Fall walleye fishing on the mighty Mississippi river is in full swing. The fish are actively feeding on a number of different lures and look to be putting on some pretty good weight. This mixed with some mild fall weather and great company in the boat has made for some fantastic fishing trips the the last few days. Fish like this nice pool 2 walleye have also helped to make some memorable trips out on the river.
As many know pitching various jigs and baits to the many river wing dams and shore line rocks is a main stay this time of year. This presentation is going strong right now. 3/16 and 1/4 ounce jigs tipped with a variety of BfishN tackle’s line of plastics and hair jigs have brought many nice walleye to the boat. Ring worms, paddle tails and even the new Moxie line of plastics have all gotten the fall river walleyes to react. A good solid thunk on the end of the line as these fish inhale these baits is the reaction Im talking about.
The flow on the river is still up a little bit but nothing like the high water we had seen just a week or so ago. Conditions are very fish-able. We have had good bites on both bright and cloudy days. Early mornings have been showing a good flurry of activity but there are still plenty of fish to catch the entire day. The day bite seems to be more of a few here, few there and with some jumping from spot to spot can still be pretty good. Here is Gary with a nice mid day walleye. It was a little windy that day but we still managed a pretty decent bite.
For those of you that pitching jigs to walleyes is not your thing there is some fantastic white bass action going on the river right now to. Many shoreline rocks and current breaks are holding these feisty fish. Jigs and plastics pitched to these areas work very well. Hair jigs in the 1/8 to 1/4 ounce range can be very effective to. Its hard not to spend a little time chasing these fish just about every trip out. They are such aggressive feeders, strong fighters and can be much more plentiful than walleyes. A perfect fish to get the kids into.
The ramps are till in good shape and with current conditions we should still have some great fishing for a number of weeks. Good luck to you that are getting out.
A few more from this last week.
I’ll be out there first thing monday AM. I was mighty tempted to make a break for it over the weekend but those leaves don’t rake themselves ya’ know. So tomorrow is my day.
Thanks for the report, Mike. And thanks for hopping in the boat with me late last week. It was a good time as always.
Here’s one of our larger fish from last week when Mike and I shared a boat.
Pro Blue Moxie!
Good luck tomorrow. It was great fishing with you the other day. Want to thank Gary and Joel for the company to the last few days. It has been some great fishing trips.
Still plenty of time left in the season for a guide trip if anyone is interested in going. Just give me a call or send me a PM and we’ll get you booked.
Thanks again guys.
Looks like I had the same idea about showing that great fish again to James.
Obviously we both can agree on that… lol
Hey Mike thank you!
It wasn’t night trolling on Mille Lacs. It was better! With hardly any boats, cooperative fish, and daylight hours 15 minutes from my house it was sweet! 
dd
Mike,
Great looking multiple river trips, closer to home and Great fish.
Nice fish guys!
Great read and pics Mike, dang nice fish dude
Great fish Mike!! I’m interested in some basic information how you like to work the plastics within the current on the Mighty Miss? Do you position the boat parallel with structure and diagonal cast following your plastic down current?? Is there a certain retrieve you have found to trigger fish most effectively on certain days?? Thanks Mike!!
Keep putting the hammer down on them!! 
Thanks Chris. There are a few different ways I like to approach pitching jigs but the most common is this. Anchor the boat about a cast distance above the dam. Then pitch the jigs out to the side of the boat and let the current sweep them across the wing dams as you slowly reel the line in. So yes this is pretty much a parallel presentation across the face and top of the wing dams.
Now this presentation can be changed up a lot of different ways. We can change the speed of the drifting lure by how fast the line is reeled in. They lure can be presented in a nice natural drift by holding the rod still or have a little more action by snapping the rod tip. The baits can be presented more in a retrieving fashion by parking the boat closer to the wing dam and basically just reeling them in or you can park a little farther away and let the jigs just rest and hover behind the boat.
Wing dam pitching can be fairly basic but as in most types of fishing its paying attention to those minor details like how they want a bait presented that can make all the difference.
Nice bunch o fish Mike.
Last couple weeks I’ve been noticing that fish have also been staging quite a ways out in front of the dam or structure I’m fishing. Lately I’ve been “sneaking up” on a dam or rockpile. I started doing this after accidentally catching a few fish right under my boat. Last Sunday morning I got a few nice fish that I would’ve normally anchored on top of.
Anybody else notice this pattern lately?
good tip on this one Jason. I was talking to Jake this weekend who spoke of a similar situation. I’ll let him chime in if he wants to give more specifics but suffice to say it might benefit us to drive up a little further and pitch back down to our anchor spot or even vertical those fish out in front with a heavier jig.
thoughts on the vertical pres???
Great report Mike, and great additions by the others here as well. There’s alot of information in this report for the experienced or novice P2 person, and everything in between. Thanks for taking the time to detail the bite so well!
I hope to be down there again sooner than later, but Mike I’m wondering when the bite really picks up from what you’ve seen in previous years? If I were looking to book a guide-trip, what two week period would you put your money on the biggest/most fish?
Joel
Two week period would you put your money on the biggest/most fish?
Thats a good question Joel. There are so many good bites that take place at different times of the year on Pool 2. We are on one of these “best times” right now and it should continue on well into November. As it gets into next month we will see the fish even put on more weight than what they are holding now and they are plenty thick right now. This may be the best time of year for a chance at a 8 to 10# walleye and get some decent numbers to.
In the early spring say March and even early April another bite happens on the Pool up river from where we fish now. This is for walleyes that are staging for spawning. This to can be a fantastic time of year for the biggest walleyes and a chance at a good 10# plus sized fish. We also get into some of the biggest saugers of the year at this time to. 20″+ saugers can be very common. Numbers of fish can be down this time of year from the fall bite but it can still be a very good bite and a good way for a guy to get back into open water fishing after ice fishing.
Another good time frame and I would say our best time for numbers of walleyes is early summer. Late May, June and well into July there are just flat out numbers of walleyes to be caught. The weather is nice. Plenty of birds and wild life running around on the shorelines and there are many ways to catch a walleye this time of year. If cold weather fishing is not your thing this is the time of year to go.
Joel. It might of been easier to answer when is not a good time to fish the river. To many good bites threw the year I guess its just a matter of what a person is looking for. We are on one of those “good bite” periods right now and I still have openings for this fall.
If anyone want to get out this falls we still have openings.
Great stuff Mike. Your report and follow ups can really help a guy get things dialed in just right.
Thanks Mike!! Great information!!