Mississippi river

[catman872]

Went fishing on the mississippi river today and got skunked. Theres so much water its kinda hard to know where to start. We started out at about 10 am fishing the back of a wing dike in about 32 foot of water,nothin,then we went into more back-water area got a few bites but didnt catch nothing,my question is during the day what would be the best area to fish? i have a small jon boat so i really dont wanna be anchored in the middle of the river.also is the back-water part of the river worth bothering with or should i stay on the main river? 2 pounders or 60 pounders i dont care i just wanna catch some fish! any help?

[Kutter]

There's folks here who know far more than I do, but for starters, you were on the wrong side of the wing dike. Fish DO stay in the hole below a dike, but not to eat. When they get hungry, they head UPSTREAM. Next time, try fishing just up from the dike and a bit toward shore.

[NANNER]

Hey catman. Not disagreeing with Kutter, he has a TON of experience on the river, however I do have HUGE success on the wing dyke tips, in the deep holes. Kutter and I are getting together next week, and I'm hoping he will show me the intracies of fishing the upper side of the dykes. I ALWAYS fish the tips and have great success. Just last night, caught six blues 30, 17, 13, and a couple 7-8 pounders. A pretty good trip I thought. As well, I caught the 60# in my profile picture two weeks ago, right off of the tip of the wall way out in the channel. We were using big head carp for bait cut in 1 inch wide stips and 8 inches long or so. What kind of bait were you using? What type of Rigging? Weight? etc etc. I cant wait to see how Kutter fishes the upper side, as for me I do really well on the tips. I pull the boat just inside the tip of the dyke, on the down current side, and cast straight off the back of the boat. I prefer to use shad which I get in my cast net. I'll try using live ones on a couple rods, and some cut up on other rods until I figure out what they are hitting, then I give them what they want. We used Big Heads last night as one of them decided to jump into the boat and I quickly had 20 pounds of cut bait ready made. The blues love them, however flat heads prefer the live baits. This forum is slam full of great information, and you just need to figure out what works best for you. What area of the river are you fishing? Best Of Luck to you. Kutter, were still on for next week arnt we? How about in the next couple of days? arnt you off tuesdays? By the way catman, your bites back in the slack water were probably gar. They are bad this time of year. They drive me nuts so I dont fish in the backs of the coves. If you figure out how to get the gar to leave you alone let me know.

[crazy]

Hey you guys that fish the miss. do you fish a lot of back water for flatheads. Or do you all fish the dikes like we do on the mo? Would love to take my boat on the miss one day this summer. Have no idea where to go and how to fish it though.

[Kutter]

John, you have been having much better luck than me, this year. Apparently, your way works better than it has for me. I too fish close to the tips of the dikes, just on the oppisite side, upstream. I look for the first "dip" in the dike under the water, mentally remembering how far from the exposed dike. I then motor above the dike, about 15 ft toward shore and 120 ft or so upstream. After dropping the anchor, I float downstream to about 40 ft from the dike tip and tie the anchor rope off. Then I drop the rear anchor straight down. This leaves 2 productive areas to fish, one on each side of the boat. To the outward side, I cast about 10-15 ft straight upstream from the "dip" I mentioned. On the shore side, I'll cast straight back to the dike, about 10-15 ft from the exposed dike. Both locations have been productive for me. Now if the day ever comes that I find a way to stay warm enough and fish during the winter months, I would fish Jetdriver's downstream hole every time. Those that know me know that day will most likely never happen, I get cold below 70 degree's and freeze below 60.

Sounds like gar to me also. They stay in those backwaters all summer and (if) there are any cats in there, the gar will beat them to the bait every time. Drum will also be below the dikes in the shallower areas, and hit your bait constantly, but rarely get hooked.

Crazy, when your ready to head east and try the Miss out, post a thread and you'll get plenty of advice on where to put in at and where to fish. I used to fish below Alton Dam alot, between Woodriver, IL and the confluence of the Missouri River. No dikes to speak of up in that area, fished mostly upstream of the holes, which change year to year. Lot's of barge traffic up in that area and between that and the lack of safe spots to leave the truck and trailer, I quite fishing up there. Jetdriver and myself have been fishing below Festus this year, although the trip he mentioned above for next week, will be our first time fishing together.

