Peter Herman wrote:

Went out today late morning to about 2:30pm today. Windy day on the river. Spent about 45 minutes at the confluence, marked a lot of fish. Lots of boats stopping through, no fish caught. Went down river and marked some fish down river of a hole. Marked huge school of fish on shallower flat across channel from the hole but only a couple snagged rough fish and figured it was big school of rough fish. Another boat had come in around that hole and was catching some fish, probably saw them catch a dozen or more. We slid out to the main channel and found a handful of saugers and lost or missed quite a few more before we headed in. Nothing big but a couple fat 15-18”ers. Wish I could have stayed and see what the evening brought but that’s what time allowed.

Does the hole you are talking about happen to be immediately below a railroad bridge?

Does the hole you are talking about happen to be immediately below a railroad bridge?

Anyone care to share some tips on where/how I might get on some fish at night from shore? It’d be greatly appreciated.

You’re talking about the main channel side of Raspberry Island? The side channel on the other side of the island was open enough to fish from shore yesterday too when I went down there scouting for spots but I just wasn’t sure if it would have enough depth to hold fish in it. And what would you personally use if you were me?

I wanna try bottom fishing with crawlers or jigging/cranking for eyes around Raspberry Island where there is open water. What are my odds of getting bit? Would there even be fish around there or do they all pretty much winter elsewhere? If there even is fish in that area what spots would hold fish right now? Assuming the fish in that area do have a preference for certain spots over others.

Thank you for the update!

Hey Mike, is this where that Sunkin barge is that you mentioned?

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Anyone getting out any time soon?

Where could a guy get on some fish-of any species-from shore potentially this time of year? If the spots in question even exist. I kinda got clued in to where I should be targeting fish a few weeks ago before the river froze over bottom fishing the deep eddies between those riprap points that jut out from shore on the upstream bend of the river in Lilydale. Kind of a Eureka moment for me it was as I’ve had an idea of where fish SHOULD be in a river pre-ice but until then I have always struck out when targeting any species on my very late fall early winter shore river fishing forays. I really never took into consideration how choosing a spot to fish based on depth, flow, and other variables is absolutely essential that time of year to actually find fish. I HAD taken these things into consideration in my past attempts to a much lesser degree though and that’s where I was messing up. At least that’s my thoughts on it.

Oohh gotcha, I know where you’re talking about. I saw that the other morning when I was out biking around looking for open water spots to potentially shore fish. Do you think fish stack up there?

By metro outlet are you talking about what I have wondered to be a stormwater runoff below the Wabasha Ave bridge that comes out on the downtown side? If so, Is it safe to presume that there might be fish there?

Thank you Matt Moen for the feedback. I do appreciate it.

Will the current conditions factor in where Walleyes position themselves? Like will Walleyes relate more to shoreline structure, Eddie’s, and whatnot specifically due to the rising water levels or does warming shallows, baitfish location, and spawning have a more important role in locational factors? Any other insight is appreciated also.

mahtofire14 wrote:

Looking out the window of my hospital unit overlooking the Miss on campus, it’s wide open! Not sure what it’s like downstream but there’s just a few feet of ice on the shores.

Where at? I’m not sure of where you’re talking about.

I’ll have to try the Purple w/ Chart.

Chart/Grn core or Chart/Org core? And Moxi or Pulse-R? Night/day make a difference? Glitter?

Niiice, Chartreuse/Green core? That’s what I got, I was debating on the Orange/Green core but from what I’ve seen firsthand Chartreuse has been a very productive color for Saugers on the Minnesota river.

Yeah I was thinking that might be so. I’ve heard that a couple times but I’d never actually fished there myself. Sounds like a good idea, I’ll definitely have to give it a whirl tomorrow. I ended up heading back early today because I received an email about a bag of AuthentX Pulse-R’s is been waiting on getting delivered. I’ve got fatheads but I hear soft plastics tend to work better, I know they don’t fall off as much anyway so that’s a plus haha. I can see how they would seeing as how they’re something different.

