About our Weekly Fishing Report
All content © Pat Middleton and Great River PublishingAs often as he can find the time, I receive an informative, and often fascinating, fishing report from Mark Clements at the Genoa, Wisconsin, fishing barge. If the fish are not biting, he tells us that and tells us why not. If they are biting, he tells us where and what on.
We hope you enjoy this frequently updated fishing page. Please thank our sponsors and use our "site recommender" to let others know. If you want to submit your own fishing report, feel free to email us.
A note about the fishing barges: Commercial "fishing barges" are located on the upper Mississippi River below the Lock and Dam on most of the river pools. These fishing barges provide an opportunity for travelers to experience some of the best fishing in the Midwest for a minimal fee. The barges offer ferry service from shore to the barge. Fishing barges and access points are all noted in Discover! America's Great River Road.
Gotta tell you, a picture is worth 1000 words!!! Take a look at these fish photos from Clements Fishing Barge in Genoa, Wisconsin! Thanks, Mark!!!
Below is a picture this week of Karl and his 64" Lake Sturgeon caught on the Mississippi River, not far from La Crosse. Lake Sturgeon, by the way, must be released. Smaller river sturgeon are fair game. This big one leaped out of the water TWICE during a 45 minute tussle. Wouldn't that give you a shock!So what's it like to catch a fish this big? Here's a You-Tube video of catching a giant catfish (and there we start a whole new set of urban legends!!) Check out our FISHING category in the Mississippi River Blog!
5/12/08, Genoa
Water started to drop yesterday. Today it fell pretty good, it should allow them (Corps of Engineers) to put the gates back in the water tomorrow afternoon at this rate. The current has already started to slow down. Still getting a lot of nice white bass and a few big walleye were caught this weekend.
On Saturday they caught a couple dozen sturgeon, the first real catch of this species this season, although we have been seeing them flip a little around the float. A couple guys caught some nice catfish near shore as well, mudcat. Bluegills continue to hang around the shore line and a few bass. With the water finally dropping we should have some decent fishing coming up this weekend.
4/21/08, Iowa
Mississippi River Pools 16 to 20: River stages for Pools 16 to 20 are currently high and there is some debris and logs floating in the channel so use caution when boating. The river is forecasted to crest over the weekend, but that could change with predicted rain in the next few days. Water temperature is around 49 degrees.
In Pool 16, river stage at Lock and Dam 15 is 14.36 feet and is predicted to reach 14.9 feet by Saturday. Earlier this week, water levels were almost to the top of the Marquette St. boat ramp and the docks have been removed. A few white bass are being caught up in Sylvan Slough.
In Pool 17, river stage at Lock and Dam 16 is 14.45 feet and is expected to reach 14.9 feet by this weekend. There have been some reports of channel catfish being caught on shad. A few crappies are also being caught in Muscatine Slough.
In Pool 18, river stage at Lock and Dam 17 is 16.22 feet and is forecasted to reach 16.6 feet by this weekend. The Toolesboro boat landing is closed due to high water. Fishing is slow.Return to the Mississippi River Home Page
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