John, I am working my days off this week, but it's still on for the 6th. Weather calls for clear & 85 during the day and 61 for the night. I'll bring my jacket. (I aint kidding)

[NANNER]

Thanks for all of the insight Kutter. I'm willing to give er a try. I can honestly say I have had a gangbuster summer. I'll bring all my latest photos with me on the sixth. We hammered them last night, and I lost a real hog, AGAIN. Thats fishin I guess. I'm happy with a 30 pounder though. I've done well with the shads, I have to be honest though, all of my real brutes this summer have come on cut baits. Certainly wouldnt break my heart if we get another boat visitor when we go out the sixth in the form of another big head. Those big blues pound those things. Cant wait to go fishin. I'm off till the sixth, so if you get bored, give me a call. Thanks again for all of the information.

[crazy]

Thanks kutter I'll make sure and do a post. It sounds like the fishing has been better on the Miss. this summer. Out west here in KC the fishing has been kind of disapointing here lately. A great night is 2 fish. Although 90% of our fish have been over 20 pounds so I can't complain all that much. Jetdriver I agree with you there them dang flying carp are some great bait. I'm starting to think it's easyer for them big blues to digest there smaller scales rather then the common carps larg scales. That and they just stink bad.

[NANNER]

I caught the 60 on common carp. I cut it the same way I do the Big Eyes. Those big blues are real piglets. I dont think they care what you give them. Sorta like me when someone puts a steak in front of me. haha. I like cutting my baits an inch wide, 8-10 inches long, and hooking it in the very end of the piece. If you held this in the current it would appear to swim. I've had good luck rigging this way. IMO, if you ball the baits up on the hook it interferes with the circle hooks ability to do its thing. I'm beginning to use stinger hooks to stop the occasional shortstrike on these baits. Best Of luck fishing to you.

[Kutter]

Mr. Allen, this is Tom's (Kutters) wife. Please, PLEASE do not let him talk you into throwing every fish back. My freezer is down to one bag of catfish. Pictures don't fry up well. Make sure he bring some home for me. Please!
Thanks, Linda

[NANNER]

Cant let the lady down. Tom, you best be catchin some fish. I'll let you have some of mine to keep her happy. :) Ifin we dont catch any fish, it will be Toms fault. LOL :p

[crazy]

Jetdriver, sounds like you fish the same way I do with carp. it almost looks like a big leach in the water. Although I cut my strips about 1 1/2-2 inches wide. Before I cut them up though, I take a small pail and cut the end of the carps tail off. Then hold the carp over the pail and let the blood drain into it. Then I take the carp and make my cut bait out of him. I let the strips soak in the blood to keep them nice and moist while i'm fishing.

[NANNER]

Thats a good idea with the pale and soaking the bait. I've been throwing my pieces on the front of the boat. I'll have to give that a try. I do like using those big cut baits. Good Luck Fishin!!!!!

[catman872]

jetdriver i was fishing with a 2 ounce sinker on bottom and about 12 inches up i had a #6 hook with fresh cut bluegill on it,even though i didnt catch anything that day i still think its the place to be that type of area anyway.
went out over the weekend to mark twain lake did some trotlining for them big twain flats,ended up catching 2 small channel.the fishing hasnt been very good for me,im down but not out! imma keep at um. might try some jugging next weekend on the salt river who knows. and even though the fishing hasnt been that great, the iced down beer sure does taste good :D

[NANNER]

Iced Down Beer has saved many a fishing trips. LOL. The fishing has been really slow out on the Miss the last four days too. We need a front to move through. I'm a firm believer that the nicer the weather, the worse the bite. Rumor has it that they are biting decent at night. I got a 27 pound Blue four nights ago, but that was it. Skunksville except for him. You may want to try reversing your set up a little bit. Try a Carolina Rig set up when fishing the Mississippi. I've found that if those fish feel any weight at all they will drop it, especially the bigger ones. I use a 1 1/2 ounce weight with a bead, then a barrel swivel (300 pound breaking strength) and about 18 inches of leader to a size 9 Gamagatsu circle hook. With this set up, the only tension the fish will feel is your rod tip, which isnt such a bad thing. Dont be afraid to try different things and find what works for you. I hope the fish start bitin for you as well as for me. I am going with KUTTER tomorrow afternoon, and well let everyone know how we do. Best Of luck to you. :cool:

[Dave53]

Jetdriver, what do you call a stinger hook? Did you guys do any good on the 6th?

