Mississippi River Pool 4 Bass

As the Simon and Garfunkel song goes “gee it’s great to be back home”. The week of September 6th was the Minnesota BASS Federation’s Tournament of Champions on the Whifefish Chain in Cross Lake MN. The highlight of the trip was the 11-pound sumo sucker in the photo. When I looked at the in the MN record book there are 7 species of suckers listed. This fish was heavier than all but two of the records so I took it to the MN DNR Fisheries office in Lake City to have it identified. Unfortunately, it’s a Greater Redhorse and the state Record is 11 pounds 13 ounces. That fish weighed more that my two-day total of bass for the tournament so let just leave it at that!

Wednesday afternoon, in the torrential rain, I fished the central portion of Lake Pepin on the WI side. This section has long stretches of shallow, sand/small rock strewn shore lines. In most of this section you need to be hundreds of yards from shore before you reach the 10’ depth line. There are few features in this section that jump out and say come fish me. But over the years I have experienced several spectacular catches of large and smallmouth bass along these shorelines. But the fish are migratory and seldom in the same location so I have to consider the area unreliable. However, under dark skies or windy conditions I will fish this section with the intention of covering water. My approach is too make a long cast to shore with a Northland Mimic Minnow or Kalins Grub and swim the lure quickly back to the boat. The fish seem to move in to feed and are usually positioned at the first drop. The drop may be only a foot in anywhere one to three feet of water. The drop may be right against shore or half way back to the boat. Casts are placed about 10 yards apart until I contact a fish. Than I work the area thoroughly. A typical scenario is 15 minutes with no action, than four fish in four casts. The small mouth in the photo is the best of four fish that came from an inconspicuous looking stretch of sand shoreline.

The other attraction of his stretch is its multi-specie. The northern in the photo came out of about 1.5 feet of water. The measuring board is 24 inches long so this fish was about 28 inches long and well feed. I also caught sheephead, a catfish, and a 16” walleye that made dinner. It’s clear the fish in the section move regularly and I have to admit I don’t have a clue as to where they go when they are inactive. I know lots of the In-Depthangling regulars fish this stretch and I would love to hear what you experience has been.

The rest of the week was spent in the Wabasha area preparing for the Denny’s and In-Depth Angling bass tournaments. The fish must be thoroughly confused with the unusual weather. The water is warmer now than all of August. In general I found the fish in summer locations. The shad are thickest in vegetation in current and current brakes. However, the bass are starting to congregate in schools to start their migration toward fall and wintering areas. Plus, the big girls are starting to show-up. This week’s cooler weather may start the movement. The heavy rain of Wednesday and Thursday ruined several spots but it helped some areas. The dingy water allowed me to catch some spooky fish and the spinnerbait bite was going well. The photo is of an unusual colored largemouth. The black stripes made the fish look like a calico bass ( a saltwater specie) in the water. The black coloration is thought to be caused by clearing infections and are usually only seen in the cool water periods. My thanks to all the people I flagged down to take photos.