Dubuque Mississippi River Fishing

Maybe you can give me some pointers. I just bought my first boat. Went out on Miss. River Monday (25th). I hit wingdams with 3 way, floater and minnow. Then any rocky area with rat-l-traps and beatle spins. All I produced was 1 white bass. There is so much backwater, I really didn’t know where to start. Any suggestions of locations and baits. I launched out of Schmidt.

Thanks for any input. I hope to head out Thursday night and/or Friday (after I hit Cabelas)

Twisted

Welcome to IDA Mr. Twister! I can’t help you with pool 12, but if you get down to the Clinton area, give me a shout!

Welcome Mr. Twister!

Nice to have another DBQ area IDA member. I am a Dubuquer that spends a great deal of time here on the upper half of pool 12. I also fish several other pools throughout the course of the year. With gas prices as high as they are I plan on spending even more time fishing right at DBQ this year.

First of all what species of fish are you most interested in pursuing? With most species the time of year, the river and weather conditions determine when and where they feed.
For instance right now the walleye are finishing up the annual spawn and beginning to congregate on structures such
as wingdams. However the river is running high and the current is whistling making the majority of wingdams unfishable. With river conditions as they are look for wingdams and other structures that are out of the heaviest current. Right now is a good time to be crappie fishing in the backwaters if crappies are what you want and both smallmouth and largemouth fishing is picking up. Northerns can be caught in the backwaters right now as well. I have heard of people catching nice white bass (stripers) up in O’Leary’s lake. All kinds of fish to be caught. Decisions, decisions.

It sounds like you have done some 3-way fishing in the past for walleye. As the river drops the wingdam bite will really turn on. Give it another foot or two drop before hitting most of the wingdams. Pool 12 has so many good wingdams to choose from. The best advice I can give you is to spend as much time on the water as you can. Experience is the best teacher you can have.

Eyehunter

First, John – thanks for the invite. Are you ever available through the week? Weekends are tough for me, but any other time I would love to meet up with you? Your boat or mine?

Second, I am a walleye fisherman. This river thing is new to me. I have been reading books and watching tv all winter to prepare. Now I finally have the boat. Anyway, on Wing dams should you use minnow, rapalas, or jigs this time of year?

Second choice is crappie. Where in the backwaters? You don’t have to reveal any secret holes – but any general direction. So much backwater.

Distant 3rd is smallmouth.

Thanks for insights.

Twisted

I like the cut of your jib placing walleye as your #1 choice of quarry. Right now walleye can be caught all kinds of ways. Whatever you have the most confidence using will be your best bet. A couple weeks ago I was getting some nice walleye pitching/casting jigs tipped with plastics onto riprap shorelines. I’m sure that this method is still producing. Just look for eddys or slack current areas along the riprap. I have also caught walleye on wingdams out of the heavy current using 3-way DBQ rigs with 1oz drop jig and a long line tipped with a fat nightcrawler.
Walleye just cannot pass up a nightcrawler. Most of the walleye fisherpeople I know in this area fish either nightcrawlers and/or leeches this time of the year when fishing live bait. This past week I was getting nice walleyes in pool 9 pulling (trolling) double rapala 3-way rigs along the sides of the channel. Right now you can catch walleye on crankbaits, jigs, spinner rigs, 3-ways and live bait rigs. The problem is finding the fish and getting your offering in front of them. I haven’t been out on pool 12 for over a week now but hope to get out some night this week.

Crappies can be found along the banks and around snags in your deeper backwater lakes and slower running sloughs. I like using tiny tube jigs or tiny road runners on ultralight rods. Frentress Lake is a good place to try. Go back in the marina area where the Silver Eagle used to be moored and fish all around the marina pitching your jig close to any cover or snag. Another area that can be productive for crappie is along the Wisconsin shoreline above the 151/61 bridge. Start upstream a couple hundred yards above the bridge and work your way upstream. If you can get your boat into Heron Pond behind the dog track fish the snags in there. Sometimes this can be a really hot spot and then other times you won’t get so much as a hit.

Best of luck and enjoy the river and your new boat.

Eyehunter

Mr Twister, for crappies sometimes you can pick up a few down in Stone Lake and Tippy Lake both of these are backwater lakes below Frentress Lake.You won’t have any problem getting into Stone Lake just take it slow,now Tippy Lake is shallow getting in but once you get back there you will find better water. Good Luck and welcome to IDA. Rick,

Mr T, yep, I am available during the week. In fact, weekdays are generally better for me, and as the weather warms, better for fishing also.
Keep an eye on the “Trip Swap” forum, when I have an outing planned and have an open seat, I will be posting there. Can also send a p.m. if you have a free day and if I am not working, we’ll see what we can do!
This is a great place to learn, read all you can and then put what you learn to use on the water as soon as possible. One of the toughest lessons on this river is that no two days seem to ever be alike, gotta adjust as the fish adjust.