Mississippi River Walleye Fishing Report 11-01-07

I have had the chance to hit the big river three times since my last report. The walleye bite on two of my last three trips was great for the bigger walleye in the mid to upper twenty inch class. .

My presentation has remained the same, casting in to the shallows of the river bank for these bigger fish, 10’ of water and less has been most productive for my boat. I have mixed things up quite a bit on my bait selections, anything from hair jigs, plastics and even a plain ol’ jig and minnow. I have been fortunate to concentrate on a couple of good areas with big walleyes prowling around. When those bigger fish get “hot” (active), I have taken the opportunity to play with some of the baits that do not see that much time in my boat. Baits that other anglers will write, or tell me about in conversation on the river that have been successful for them. I am always up for trying something new out on the water, I’ll let the walleyes decide if some of these baits will build my confidence level in them. I do it every year an have yet to find a bait that will out produce the ringworms and k-grubs in my boat. . Maybe it’s a confidence thing

My best bait over the last couple of trips for the bigger walleye has still been the 5” fire cracker k-grubs on a sour apple or black colored precision head. During the down time, when the fish have been in more of a neutral feeding mode, the purple/chartreuse tail ringworm on a chartreuse/orange precision head and a firecracker chartreuse tail ring worm on a sour apple head have been best for my boat.

Last week I shared my boat with Rochelle Thompson and her father Fran for a day of walleye chasing. Our day went very well with our best walleye of the day just short of 11lbs I am pictured here in this report with that walleye. The 3 of us had a great day for the bigger walleye with 8 walleyes over 5lbs out of 16 walleyes we only had two eaters for the day. The rest of these big girls went back to be caught another day. Just an FYI……the 10lb+ fish that I caught on this day had been caught in the last couple of weeks. I could see where it had been hooked by another angler then released to fight me on this fine day. Thanks to whomever that was for letting her go back so I could have the chance to put her in my net . Catch and release works! . It was a great time sharing my boat with the two of you. I am anxiously waiting for our next trip ! I will have other pictures from our day posted below.

This past weekend I shared my boat with fellow IDA’er Kirt Hedquist. The main goal of the trip for Kirt was to ask questions and learn more about searching the for those bigger walleye that roam the system. The morning bite was good for the two of us on this day. Almost to good. The fish fed really quick in the morning right at sun-up then took the rest of the day off Kirt and I boated 9 walleye right away in the morning with 7 of our fish in the 23 ½ -26” class. Kirt is pictured here with the biggest fish of the trip. This picture really does not do this fish justice as it was built like a tank for a 26”eye. This walleye was close to 8lbs and for a 26” fish, that’s big !The two of us pounded around the rest of the day only to boat 5 more walleye in the 17“-21”class. It was a pleasure sharing my boat with you Kirt. I had a great time and am looking forward to doing it again in the future.

Yesterday I shared my boat with Greg Feuerhelm and his buddy Big Al. Anyone who was out and about yesterday surely noticed how hard the wind was blowing The three of us proceeded to cast heavy jigs to the shallows with minimal results. We were able to boat 2 decent walleyes in the 21” class and lose a few at the boat, before deciding the wind was going to win the battle in the area we were targeting on this day . We fished a couple of areas, that I have not fished yet this season, where the wind was a bit on the lighter side with out any biters. With such windy conditions, our fishing areas were limited. In the afternoon hours we focused on a couple of current breaks, that were “somewhat less” wind prone. These areas only produced sauger and 1 walleye. There was no definite pattern for the sauger for us on this day. We caught sauger on paddle tails, ring worms, hair jigs and jig/minnow. It was great time getting blown around the river with the two of you yesterday Unfortunately, the big walleyes won on this day. The way I see it, it was only because the wind had us handicapped . I did get your message Greg and would just like to thank you and Al again as well for spending a day in my boat. I am looking forward to the next time we hook up for a day of walleye chasing!

Right now the mighty river is on the down fall. The debris is minimal but the water clarity is still on the stained side for this time of year. With the water levels falling, the walleye and sauger will be moving around quite a bit. Be prepared to be mobile and adjust your location day to day!

On a side note……… I do have two available dates left in November. The 11th and 18th if anyone is interested in trying to boat some of those mighty Mississippi River walleyes?

I’ll see ya on the river!