[NANNER]

Hello Dave. Kutter and I fished for about 4 hours. I was a very, very gracious host and LET him catch a 15 pound Flat Head. I kept all of the fish off of my lines being as I didnt want to be a bad Host. Other than that one fish, we (I) got skunked. :mad: A stinger hook in a nutshell is an additional hook. It is usually attached to the regular hook via wire or monofilament. There are various and widely used applications to this set up. The stinger hook rig is designed to hook the short striking fish when you use large baits. Hope I answered your question. Best Of Luck Fishin

[catman872]

so was you fishing kutters method of fishing above the dyke?

[Kutter]

Nope, we fished his way this time. I think I got him curious enough to want to try above the dike one of these trips, though.

I was as good a guest as he was a host. I ONLY caught the one fish so as to not embarrass him in his own boat. Man, this was a new experience for me. Being in someone else boat meant I didn't have to do anything but fish. He launched the boat, caught the bait, drove from one wingdike to another and after it was over, loaded the boat onto the trailer. Fishing without the work is cool! Best of all was going home and not have to spend any time parking the boat/trailer and unloading everything. I'd of broke my skeg off a long time ago if I knew it would have gotten me out of all the work. :)

[NANNER]

Doesnt sound like Kutter will be in any hurry to get his skeg fixed. I had a good time. Hopefully we can catch more fish next time. As we found out from others, fishing had been pretty slow for awhile. I hope to catch the bite in October. Looks like I am going to have a week or two off in October Kutter so well have to go again. Next time, I wont be so gracious. I'll have a talk with my rods. LOL :cool:

[turtle1173]

Jetdriver,

Have you noticed any correlation between catching fish on the back side of dikes and whether the river is going up or down?

I've had good success on the upstream side of dikes this year, including 3 over 50 lbs, a 47, a 37.5 and a 43 (my friend with me caught this one on Saturday). Also had one that straightened out my 6/0 Kahle!

The one common thread is that the water was dropping every time. Just wondering if you have noticed a relationship.

[Kutter]

Shane, not to butt in on you, but Jetdriver and I have been wanting to get ahold of you. What advice would you have for cooler/cold weather on the Mississippi? I only know to fish the deeper holes and putting the bait right on their noses. Neither of us have fished cold weather, and want to try it this year. Of course, cold to me is when it's in the 60's, but Jetdriver insists we try waaaaaaaay down, like brrrrrrr weather. LOL

[turtle1173]

Kutter,

As you probably are aware, there are two theorys about cold water blues: Deep Water and Shallow Water :p

The one that straightened the hook, the 37.5, a 51 & a 54 were caught on the upstream side of wing dikes when the water was in the 40's. This was back in March. The first two were in 20 feet of water (in the same spot, on the same day). The last two were in 60' of water (in the same spot, on the same day).

I hope that answers your question :confused:

Seriously though ... I've got more questions than I have answers. I hope to do a lot more experimenting this winter.

Traditionally, they are supposed to be in the slack water areas behind wing dikes. In my stretch of the river, however, the wing dikes are rarely out of the water so fishing behind them is a problem, LOL. It's been fun with the water this low for this long here lately.

I plan to fish some areas behing the dikes where it cuts into the bank and has some deeper water. Or where I can anchor on top of the dike close to shore provided the current is not to horrific. But I plan on fishing some shallower stretches too. I found some mussels attached to the rocks of a wing dike a month or so ago (when the water first dropped down real good). If that's the case with many of the dikes, that might account for their shallow activity.

So many places to fish ... so little time!

[Kutter]

Aaaaaaaah, now I understand totally incompletely! :)

When the water is cold, fish either shallow or deep, current or slack and either above or below the dikes. Got it!

Will that work when the water is warm? LOL

[NANNER]

Hello Shane. Sounds like you have had a good summer also. Thats funny you asked that question because Kutter and I were talking about that the other day on the boat. I catch my best fish when the water levels are falling for sure. I dont do well on Blues at all when its rising or at a high water condition. May be I'm just not finding them. I do catch some Flats on rising/high water, but very few Blues especially big ones. So your right, I do see a direct correlation between falling water and the Big Blues Biting. Thinking back, all of my Biggest ones have come in low water conditions. I'm tied up until October, but well have to get together sometime. I primarily go after the Blues. Sounds like you do too. I'm looking forward to fishing the cold water bite as many BOC members say its the best time to go for the big ones. I'm pretty pumped up about it. Good Luck Fishin!!! :cool:

[NANNER]

Hey Kutter, I'll cast deep, you cast shallow, and I'll throw the dynamite sticks into the current. We ought to have them covered that way. :)

[Dave53]

Shane, Kutter...when you guys fish the up side of the wing dikes how near the heavy current are you fishing? Is it closer to the bank or near the end of the dike? dont know where to look for this hole you guys are talking about.

