With the arrival of spring most anglers are looking to get their boatsout of storage and out onto some open water. The trouble is ice locksthe water, but there is open water right below the dams on theMississippi and the river is open to fishing all year round. With thisin mind I headed out to the river the other day for a little shake downcruise.

Upon arrival at the boat ramp I was excited to get things organized andwet a line. I kept thinking of all the positive feeding fish that werejust waiting for me. I knew with the ice melting and the amount of snowfall that we have had that the current would be up and if I hooked intoa good size walleye I would have a hard fight before I could get a neton a fish. With all of these positive attributes why weren’t morepeople out fishing?

The answer wasn’t that it was too cold or that it was to early I thinkthat the real answer was that many anglers get frustrated with riverfishing. River angling requires more knowledge and more refining offishing techniques than lake fishing. The main reason for difference iscurrent. Lake and reservoir anglers seldom have to contend with thecomplexities of current. River anglers must do so continuously. Ofcourse you can always fish away from the rivers current. But except fora few backwater areas that may hold largemouth bass or pike, most riverfish are in and around the current. Fish stay near river currents, forcurrent brings them their food. That same current that feeds the fishcan also eat most anglers if they don’t know how to use it for theiradvantage.

Moving a lure or bait along with the current is difficult because theriver currents are not uniform. The fastest current is usually near thesurface, with slower currents near the bottom. This differentialcreates a natural slack in your line. To counteract it you have tochoose the right lure, the right cast placement, and the right tackle. One reason that I like to use jigs while fishing for fall walleyes in ariver system is the control an angler has. Vertically jigging forwalleyes gets my blood pumping and believe me on those cool crisp falldays when it would be nice to be on shore burning a campfire or driedleaves, you need all of your blood pumping just to stay warm. With theproper head design and weight, jigs are the most versatile of all rivertechniques, from the shallowest flooded cover to the deepest, fastestcurrent.

The majority of river fishing with jigs involves either slipping thecurrent or drift fishing the current breaks. The presentation is asimple lift-drop-pause method of jigging, raising the jig some 3 to 6 "as you slip downstream. The jigs that I prefer to use are NorthlandFireball jigs because of the rounded head. The rounded head allows thejig to bump along the bottom and not get hung up in snags or brush. Ifyou are as vertical as possible a jig will stand up allowing the hook tobe exposed away from the floor of the river. When you tip the jig witha fathead minnow the minnow stands up and looks like it is trying topick up the jig. As the minnow struggles against the weight of the jigit sends out wounded signals and the natural scent attracts the walleyesand allows them to hang on just that much longer. If the walleyes seemto be just biting the tails off the minnows the Fireball offers anadditional eye so you can easily attach a stinger hook. The stingerhook is a great addition in the cold waters of fall and spring.

When looking for structure and edges, I recommend using a goodelectronic unit. The Lowrance 350A is the one that I prefer. TheLowrance 350A unit will allow you to see the difference in the hard andsoft transition areas. Since fish rarely suspend in river and streamsthe resolution on either of these units allows you to locate and seefish that are tight to the bottom.

When the tailrace areas becomes crowded with boats, start movingdownstream to holding areas. Flooded timber can be good at times. Tryflipping a Lipstick or Foxee jig tipped with a minnow into cover. Useyour bowmount electric trolling motor. I prefer the MotorGuide, becauseit is quiet and usually in stained water you can stand right over thetop of the fish without spooking them.

When the particular structure is shallow don't hesitate to use the slipbobber method. Attach a 1/8 oz. Fireball jig with a piece of plasticscrewtail and a minnow to your slip bobber rig and allow the waves andwind to do the vertical jigging for you. If those walleyes are bitingshort, attach a stinger hook to your Fireball jig.

With the weather starting to warm during the day and the melting of the streets and sidewalks you can find me on a shake down cruise on the Mississippi.