours upon hours of your own time not learning squat…….

Lakes are different when you chase walleyes. It takes time, but you can pattern it………….River fishing is totally different. When they are there today and gone tomorrow……..you need to be able to understand why and where to go too……

James or Dustin can hook you up. Along with about 4 other top guides on this site (if not more).

I went with James 2 times, and I’ve talked with Dustin. These 2 are gurus. I learned more in 2 trips, than what I would of learned in 30 trips on my own to the river, along with listening to people talk on this site…………

Today, I can go to the river with confidence (not that I got it all figured out……..no I don’t), but atleast I don’t go home empty handed anymore……

I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it either……..There is nothing in it for me………..

PM me if you want and I can give you more details…………

Thanks again for the feedback. I can definitely see the benefit in hiring a good guide to get a feel for the river. I had planned on doing that to get a feel for fishing for Flatheads on the Minnesota, but it is probably jsut as good of an investment for Walleyes on the Mississippi.

Thanks also for the link for the video. I contact the site to ask a few questions on color prefences, and plan on purchasing the video and some ring worms (maybe some other stuff too)

Thanks again for all the help. This is the best site I have found as far as making someone feel welcome. I appreciate it.

David

#1 – The evolution of turning one’s self from a beginner into a comepetent and consistent walleye angler is a very rewarding journey. Every person here has been where you’re at right now and we’re happy to help in any way we can.

#2 – Hard to beat a 30 lb river anchor or a water spike for river fishing. The spike is my favorite.

#3 – We ALL spend WAY to much time and money on our fishing… lol

#4 – It can be very productive to cast from a carefully positioned boat and typically walleyes caught with this method tend to run larger than fish caught trolling. Target rip trap shorelines, the front faces of wingdams or sand flats and points that have a nice current seam or break along their edge.

Common crankbaits would include shad raps, wally divers, bombers, grappler shads and some of the lures from Reef Runner… Deep Little Rippers being my fave Reef runner for the river.

Live bait? Minnows in the cooler months and crawlers and leeches from late spring – early fall. Jigs w/ the minnows and I tend to move more towards using rigs in the summer months or dragging very light jigs in a non-vertical presentation.

Hope this and the other posts have helped get ya’ started. Don’t be afraid to holler at us as often as you like. That’s what the site is here for.

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1. I don’t know squat about how to catch a walleye in Minnesota.

2. My anchor is too small.

3. I am going to have to spend a lot of money on new tackle.

I would like to ask for some help from the folks on this forum. I have already read about trolling techniques and wing dam fishing (not sure what those are, but I think I would recognize one). I was wondering if I can get some feedback on lures and presentation.

1. What are “ringies”? If this refers to a plastic “ring” worm, then how are they commonly fished in the river? Texas rigged, Carolina rigged? Jig heads?

2. What are some of the more common crankbaits? I have some RattleTraps and a couple of “wally divers”. What else should I stock up on? What are good colors and sizes?

3. Live bait. Is it common to use live bait on the river for Walleye? If so, what is the most common type? Leeches? minnows? crawlers? How is it commonly fished? Live bait rigs? Jigs?

4. Presentation. As I mentioned, I have read a few posts on trolling, but to be honest, that is NOT my favorite technique. Is it productive to float with an electric motore and cast? Anchor and cast?

Thanks in advance for any info y’all can provide. I apologize for the length of this post. I guess I have been storing up a few questions after a few days of reading all the excelents posts in this forum.

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