Its been about 2 weeks since I have made it back to the upper miss due to a couple out of town vacations. When I arrived at the river this past weekend I noticed there were plenty of changes and some new water awaiting me. The river had dropped dramatically in the section of river that I have been fishing. Needless to say, areas I had fish going a few weeks ago looked to be dry land now. That’s fishing a river for you though, right! A constantly changing system!
Saturday Tom Wallrich and I decided to run up a river that feeds into the Mississippi. Based on the low water we had, the run up the feeder river would be adventurous to say the least. At times we were running through 4-6" of water to get to the next deeper 3-6 foot holes. Once we arrived at these deeper pools, we pitched tubes, Riverbugs, topwaters, and swim jigsaround the perimeter as well as out in the middle of the channel. After boating a couple smallies and a few bonus largemouth bass, we decided it was time we head back out to the main channel to look for a better shot at boating some better sized fish. Tom scored with a nice 19"+ fish right off the bat after moving. Tom and I both thought this was the change we needed to make to up our odds for the rest of the day, however the fish had other ideas. We spent the rest of the afternoon scrounging a few fish here and there for a lot of water we covered. We saw several fish that were in the shallows, but getting them to bite was a chore in itself and never really found that technique to get those sluggish smallies to bite. We left those fish alone and decided to switch back and try to cover as much water as we could and find some active fish. One here and one there was the name of the game for the rest of the day for us.
Although the bite was off that day for us, some of the techniques we used to best cover water were Jimmy D’s black 1/4oz swimjigs. These swim jigs have two longer feather trailers that come alive with a steady retrieve. Subtle but look very lively. The other technique we used for the run and gun approach was a Pop-R. When we did get a fish to show himself on these search lures, we would slow down with Jimmy D’s Riverbugs or a 3" tube and pitch it right back on them. Most of the time we got these fish to commit.
By day’s end, Tom and I had about 25 fish and only a couple nice sized fish. I think the dramatic drop in water levels had to play a big role in a somewhat off the pace bite we experienced or we just had an off day. Either way its always fun fishing with you Tom. Tom is one that likes to explore during our trips. Hit some good spots right away and then go explore and find some new water or water I have not fished for awhile. Thanks again Tom and see you next week!
Awesome report Steve and way to adapt to the ever changin river conditions.!
Hey Blue
I’m thinking we need to visit the Northern Miss sometime soon. 
Nice report Steve!
Hey Lip….Since Blue is always working
I will join you! 
Glad to see you back on the Miss.
I’ve been off the water for nearly 2 weeks also but plan on changing that Wed. morning. Far too long to be away. Are you going to be at the campground this w-end?
Calvin, how about early August
Great report, Steve!!! Thanks!!!!
Yes, I will be there from Thursday-Monday. Stop by and say hi!
FYI…. The river has been dropping quite a bit lately. We sure could use the rain!
McGregor area had an inch this morning. Maybe that will trickle down to you by then?????
Steve, I think I might have seen that guys pic in your boat a few times before. Your most loyal guide customer. I’m sure he’s learned a ton in your boat over the years. Way to go.
Looks like another great report Steve.
Tom spends a lot of time with Steve, that’s for sure. I hear about it every time he is out with me! He is a great guy that fishes with a lot of guides. At least we aren’t the LOW guide, right Steve!?
Yes, Tom is a great customer that loves to fish and hires a guide every time he wants to go fishing….which is several times a week. Mike Finke was kind enough to send him my way a couple years ago! Thank you Mike! Mike and I guide Tom quite a bit throughout the summer months.
You said it Mike. Tom sure was crabby after that trip. I had to laugh.
I had a chance to speak to quite a few of my buddies that are on the water chasing smallies from Anoka all the way up to north of St. Cloud and it sounds like the drop in water levels have everyone a bit perplexed. The bite appeared to be off the mark up and down the river overall. A few good sporadic bites, but nothing consistent. I think once the levels stabilze, I think the bite will come around pretty quickly. This is the time of year also where the smallies are in a bit of transition to those summer haunts. Things should turn around very soon. Still fish to be caught, but the best is yet to come very soon IMO!!!
Great report Steve, and some nice tanks too