RIVER ICE MAKING FISHING AN ADVENTURE!!!

Greetings All;
The cold weather up north is finally effecting the Mississippi River here in the central Midwest. From Pools 9 to 14 you can expect to find floating chunk ice in the river which is limiting the anglers ability to get to more spots in search of those Fall walleye and sauger. Right now most anglers that are venturing out are concentrating on the tailwater areas for their fishing. Even there though you should use caution when boating to avoid damage to both your boat and motor from the ice chunks.

For you hearty anglers that may be planning a trip to the river this Thanksgiving weekend, look for great water clarity. Backtrolling jig/minnow rigs with big minnows will take some nice fish. You can also vertical jig tight to the bottom and catch some nice fish also. Hot colors this past week have been the bright orange, followed by white. I have had great success using the Northland Fire Ball jig in the 1/4th. and 3/8th. ounce sizes. The short shank hook on the Fireball jig gives a great hookset in the cold water conditions.  Remember to fish slow.

So remember my friends, the fish are there and with a little patience on your part you can catch them with good regularity, even with the floating ice. Be safe on the river, wear that PFD and enjoy the great fishing that is going on right now in a pool near you.

Regards: Lastcast   Mike Cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com

MISSISSIPPI RIVER GIVING UP HER BOUNTY!!!

Greetings All:
The Mississippi River continues to give up her bounty of nice fish to the angler willing to put up with the "chill" in the air. 
While the tailwater bite remains spotty in many areas, wingdams, steep tapering rocky shorelines and outside riverbends continue to produce some nice Walleye and sauger. Backtroll the upper sides of the wingdams with 3-way rigs and big minnows and you will catch some nice fish. Some anglers tossing crank baits on top of the wingdams and taking a few fish that way also.

The one fly in the ointment for this weekends fishing is that a fast moving weather system is expected to drop about an inch and a half of snow over the Midwest. This won't effect the angling but might make using those launch ramps an adventure in itself. With the cold temps, look for ice to form on these areas. So with that thought in mind, use caution when launching and again when leaving the ramp. 

I'll tell you my friends, the fish are there and they are hungry. Dress warm, wear that PFD and you can enjoy some great Fall fishing that is happening right now on the beautiful Mississippi River here in the Midwest.

Regards: Lastcast   Mike Cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com 

MISSISSIPPI RIVER FISHING ONLY GETTING BETTER!!!!

Greetings All:
Wow!!! What a great weekend to be out on the Mississippi river doing some Fall fishing. Both Saturday and Sunday were windy but that only helped the fishing. I was out in Pool-13 both days and the bite was really consistent with many nice fish being caught. Best locations were the windblown points and steep tapering rocky shoreline areas way down river from the dam. It seems that Mother Natures wind served to blow baitfish into these areas and the walleye, sauger and some huge white bass were there to feed on them. 

Presentation was quite simple. Casting jig/minnow rigs was productive but I switched to jig/plastic shad bodies in the 3 inch size range and that was the ticket for both days.  The hot color both days was the silver sided bodies with the black stripe across the top back. The fish were just attacking this color. Also as a close second, all white, 1/4th. ounce hair jigs caught many fish also. Simply cast your presentation up close to the shore and work it back to deeper water. The fish are out there just waiting for it to swim by. Try and make long casts to avoid spooking the fish in these areas. Stay in deeper water and cast shallow. 

Biggest fish of the weekend was a 10.6 pound Walleye that was released to fight again. Biggest white bass was close to 4 pounds, with limits of eater size fish available. 

Remember, the water is cold so vary your retrieve until you find what speed of the lure the fish want. 

Hope you can get out and enjoy this great fishing that is going on right now on the Mississippi River. 

Regards: Lastcast   Mike Cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com 

DOWNRIVER WALLEYE AND SAUGER BITE VERY GOOD RIGHT NOW!!!!

Greetings All;
It seems that this time of the year to many anglers get caught up in the tailwater bite below the dams and forget about the great fishing for Walleye and sauger that is available in many other locations down river. Right now the bite has been excellent down river in locations that very seldom see an angler wet a line. I have been fishing long wingdams and outside river bends and the fish are stacked up in these locations and feeding heavily for the upcoming Winter ahead. If you fish the wingdams, try and choose ones that are part of a series of wingdams. By that I mean two to three in a row within close proximity of each other. This has been the fish producing setup this last week with many big fish coming to the net. You will find both walleye and sauger using these areas right now. Three-way rigging has been very effective pulling big minnows parallel to the wingdam face. Expect to get hung up once in a while but that's where the fish are cruising looking for an easy meal.  If you start getting short strikes, add a stinger hook.

When fishing the outside river bends, vertical jigging jig/minnow rigs over timber stacked on the bottom has worked very well and I look for this bite to continue. Use a slow lift and fall presentation, keeping bottom contact as the fish are holding tight to the wood and rocks there. 

Remember my friends, all the fish are not up at the dam in the Fall. Many stay downriver and never see an anglers bait. Give these areas a try and you just might forget about the crowded Fall fishing up at the dam.

Be safe, wear that PFD and save a few for me...................

Regards: Lastcast   Mike Cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com

BEAUTIFUL WEATHER AND GREAT FISHING MAKE FOR A WONDERFUL FALL!!!

Greetings All;
Wow!!! What a great streak of wonderful weather we have been enjoying here in the Midwest. Cool temperatures and lots of sunshine are making for ideal conditions to be out fishing. 

