Mississippi River Smallmouth Bass report 7-6-08

It’s finally that time of year where the smallmouth bass here on the Upper Mississippi River are actively chasing their prey with no remorse. A forage minnow tumbling down into a slower current break and its got about 3 nano seconds before it’s down the hatch of a hungry smallie. This makes for some awfully fun run and gun fishing none the less. As the day gets warmer and warmer, the fish get more and more aggressive.

Water levels are rapidly on the drop right now depending on the section of river you are fishing. 10” drop per day is not uncommon as of late, in fact fishing some of these shallow stretches have submerged gravel or rock piles in the morning and by early afternoon, these exact spots are in dry water. As you can imagine this makes for forever changing environments for staying on top of a good bite. What once worked last week may be completely different this week. One thing that I have found consistent no matter what section of river I have been on this past week is the most important factor of current…the more current you have, the more likely you are going to find some smallies close by. Even a plain outside bend of the river right now may have migrating smallies along it in search of food. This past weekend was just the case as we found fish widely spread out along outside bends of current swept shorelines. The high percentage areas however were the bottom ends of the shorelines where the fastest water exists and meets the slower water of the next inside bend.

Water temps are averaging around the 73-75 degree mark. This opens the door for many presentations that have worked well this past week. Some of my best locating presentations have been Jimmy D’s new revamped ¼ oz swim jig, swimming a YUM finesse tube on a 60 degree jig head, and the Rebel Pop-R. These 3 presentations have work well for my boat, with the Rebel Pop-R being the most popular amongst some of my guests for obvious reasons. The topwater explosions of these big river smallies are exciting to watch and keep you tuned into your lure all day long. Once you get into a high percentage location and have found a couple active fish with your aggressive search tools, Jimmy D’s Riverbugs step up to the plate nicely and pick off those less aggressive fish hanging on the next inside turn of the river. Depending on the current speeds you are fishing, 1/16th oz and 3/32 oz are my mainstay.

Warm summer temps are predicted once again this week. These warm sticky days are prefect for an active day on the water here on the upper miss. Numbers and size typically fill your day of fun right now with fish spread out. Even for inexperienced river fisherman, this is the ideal time of year to come and enjoy a fun day of catching some very aggressive fish on many different presentations.
See you all on the water.
Good luck to all!