The Mississippi River is one of my favorite places to wade for smallmouth. Earlier this spring and early summer the river was very high and the current was swift. The levels made it very difficult to fish and wading was out of the question. The DNR hydrograph shows the levels has dropped over 4 feet in the past month.
The Mississippi is definitely down from where it was in July. I spent the day wading in boulder fields and small gravel. Had a great time, but the fishing was slow. The pike were active and I managed to catch a few 14" smallmouth, but for this river 14" is a baby.
No doubt the low water levels will concentrate the fish. Hopefully the fishing will explode once the temps start to fall.
After this Issac the water levels should explode--I will take a 14" anyday on the fly rod. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteHi Bill-
ReplyDeleteBelieve me I am not complaining about 14" smallmouth....they are all great!
Now we are dry here in Minnesota. Earlier in the year we were water logged while everyone else was dry as a bone. It has flip flopped.
I hope you are right and levels rise here in the headwaters.
Thanks for commenting.
Doug