Fall fishing on the Mississippi River Pool 10 can be hit or miss… One of the reasons are the amount of grass that is floating down stream making it nearly impossible to cast a jig or crank bait or even vertical jig !!
So when the opening comes you have to sneak out and pick specific points that will allow your bait to find the bottom and stay in the fish zone for as long as you can !! Finding these areas can be a task in itself … A couple of things I look for are the down stream island current breaks and away from wind blown sides of the river. The down stream side of an island… the current break there will usually hold fish all year long, but now is the time to really search it out because it’s about the only place you can get in with out getting a junked up with grass..If the winds are blowing stiff at or about 15 miles an hour , this will push the surface grass to one side or the other creating vast areas on the river you can drop your offering and maybe ever pull some crank baits if your lucky..
Handlining helps in this situation. You have the ability to dodge some of the grass you see on the surface and there is also several points on down the cable that the grass can get caught up on before it fouls the crank bait. The weights I use this time of year.. and like always is determined by the amount of flow. Keeping the angle of the cable in your hand to the weight on the bottom should be around 45 deg.
The baits I like to use this time of year have a little more action like the Rapala J-7’s and the JSSR 5 and 7 is various color patterns.. The jointed baits can give off more of a vibration and trigger some of the less then aggressive fish to take a swipe at it !! Also do not hesitate to pop on a larger profile bait like the BX Minnow or even a Rapala Husky Jerk.. The fall brings on big fish with big appetites and you never know when that trophy may come on handline gear !!
If by chance you can find a wing dam that opens up and allows you to throw a crank bait or two do not pass it up.. As you know if your a fall walleye fisherman, the eyes love to find their dinner on wingdams… Just like this walleye was fooled by a Hot Perch Storm Smash Shad !!
The Tug Is The Drug !!