Right now all species have started putting on the feed bag for the long winter ahead. On the Mississippi, Wisconsin and Rock rivers, fishing is getting better on a daily basis. Look for the walleye and sauger to be feeding heavily on shad and minnows. Tailwater areas starting up and will only get better until ice up. For you panfish anglers, look for crappie staging in the many backwater areas near structure laying in the water. Try and fish structure that has some depth nearby for the crappie to use. Minnows and small jigs tipped with a small twister tail, (white has been a great color), cast near the structure and worked slowly back. Fish the minnows under a slip float rig for best results. Some big white bass still available on the big sand flat areas of the Mississippi on hair jigs cast tight to shore and worked back deep. 

All and all my friends, Fall fishing on the area rivers is getting hotter by the day. Hopefully Mother Nature will keep blessing us with this great weather for a while yet before that other shoe comes down and Winter weather arrives. 

So if you thinking about putting that boat away for the year, you just might want to squeeze another trip in before you do. I'm sure that when you come home with some nice fish for the frying pan, you'll be glad you did get out. 

Enjoy the beauty of the Fall season. Get out and make some memories.

Regards: Lastcast   Mike cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com  

FALL WALLEYE AND SAUGER ON THE BITE!!!

Greetings All:
The cool temperatures combined with the cool rains we have had here in the Midwest have really turned the walleye and sauger bite on. On the Mississippi River from above Dubuque, Iowa all the way up to Lake Pepin, fishing for these two species has greatly improved. Current water temperatures in the 50's has the fish putting on the feed bag. 

For you river anglers, one of the current hot-spots has been Guttenberg,  Iowa in the tailwater areas. Many nice fish are being taken there on jig/minnow rigs fished tight to the bottom in current break areas. Further North, one of my personal Fall favorite river locations is North of the Winona, Minnesota area. It seems that the farther south you go, the fishing is not quite as good. Fish are available but not biting as well as the up North Pools of the river. 

I still look for a great Fall fishing season on the Mississippi River with good classes of fish available to the angler willing to get out. Unless Mother Nature does something dramatic in the weather department, look for this quality fishing to last into ice up. 

Hope you can get some time to get out and enjoy. Good luck and go make some memories.

Regards: Lastcast   Mike Cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com 

BIG WHITE BASS AVAILABLE NOW!!!

Greetings All:
I just love October. Why?, well it's because of the great white bass fishing that takes place every year. Right now on the Mississippi river in the Pool-13 area the big white bass are feeding heavily. This past week I have taken many fish in the 3 t 4 pound range with regularity. Best part is that the great action will continue through the month of October baring any drastic weather changes. Catching these bruisers this time of the year is quite easy. 

I have been casting 1/4th. ounce all white hair jigs and have been fishing large sand flat areas. Cast tight to shore and work back into deeper water. You can tip your jig with a plastic trailer if you like but so far it has not been necessary. When you get into a school of these big fish you can load your livewell quickly. One tip though. If your fishing an area and no action in 10 to 15 minutes or so, move to another area till fish found. 

I'll tell you my friends, right now is a great time to be on the Mississippi River fishing for these aggressive white bass. With that thought in mind, hopefully you can get out and enjoy. You'll be glad you did.

Regards: Lastcast   Mike Cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com  

MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN GREAT SHAPE FOR WEEKEND FISHING!!!

Greetings All:
River levels have fallen back to very fishable levels and the fish are responding. With the cooler nights, the water temps have dropped into the 60's also. Look for the sauger and walleye bite to be starting up near the dams. Panfish feeding well near structure in slough and side channels. Catfish bite still good but look for it to start slowing as water temps drop more. Right now as a bonus, there are some really big white bass showing up and I look for this great bite to last well into October. Fish sand flat areas and rocky shorelines for best results. This last week, a white hair jig in the 1/4th. ounce size has been hot when cast. You can tip it with a minnow or plastic tail if you wish but it has not been necessary. Look for some of these big white bass to tip the scales near 4lbs.

Weather looking great so get out and fish the Mississippi river. You will be glad you did.

Regards: Lastcast   Mike Cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com

RISING RIVER CAUSING ANGLER HEADACHES!!!!

Greetings All;
With the Mississippi River taking a few feet rise, the water is very stained. Fish have scattered out due to the rise and are difficult to locate. Bass action is Fair/Good if you can locate them. Wingdam Walleye and sauger have slowed due to very muddy, stained water. Catfish action has also slowed but fish can still be taken on nightcrawlers. Bluegill in the side sloughs near downed brush and trees on a piece of worm fished under a small float. Crappie at this time are only fair with the crappie scattered out. There is a chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday and if this happens, look for more runoff to keep river muddy. With good weather forecast from Sunday on through the week, look for the river to start clearing up and water levels falling. Cool nighttime temps have started the water to cool. This will help get the fish active when waters clear up.

Regards: Lastcast   Mike Cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com

WEEKEND OUTLOOK "MURKY"!!!

Greetings All:
With the recent rains that have dumped quite a bit of rain here in the Midwest, the Mississippi river is on the murky side right now. Runoff has helped in staining the waters up really well. You can go into the backwater areas and still catch fish though. Look for the cleanest and clearest water you can find and fish those areas. Biggest problem now is the fish seeing your bait. Catfish good on stink baits, bass good on loud lures like spinnerbaits. Crappie and bluegill have slowed due to water conditions. As of this report, some rain still falling and it is not expected to clear out until late Friday. It will take a few days at least for the river to start clearing once again. With the onset of these cool temperatures, (39 degrees forecast tonight) look for the waters to start cooling fast. Cool weather forecast for the next 14 days at least. Look for the Fall transition to start early as temps in the river drop. One thing for sure, the fish will be putting on the feed bag as cool weather signals the changes. 

Enjoy the river, it's a wonderful place to fish.

Regards: Lastcast   Mike cyze   lastcast13@yahoo.com