new guy

hi,I’m wondering where to start?I would like to learn to fish the river.I am sooo new I don’t even know where to launch a boat!!(14ft aluminum)…I would be coming from the Menomonie,WI area and could access the Wabasha area or Redwing,Winona???anybody know where to start???

I would start by hiring one of the local guides for at least 4 hrs preferably for a day. The river is an awesome fishery but there are hazards. You can sure learn a lot in one day with an experienced professional.

Can’t agree more………….

If you want to learn the river and save a TON of time and frustration…………..hire a guide.

Hey new guy,

If you’ve never done the river before I’d suggest a start on Lake Pepin. The public access in Pepin WI is a VERY nice landing and will put you near some good water. I hope you like trolling ‘cuz it’s a big lake and the active fish will be scattered. Concentrate on the 12′ – 18’ depths for sauger, a little shallower for walleye. Jointed raps have been very good for me as well as #7 & #9 shad raps. Colors – perch, craw, black/silver, etc. You might want to have a firetiger handy but I would start with the perch and craw first. Trolling speeds should be in the upper-2’s to upper-3’s. Don’t get stuck trying to crawl along. Speed triggers a good number of fish this time of year.

Areas to hit would be Horseshoe Bay, Deer Is. and Bogus Bay/Pt. If you need a map Hot Spots makes a good one for Pool 4 and you can pick that up at Fleetfarms, Ganders, etc.

Hope this helps. Post up your results when you get back and share what you’ve found with everyone else.

I would hire a guide. It is a lot of water and you will learn a lot. Those guys are good down there, you would not be dissapointed.

I would agree with these guys. I haven’t fished the river much down there unless it was a back water. I got really frustrated because I wasn’t catching fish. I’ve learned the hard way. These guys on here know what they are talking about. It is worth the time and money.

Welcome to IDA new guy

I would also highly recommend you hire a guide for your first time out on pool 4, it would take a life time to learn on your own what you will learn from these guys in just one day, well worth the money.

Here is who I would recommend: Moving Waters Guide Service

And after you have fished with one of these guys you will have to change your handle from skunked to catchin!

A guide would be the fastest way to learn some stuff on fishing the river. For me it’s a bit pricey, but the guys I’ve seen and read about on this website know what they are doing when it comes to walleye. I’ve seen good smallmouth bass guides on this site. Not many reports on the largemouth.

I’ve learned the bass fishing on the river by trial and error since around 1984. It was a loooong process. However, I’d say the Mississippi River Pool 4 and Pool 5 are some of the best places around for numbers and size of smallmouth/largemouth bass. You may get some bigger bass on some lakes in Western WI, but those lakes are usually overfished when compared to the area of Pool 4 or Pool 5.

Lower Pool 4 has the Alma marina (just north of Alma) which is a great landing. Pool 5 has landings in Alma on the river just before the power plant and another one in a back bay about 5 miles south of town (first right after the camping/houseboat rental place). Though it’s probably a lot closer for you to go to Lake Pepin.

hey skunked,

I have been fishing the river with alot of good fisherman. listen to these local river rats, they know what they are talking about. the other thing, spend some time on the water, that is the only way that you will be able to know the river really good. if i had it to do over agian. I would have hired a quide.

also welcome to the best fishing site on the web. everything you ever needed to know can be found on this website.

shane

Very interesting post? Sets the bar at a whole new level for detailed info Water Guy…that’s what I call leading by example

It is good info. I’ve never known H2O to hold back much on the info. It’s one of the many things that makes him a pretty stand up fisherman in my book.