1st time on Missi. Where to take teenagers

Hello all. New here, kinda. I’ve read posts off and on. I usually fish Clear Lake and local rivers for walleye. I have 2 teenage boys (exchange students living with us) I’d like to show them the Mississippi river, do some boating (have boat) and do a little fishing. They’d be happy catching anything, so panfish or walleye will be on the agenda. I need some advice on a place to put in and fish. I was thinking putting in at mcgregor or anywhere north of there. I want to staY in Iowa waters. Anybody want to tag along or share their ideas? Thanks guys. Hope to be on here more and I’ll share some Iowa reports.

I’d go tie up to the channel markers with walleye minnows and sit those on the bottom as early in the day as you can wake the kids up.

Walleyes, bass and crappies will take those and it’s not hard for novices. It’s what i do with my kids and they love it.

Any rod/reel/line will work. Set them up with a sliding sinker and teach them the difference between a walleye bite (let the fish have it) and a crappie bite (set the hook fast)

I’d go tie up to the channel markers

I wouldn’t tie up to a channel marker for two reasons.

1. It’s against the law.

2. It’s obstructing the view of the marker.

I don’t know that area so I’m not much good other then that.

PS Welcome to Ido!

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I’d go tie up to the channel markers …

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:facepalm:

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I’d go tie up to the channel markers
I wouldn’t tie up to a channel marker for two reasons.
1. It’s against the law.
Well, they can ticket me then…

2. It’s obstructing the view of the marker.
We hang about 15′ down stream of the marker on a bow rope so we aren’t obstructing view of it…

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Please refer to reason #1.

Stu, you might want the ticket, but I’m guessing folks new to the river might not be too happy if we told them to break the law and they received the ticket.

You know better.

So…anyone know of any other places to help this fella out?

First off, Welcome to IDO

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So…anyone know of any other places to help this fella out?

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That would be the area Koonce and herb know best. I’m sure they will chime in. I know Koonce is traveling from a spotting I heard of the other day so give him a little time.

I can tell you that on pool 8, which is not real far away, the blue gill bite is on fire right now with the spawn almost in full swing. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing future post

Stu…what the

If you want to crawl down to p12 or p13 there are plenty of backwaters that are full of panfish. The walleye fishing is slow, but picking up.

As far as I know, you would be wasting your time trying to catch crappie in the channel of the river down here in Iowa. It runs at about 80K CFM which is over twice the speed as up in MN/WI. You won’t catch much in the channel, except catfish and buffalo. The walleye are on the side currents, and the crappies are up in the backwaters.

You couldnt even tie up to the channel markers here, you wouldnt last 5 minutes before a barge turned you in. The last 2 days there have been barges traveling the river constantly. Taking a lot of coal north, which is unusual this time of year.

Thanks for the replies. Is there much traffic in the channel? Or is it big enough that most boats (except barges) would not pose a navigation nitemare. I see there is a boat launch area in Lansing,Ia, we could get too also. I think the boys with enjoy the views and remember the trip for along time to come, regardless of catching fish or not, would just be agreat bonus. I’ll keep watching for more advise,

Thanks guys
Tom

Long line trolling is a good way to put fish in the boat. Take a rod with some braid on it. Attach something like a #7 flicker shad or shad rap. Toss it out behind the boat and troll the shorelines in the 5 to 10 foot range. Good chance of catching a wide variety of fish. Have the kids hold onto the rods so they feel the fish hit the cranks. Keep a eye on the rod tips to make sure the lures are ticking bottom every now and then.

if you put in pdc use the marina ramp.
you can go north to the sand pit.an fish there an not get close to the chanel.fish around the poles they tie barges to.
good luck

Thanks Stu,Briank, bk and Brett. Glad to be here. Walleye tournament at Clear Lake, Ia this weekend so the lake may be alittle congested for me. I catch a lot of 13″ walleye there this year, but someone that fishes more than me or a better fisherman could do better. Yellows are hit and miss the last week for us. FYI, I just got back the first week of May from the western basin of Lake Erie. Caught some fish, weather was great, can’t wait to go back.

Tom

Thanks beached. Fishing around the poles there for panfish?

Thanks Mike. Why the braided line? I’ve never use it. Brands? I think a slow troll with the electric would fit the bill for us to try. Thanks again

Tom

Thanks Brett, I’ll look up pool 8 map. That would be fun.

Tom

I might suggest pool 9. Go to Blackhawk park just north of Desoto and ask them there at the bait shop what is going. Work down river as just north of there is the Minnesota border. Pool 9 is really good fishing and there are a lot of islands and cuts that offer the fisherman a chance to get out of the main channel. You can also fish the main channel wingdams pitching jigs. PS be very careful fishing the river for the first time can be very dangerous until you get your bearings.

Thanks wiskerkev. Sounds like a great idea. I’ll definetly take it easy. Stump fields, barges, etc. I have a hand held gps that might come in handy too. I’ll see if I can locate Blackhawk on the pool maps. Apreciate the advise very much..

Tom

I would look for slack water AWAY FROM THE CHANNEL. With the flow being what it is now I would think you would have a lot of fish in the slack waters. I like Mike’s idea of trolling in 5 to 10 FOW. If you hit fish in the same spot on multiple passes go back and work the area slowly with jigs and/or hook and split shot if you want to catch fish with bait.

I like braid for trolling as it lets me feel what the lure is doing. With mono I seem to loose the vibration and feel. I want to feel that lure vibrating, ticking bottom, what its ticking on bottom, when it stops coming in contact with bottom and the best, when it gets hit by a fish.

With the right rod mono can be okay. Braid is just my preference.

got it, thanks Mike. I might have to give braided a try.

Tom

I was a long time Maxima Mono guy when i was guiding.

Tried braided.

I was amazed. Nearly everything was better. LOVED the feel it gave me. I could know everything that was going on with my lure.

It will wind knot and it’s got such a small diameter that it’s dangerous sharp. Be CAREFUL.

WORTH ALL THE RISKS AND DANGERS…

Welcome aboard.

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WORTH ALL THE RISKS AND DANGERS…

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Sorry, but risks and dangers with fishing braided line? I fish every day with braided line whether it be for walleye, crappie, bass, catfish, or pike and I have never had an injury. I have used from 1# to 80# and have never came close to getting injured by my fishing line.

Guess I’m not dumb enough to wrap it around my hand and yank like I have seen people do. I hold the spool and pull straight back so the rod is not bending, I let the spool take the force instead of my hand.

Thanks everybody for all your help. We ended up staying in PDC and launched at a city dock after talking with lots of locals. They failed to mention getting a launch pass, and no I did not see the signs, I was busy watching behind me with the boat to read signs..$30 fine, geeeeez. One of our boys caught a small northern right away, then nothing the rest of the day. Launch further up river Sunday, caught a few bluegills but that was it. We still had fun exploring the river, ran up to Lansing on the river, went thru the locks of course, stopped at a sandy beach and enjoyed the river despite not many fish. Locals said the water was going down, but it still looked high to me and plenty dirty.
I’ll be going back the next chance I get and learn the river more….