If you have a cast net or an umbrella net (both available at fleetfarm), you can catch shinners all year long on the river.
Good luck.

thanks for the replies. forgot Minnehaha creek, I will have to check that out. Yeah I have a good spot for bullhead, and I net shiners and shad, but I have never done that well using bullheads for bait, and shad die too easily.

leinieman
what species do you typically go after?
I fish the Mississippi quite abit around the mouth of the Chippewa, but I don’t fish the Chippewa much due to how hard it is to navigate.

There is some pretty good smallie and catfishing (both channels and flatheads)The lower Chippewa is a great river to float, as it has a ton of sandbars and shallow flats. The above mentioned flats and sanbars keep the boats to a minimum, but you can run into some jet skiers, and the occasionl fan boat.
I have never floated it, but even with my jon boat the trip takes a while.
Good luck.