Pool 11 Mississippi River
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Pool 11 Mississippi River Fishing Reports
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Reports from all past years within a 60-day time frame
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Finesse Jigs
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Crawfish
Species
Smallmouth BassSeason
Summer
Technique
Topwater Walking
Structure
Points
Forage
Minnows
Throw walking baits by points with current flow
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Crankbaits 0-6'
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
57°
It was a cold, windy and cloudy day but the fish were on a feeding frenzy. Water temps are hanging around 57 degrees depending on where you are on the river. The river is still very low so many of the usual spots are not fishable but it is making some new structure available to fish. I've never seen the spillway this low but it made for some fantastic fishing. The way the river is waterfalling over rock that is usually completely submerged is making for great fishing conditions. Shad could be seen everywhere being chased by hungry fish, not just largemouth and smallmouth. The stripers were schooled up in a feeding frenzy and hitting the Berkley J-Walker on almost every cast. The occasional largemouth would hit it if it could beat the stripers to the lure first. A white Ned rig dragged on the bottom was catching most of the bass in that location along with shallow to medium diving crankbaits. Shad colors were the most successful with all lures thrown. Most bass were relatively small, around 12", but the occasional bass over 2lbs could be caught. Not only were largemouth, smallmouth and stripers being caught, there was also a nice sheephead, mooneye and sauger caught from our boat. You should be able to search the river for any shad breaking the surface and you'll have a great day catching fish right now. Don't forget to keep an eye out for the seagulls and pelicans, they can lead you to the shad as well. We did see a few walleye and sauger being caught from the barge and near the dam, no bass though.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Topwater Walking
Structure
Baitfish
Forage
Shad
Fishing was fairly tough with post frontal conditions. Fish were pretty scattered, we would catch one or two of a spot and then have to move. We revisited areas several times throughout the day. I think this was key because there was definitely bite windows when the fish came into feed. We were targeting shallow flats and cuts in 1-2 feet of water with good current, bait and a hard bottom. Sand drops accounted for some fish as well. Topwater walking baits brought the best bites but a spinnerbait and a 4” Keitech also produced.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Buzzbaits
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Bluegill
Water Temperature
70°
The skirt on my Buzzbait got destroyed by a pike and threw one of the fat alberts on the back. I felt like they were hitting it even better. I caught allot of fish and a couple nice ones as well. I paralleled the rip rap and also pad edges.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Bladed Jigs
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Shad
Water Temperature
69°
Fish were away from the bank in deeper water. Throwing to shore and retrieving out to the ditch. The bite was tough until I picked up the Slobberknocker then they lit it up. Caught a lot of fish on a short time.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Texas Rigs (Pitch/Flip)
Structure
Rip Rap
Forage
Shad
The bite was slow but these baits seemed to produce more strikes
Species
Panfish / BluegillSeason
Winter
Technique
Vertical Jigging 0-9'
Structure
Submerged Vegetation
Forage
Minnows
Catching perch in backwaters. It was very important to find areas with current. I used a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head to catch the perch.
Species
Largemouth BassSeason
Fall
Technique
Swim Jigs
Structure
Laydowns
Forage
Shad
Focused on lay downs on flats off the main channel. Had to have moderate current and bait close by. Fish still seemed scattered a bit and not really grouped up but areas reloaded. We would get one or two in an area and then let his rest for awhile and then repeat.