[crazy]

Dave it's really pretty simple. There is going to be a trough that parallel's the dike. This is caused by the current being swept along the dike. This water that is being swept by the dike is also going a little faster. When i fish the upside of a dike i tend to cast right infront of his hole or in it.

[turtle1173]

Yep Kutter, I believe you got it, LOL.

Jetdriver, I very rarely fish shallow, so maybe it might be worth a try to fish some shallow areas when the water is coming up. I can't ever get myself to do it but I might have to tie myself down and make it happen!

I was really hoping you would tell me that you caught your good fish on the backside of dikes while the water is rising. That way I would have it all covered, LOL. Yeah, we'll have to plan a trip.

I would like to catch more flats but night fishing is few and far between. I do catch some flats every year during the day but nothing huge. Sometimes when I'm out in the afternoon, I'll setup for Flats when the sun is getting ready to go down. Then I'll fish till dark. The very first time I did this (3 years ago) I caught a 34 lb Flat. 18 lbs has been my biggest one since :confused:. Do you do much good with Flatheads?

Dave, on the upstream side of a dike, the heaviest current is going to be out by the tip. I don't care to fish real heavy current above a dike (I've had some close calls with the anchor not holding). If 8 ounces won't hold me on the bottom, I'm going to venture closer to shore above the dike. My experience this year has shown me that being right on the tip may not be necessary. My biggest fish have been caught while only being half way out to the tip. I let the current speed dictate how far out I anchor. My "theory" (for what its worth) is that the bait scent is going to end up in the same spot, whether you are above the tip or above somewhere in the middle. If there are active fish, they will find it.

With the water being low, this has allowed me to fish out at the tip relatively easy on certain dikes. Other dikes, however, have become more difficult to fish. This one dike in particular is real deep. But with the water this low, the speed towards the tip is excessive. 12 ounces won't hold you on the bottom. If you come in closer to shore, the current is going the opposite direction. Tough! Anyway, with the water up, it allows you to find the "medium" area where the current is not too much but not too little.

Anyway, this is a lot longer post than I intended, LOL.

[poopdeck [patrick]]

new guy on the rivernew guy on the riverWent fishing on the mississippi river today and got skunked. Theres so much water its kinda hard to know where to start. We started out at about 10 am fishing the back of a wing dike in about 32 foot of water,nothin,then we went into more back-water area got a few bites but didnt catch nothing,my question is during the day what would be the best area to fish? i have a small jon boat so i really dont wanna be anchored in the middle of the river.also is the back-water part of the river worth bothering with or should i stay on the main river? 2 pounders or 60 pounders i dont care i just wanna catch some fish! any help?

[poopdeck [patrick]]

[new guy here trying to figure it out. let me see if this goes through

[poopdeck [patrick]]

hello every one. i been fishing the river for years, from the bank mostly for flat heads, using bluegils. Ive caught a few monsters. This year took my sisters kids, two of them grown kids in their thirtys. They must be bad luck, we never got a bite So I say if we only had a boat we could really catch them. Well Ricky went out and bought a 16,000 bass boat, we been out at least 10 times and still havn/t caught anything I kind of like to think I know what I/m doing but we need some help.We been putting in at alton but can go any where around the st louis area. Were going out this evening any one got any advice.

[Dave53]

Thanks turtle..I for one have always set up on the down side of the dike but I hate all the tackle that I lose getting hung up and the last time I had 6 poles out and one good run .. ran 5 poles into a tangled mess..and I didn't get the fish! Going to give the upper side of the dike a try. So what your saying you find the deep hole and fish above it to the slack current side and let the bait bring the fish in..good idea..thanks again.

[NANNER]

Welcome to the BOC Patrick. Glad to have you here. If you search through the Missouri Threads, you will find several post on how we are fishing the wing dykes on the river. If you get south of the damn, you will find these dykes and faster current. You should be able to get into some fish that way. Good Luck Fishin. :cool:

[turtle1173]

Any of you guys up North of me catching any fish on the mighty Mississippi? Yesterday was a great day for catching!

I caught fish fairly equal between the upstream and downstream side of the dikes. Upstream produced 2- 5 lbers (Blue), a 26 (Blue), & a 30 lb Flathead (Hurray!). Downstream produced all blues: 5, 14, 25. I also got a 23 on a straight current area in between dikes.