Well it’s looking like tomorrow will be my best bet but I’m feeling good, gonna try the hole by the left end of Kaposia landing fields in an hour or so if anybody happens to be out that way.🎣

I’m hoofing it, hopefully the river’s fishable😬

Well it’s looking like tomorrow will be my best bet but I’m feeling good, gonna try the hole by the left end of Kaposia landing fields in an hour or so if anybody happens to be out that way.🎣

I’m hoofing it, hopefully the river’s fishable😬

Well it’s looking like tomorrow will be my best bet but I’m feeling good, gonna try the hole by the left end of Kaposia landing fields in an hour or so if anybody happens to be out that way.🎣

I’m hoofing it, hopefully the river’s fishable😬

Anyone been out on the river since the ice melted? I’ve been fishing Pickerel lake in Lilydsle and the bite has been nonstop and all were decent sized fish (Crappie, Northern Pike, 1 Walleye) and a couple of em were biggins. Needless to say it’s kept me satisfied but there’s something about open water fishing that’s just hard to beat for me. By no means am I willing to trade a limit for getting skunked though. Just thought I’d get see what’s going on with the river bite, or if it’s even existent.

There’s good fishing on Chisago? I’ve never been there.

I tried that spot yesterday on the downstream point of Raspberry Island on the Main channel side of that shelf. Didn’t stay too long but I agree it definitely looks like it has potential, I’m probably gonna focus my efforts on a few spots that are the most likely to hold fish. The island being one and Abe Fischer^ mentioned the Railroad bridge at Kaposia Landing, I’d been thinking of trying the downstream side for almost about a month now cause I’d seen there’s a decent drop off fairly close to shore there, just hadn’t done it yet. With the temps dropping it’s not really practical to switch spots a lot especially since I’m on foot. It’s likely why I haven’t been catching fish, not enough effort or the right spots. I’ve been stuck on my summer spots for so long I hadn’t used good foresight in preparation for the winter. Thank you for the replies, reaffirmed my thoughts on sticking to those 2 areas. If the weather gets into the mid 30’s I’m gonna try upstream from Lilydale and maybe at the point of Pike? Island at the convergence, any thoughts on which river in general is better fishing this time of year? I caught a bunch of decent Saugers and a couple Walleyes 2 years ago in late November at the mouth of the Blackdog lake spillway? where it flows into the Minnesota river but I’ve never fished there other than those couple days and with the geography of rivers being so variable I didn’t want to go out of my way for a wasted effort if it’s not a consistently productive spot.

Wondering if anyone knows of any productive spots to bank fish Walleye/Sauger between Kaposia landing fields and the Lilydale boat launch. I’ve been dragging and jigging minnows and soft plastic paddletails really slowly primarily between the Smith Ave bridge and Robert St bridge and haven’t caught a single fish or even gotten a bite for the past 3 weeks. TIA

LabDaddy1 wrote:

Dom- if you’re looking for info in fishing the river I would post in the Mississippi River sub forums.

I wasn’t aware those forums had been created. Thank you for letting me know.

Ice on ponds/lakes near West Side Saint Paul area or nearby cities within about a 6 mile radius from the West Side? I’ve been bank fishing pool 2 of the Mississippi from Lilydale down to the Wabasha st bridge nearly everyday for the past few weeks targeting walleye/Sauger/Smallmouth/ and rough fish and I haven’t gotten so much as a bite using crawlers, minnows, and artificials fished stationary and jigged, I’m at a bit of a loss here. I understand they’re not likely to be in the same areas that they’d normally be easily found during the summer but I’d think I’d at the very least have gotten a bite or two, I’ve tried fishing on the bottom with a small hook and whole crawler and it’d sit for a few hours without a nibble, maybe that’s not unusual and I’m just unaware of it but I mean for gods sake these fish are playing hard to get haha! I’m a diehard fisherman and just being out there is fun in general but it gets old and I’m considering trying lakes/ponds instead. TIA