Part one of my small water quest for big fish brings me to one of the many tributaries of the Ol Mississippi we love so much. The journey begins with a little bit of prep work as far as getting permission on "put in" and "take out points" for the boats. Since there aren’t many public launches on these small rivers its important to do this bit of homework.
Our two shallow water boats decked out with 12volt trolling motors begin the day casting #5 shad raps for the many walleye, bass,and northern pike that call this south eastern Minnesota river home. The nice thing about small rivers is that you fish them the same as you would the big rivers by targeting rocky shorelines, current breaks and seams and of course deep holes. I’m sure live bait and all different kinds of lures would work but we prefer casting raps.
One of the great things about these float trips is the relaxing fun family fishing time. With no fishing pressure and big fish opportunity it is a great place to introduce your family to fishing. When you come up to a likely fishing hole pull the boat up on shore and wade in to cool off, or pack a grill and stop for lunch.
The last thing I want to make sure to cover is safety. life jackets and throwables are not only the law but just plain common sense. Swift current and down trees can challenge your captain ability. Make sure to pay attention to the river ahead while you are fishing and have fun!
rod pike
marcus smallie
Jenn bass
rod’s walleye
Wallerbass1 he he he
Nice report Corey.
Reminds me of the trips I took growing up. Nice smallies.
Ron
Nice report Corey.
Great fish pics
thanks guys
Very nice multi-specie day on the water,,
Congrats..
Jack.
Now I know how you caught that flathead!
Very nice report!
Great report and wise use of under-used resources.
John
Nice report on a small rivery fishery,,,It looks like that river is about the same size as the Turkey river down here. Small rivers are a nice get away to fish this time of year and most of the fish don’t see many lures and hear many motors.
That looks like a blast!
Very nice report nothing like a relaxing fishing trip to bring friends and family together…As much as I like targeting big fish its a blast to go out just to relax and see what bites…looks like a fun time
..Jay
Awesome report!
That looks like such a fun weekend. Those smaller tribs are such gold mines that most people are unaware of what they can produce.
Good read!
Nice report Corey. Very education as to what those waters can hold.
Thanks, Bill
nice smallies!!! havent caught one of them in a while. nice gator too, were you on the vermillion river? i need to take the wife down to the river. had her out on lakes 4 times and not a single fish! always some options on rivers.
this particular trip was not the vermillion but they are all the same. you could duplicate this trip on any mississippi tributary!!!!