I'm just trying to do my part to bring our two misunderstood sides together (the upstream and downstream sides), LOL.

[Dave53]

I went out Friday on the Missouri from Washington and fished every dike going up stream..45 min on the front and 45 on the back..after 8 hours, 2 sandwiches, and 5 cans of cold beverages..no fish! Not even a run. On the way back about 2 in the afternoon I stopped at one of my honey holes that I always catch 2 or 3 one or two pounders..(thought I would at least take something home besides a sun burn).. Anyhow, caught 3 small channels about 1 to 2 pounds, 1 flathead about 2 pounds and a 8.6 pound channel. I had a rod that I put on the dike about 15 ft out and I placed several large rocks on it..while sitting in the boat watching the other 6 rods I saw this fish hit the top of the water..then I noticed the rod (about 50 yards from the boat) bent over to the water.. Ran down to the rod..hooked the fish,,then realized the dip net was still in the boat so I had to play him to the boat.. That topped the day..it was not near as big as what you guys are catching but it sure made a beautiful day on the river a great day on the river. Thinking back..I dont know how I was able to run down that dike when I tripped three times walking back!

[RIVER-RAT]

Dave I try to fish that area at least 2-3 times a week. In fact I plan on going out this Wednesday Oct. 5th and Thursday 6th. What were you using for bait? If it's shad, where did you catch them. Was out last thursday night and had a hard time finding them.

[Dave53]

Riverrat, I went out on the Merimac by Pacific and went to an area called the craphole...its a discharge that always holds a lot of big (6 to 10") shad and a lot of shinners. I froze both. I got most of the bigger hits on the frozen shinners.. I checked the fish when I cleaned them and found they were also taking my cut shad..I had one channel about 2 and half pounds and I bet that fish had a half a pound of my shad and shinners in him! Going to have to figure a way to tie that bait on the hook I guess. If you have a jet prop I can give you directions to the craphole..holds good amount of bait.

[RIVER-RAT]

Thanks Dave, I really appreciate the help and advise. I don't have a jet prop however. Never fished the meramec cause i don't know that river and i'm scared i'd get my boat stuck. I have a 2072 RiverCat. I'm heading out onto the Missouri today, I'll let everybody know how we do. thanks again.

[NANNER]

I went out Friday on the Missouri from Washington and fished every dike going up stream..45 min on the front and 45 on the back..after 8 hours, 2 sandwiches, and 5 cans of cold beverages..no fish! Not even a run. On the way back about 2 in the afternoon I stopped at one of my honey holes that I always catch 2 or 3 one or two pounders..(thought I would at least take something home besides a sun burn).. Anyhow, caught 3 small channels about 1 to 2 pounds, 1 flathead about 2 pounds and a 8.6 pound channel. I had a rod that I put on the dike about 15 ft out and I placed several large rocks on it..while sitting in the boat watching the other 6 rods I saw this fish hit the top of the water..then I noticed the rod (about 50 yards from the boat) bent over to the water.. Ran down to the rod..hooked the fish,,then realized the dip net was still in the boat so I had to play him to the boat.. That topped the day..it was not near as big as what you guys are catching but it sure made a beautiful day on the river a great day on the river. Thinking back..I dont know how I was able to run down that dike when I tripped three times walking back!

I'm impressed Dave. You managed to run down a rock dyke and salvage the pole, plus catch the fish. I step out of the boat, bust my a$$, and spend three hours at JMH getting my leg sewn up. I must be a clutz. Glad you got into some fish. Good Job.

[Dave53]

Not a clutz..I tripped three times walking back to the boat after retrieving my pole.. My friend had to have knee surgery after tripping on a dike last year..he still blames me because I took him there! I told him it was not my fault and he should accept the fact that it was just an accident..I didn't say anything about him spilling that full can of beer I had just gave him!!

[Kutter]

My friend---------I didn't say anything about him spilling that full can of beer I had just gave him!!

And you still call him a friend? Hey, knees can be rebuilt, but once a beer is lost, it's gone for good! ;)

[Dave53]

River rat..thanks for the directions to the Klondike ramp..went over Saturday and found it..went down that road you mentioned but I think I will stick to Hwy 94..little further but dont like the bumpy bottom road..and what a slant! But I did find the ramp..had to dodge 100 drunks on 94 going to and from the Winery's .. Thanks again for the information..hope to see you out there some day..I have to work this weekend but soon..I will be there..soon..well, thats what I keep telling my wife!