Mississippi Walleyes...

So what the heck happened to the big walleye push?  That's a good question, and many people have asked me that lately.  Well, the answer isn't exactly an easy one to nail down.  First of all, we had an incredible amount of water that came gushing downstream.  As always, this was timed perfectly with the spring spawn of the walleyes.  The time of the year that can be so great if you like huge walleyes.  The water rose several feet and had dangerously fast current.  The areas that we had been fishing came to a close for safety reasons.  Heck, one of the launches I like to use was under water!

This whole process took a while to unfold, and unfortunately it all occured exactly during the prime walleye spawn.  Our first couple of trips gave us some nice fish, but the water was just a couple degrees to cold for them to really start biting.  The unpredictability of the river changed things over night, literally, and we were left stranded when the walleyes were doing their thing.  I tried a few times to get down there, and kept tabs on the water levels, temps and current speed.  The internet is incredible when it comes to the amount of knowleadge one can find.  As soon as it was safe and feasible, I went back out there.  Last week I made two trips to the river.  Each trip resulted in nice fish, but no giants.  The water temperature had warmed in a hurry, and apparently we missed the big ones by a few days.  Such is life when you are dealing with something as unpredictable as a River in Minnesota, but it adds to the drama of it all. 

Last Wednesday we hoped to find a few of the giants at the tail end of the spawn, but my group of four never broke the 4 pound mark.  We had a great time, and caught some really nice fish, but couldn't land the big one.  We were treated with several laughs throughout the day, and one of the most incredible shore lunches I have ever experienced.  Erik works at the Horse and Hunt Club, and had some fresh chucker all cooked up.  He made a crazy mixture with the meat, and we stuffed it into a croissant.  Not only can the guy cook, but he never is left short of words.  Erik kept myself, his brother Phillip, and friend Geno on our toes all day.  Unfortunately, many of his large fish for the day came unhooked.  He lost out on the big fish bet, and had to stomach the loss of being beaten by his brother and fishing buddy.  A loss that almost didn't happen until the hook pulled out of a dandy fish.  Regardless, we shared fun on the water that day, and experienced a good bite considering the conditions.  Maybe next time we'll get the big ones guys! 

That's the most recent report from the Mississippi, and it appears that the main spawn is now complete.  However, it does not mean that the fishing is over.  That river is so plump full of big walleyes and other creatures that the fishing never ends.  I would say that the next few weeks will be a great time to be out there, and I might even be planning a few jaunts that way this summer ins search of a few prehistoric looking flathead cats.  I guess we'll see how it all shakes out.  Until next time, Keep on Livin' the Dream!