“The system is just incredibly productive,” Stauffer said. Many feared for the walleye and sauger, but after years of studies, the Minnesota DNR in 1984 concluded the pressure had “no adverse effects on either population.” There’s no one reason for this except the river itself. In 1967, Wisconsin opened the year-round season, setting off a controversy in Minnesota that led to Minnesota following suit two years later. In the stretch of water that constitutes the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, the prized sauger and walleye fishery is remarkable in many respects, not the least of which is the fact that it’s open to fishing year-round, including now when the fish are staging for the spawn and spawning – and vulnerable. With spring-fed tributaries that occasionally dump brown and even brook trout into the Mississippi, about the only fish that lives in Minnesota that you won’t find is a lake trout, although a flooded hatchery a number of years ago did release a fleet of fingerlings. “On any given year, our nets will sample 40 species.” “The Upper Mississippi, in total, has over 100 fish species,” said Kevin Stauffer, Lake City-area fisheries supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources. We lost track of our tally somewhere north of 30 fish. On this day, Mike Yurk of Hudson, Wis., and I boated seven different species of fish: walleye, sauger, flathead catfish, white bass, sheepshead, redhorse and one leaping 40-inch lake sturgeon that nearly landed in the stern of a passing boat. ![]() Some fishermen anchor, others drift and still others tool around with a motor, creating what looks like a slow-moving train wreck as dozens upon dozens of boats converge on warm spring days when other waters aren’t yet open to fishing. You never know what you’re going to catch or how you’re going to hook it in the varying currents and structure. I hooked her in the tail.” He released the fish. ![]() “I knew it wasn’t a sauger,” said Steve McCoy of North Liberty, Iowa, as he suspended a spawn-filled walleye from his digital scale, which read 11 pounds. And boat anchor ropes are hitting just about anything with hooks that drifts into their realm.Īmid boats jostling for position carrying anglers jovial for the occasion, a recent day on the river documented what river rats already know: The great river is one of the most dynamic fisheries on the continent, and right now the fish are packed below the dam. White bass are running up from Lake Pepin. 3 near Red Wing, Minn., these days, and who knows what you’ll hook. ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER – Drop a jig and minnow into the turbid waters below Lock and Dam No.
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