Mississippi 10/27/2016

[Smalliebigs]

I hit the Mississippi in one of my secret spots::::: hint, hint near a big creek that flows in:::::: I had a fish so large attack my bait Three times that was so large it scared me actually.....It honestly looked like a big Tarpon or something....I'm thinking Striper??? The swirl and actual strike on my  top water bait was ridiculous and violent....it was something to behold but, whatever it was struck Three times and missed all Three times.

  I did nail Two nice Hybrids though one 23 incher and then this one.....both fought like a freight train as they were in very thick current....average tackle would not hold these fish IMO

   The Fall bite is starting to get going now that the river has receded some and I couldn't be happier

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

SWEET!!

Man I'd pay for a trip to get some of those!!!  I caught a hybrid out of the river that was over 30 inches about 5 years ago.  I caught it on a 9 weight and it took the whole fly line 3 times.  It fought like a striper out of the Atlantic.

 

[mhall02]

Must have been that Great White Shark I've been hearing about on the news that is lurking in the Mississippi 

 

Looks and sounds like fun!

[snagged in outlet 3]

Go ahead and laugh.

Officially, bull sharks have made it up the Mississippi as far as Illinois. In the town of Alton, Illinois, which is above St. Louis, two commercial fisherman caught a bull shark in the river. This shark had been raiding their fish traps, and they decided to catch the culprit once and for all. They set a big trap, one that would catch the biggest muskellunge or pike.  They were certainly shocked to find that it was a shark raiding their traps

[Kelroy]

That looks like loads of fun, and quite frankly, I've been wanting to try that for some time now. I spend a bit of time on the Miss, and I suppose it's a natural response to want to chunk something in there and see what bites. Not asking for any 'trade secrets,' but if anyone could steer me in the right direction I would be most appreciative. A few questions:

What type/size of line do you use? Do you use any kind of steel leader?

What types of lures work well? I have some 1-1.5oz spinnerbaits, a few big lipless cranks, big swimbaits, whopper ploppers, mop jigs, 12-15" worms, etc. Do any of these sound reasonable?

If the fall bite is getting started, how long can one reasonably expect it to last?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

[Smalliebigs]

6 hours ago, Kelroy said:

That looks like loads of fun, and quite frankly, I've been wanting to try that for some time now. I spend a bit of time on the Miss, and I suppose it's a natural response to want to chunk something in there and see what bites. Not asking for any 'trade secrets,' but if anyone could steer me in the right direction I would be most appreciative. A few questions:

What type/size of line do you use? Do you use any kind of steel leader?

What types of lures work well? I have some 1-1.5oz spinnerbaits, a few big lipless cranks, big swimbaits, whopper ploppers, mop jigs, 12-15" worms, etc. Do any of these sound reasonable?

If the fall bite is getting started, how long can one reasonably expect it to last?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Hey What's up??

 

 

 Okay here we go::: All of the Temperate Bass, which would be Stripers, White and Hybrids prefer the water temps from 59 down to 49, when these water temps occur they will run up into creeks that feed the river and hang around creek mouths. This occurs in the Spring and Fall and we are not there yet as this has obviously been a very warm Fall....so the best is yet to come IMO. These fish are quite tough to pin down from the bank as they are constantly moving but, you can if you know the areas they traditionally move thru and to. I normally am chasing them in my SeaArk  which helps big time, they will surface and nail shad and you can run to them.....from the bank not so easy. I also wanted let you know don't limit yourself to creek mouths, When I fish from my boat on the Mississippi I normally hit riprap banks and levees.

your questions::: I use a 7 foot spinning rod from the bank with braid and have never used a steel leader. In my boat I am usually using a med/heavy bait caster.

 

   Lures:::I am a top water freak after being an Al Agnew disciple for years, I just love the action and it keeps me busy....so that being said I may go with Top water too much but, I have big time confidence built up with that technique and I tend to nail bigger fish it seems and I owe it all to Agnew, reading his musings from trips over  the years. with that being said a KVD dawg bait the bigger version in shad colors, Bone, white, chrome, those baits walk very easy. Crank baits work as well, note of caution snags abound on the river so go with cheap baits, same deal shad patterns. I have caught a few on a whoppler plopper this year, they will work and I like that bait personally.

Temperate bass are always moving and ambushing.......they fight like nothing else in freshwater but, are some tough fish to really put a pattern on and that intrigues the hell out of me personally.....expect some rejection and failure, it's just part of the game.

Here is another good tip.....try to stick to low light situations......cloudy, morning, evening....even drizzly. I may be probably giving too much info and will get blasted by a few of my Hybrid buddies but, give it a shot they are not an easy fish to get a handle on and as I said the main reason I simply think they are cool as hell.

The bite should last until December this year as the water hasn't cooled much at all. 

[Kelroy]

Hey thanks, Smallie. As you may know I have a boat, but it is not really ideal as a fishing platform, aye, that's a whole other can of worms I wish to avoid. As it is, I will be limiting myself to fishing from the bank or an occasional wing dike. Low-light would also be the norm, as my fish-chasing opportunities would all be limited to 'before work' and 'after work' periods. I have no desire to attempt explaining 'bona fide 15 minute rest period' to a casual observer.

I have the usual assortment of big Spooks, but it won't take much arm-twisting to get me to invest in a few big Dawgs as well. I have always enjoyed topwater action too, so this may be an adventure that suits me well.

Thanks for the background bio info too. I'll admit, the 'true' basses have always been sort of a mystery to me, just never had any exposure to them. Lately though, I've had a couple invites to chase them (at Norfork and Bull, haven't gone yet) and find the prospects intriguing to say the least. I enjoy the Binksy-spoon posts too- sounds like a blast- but river fishing is too deeply ingrained for me to pass up the opportunities I have been ignoring. Thank you sir, for the fine encouragement.

[snagged in outlet 3]

You might also try the magnum Super Flukes.

[Smalliebigs]

5 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

You might also try the magnum Super Flukes.

my friend is ever so true with this piece of advice.....here's another......the bigger fish are lazy and these temperate bass will allow the smaller more aggressive fish to ambush and smack the shad in a injure and destroy mode.....the big ones lay below and slurp up the shad the fall thru the destruction. A big fluke rigged sideways or flat on a round jighead dropped thru the school will get you the hawgs.....it flutters down like an injured and dying shad......it f's them up trust me.

 

   I think me and Pete need to do a Hybrid trip :)......might even have to break out my 9wt Sage???

 

 

 ******  also add to note  **** I went to the same spot I walked into yesterday and hooked another huge fish and fought it for good while and it ended up breaking me off....it broke 20lb braid if that explains the power on these suckers  I was using a 6+ inch dawg bait and did manage  some decent Whites...the Mississippi  is full of fish

[Jerry Rapp]

The Mississippi is truly an untapped fishing resource.  There is a catfish guide service out of St. Louis that produces some amazing catches, size and numbers.  Their name escapes me now.  All the creeks from St. Louis to Cape have a good bass population, you just have to have the correct river stage to access them.  A white crank bait on the rock dikes will keep you catching numerous species all day usually.  But, the Mississippi is a treacherous river.  The current forces are unreal.  Submerged just below the  huge logs and trees are a constant on the river.  If your trolling motors dies you will probably wind up on the rocks and being swamped by the strong current.  If the Outboard dies, you will either wind up at New Orleans or crushed against a dike or bankline before the Coast Guard or another boat can assist.  And do not ever go anywhere behind a northbound tow boat.  8 foot rollers for a couple of miles downstream.   Just be really prepared if you plan to fish the Mississippi proper.