Yeah, I know….fishing from shore is rather antiquated, but there are times when it works ! The balmy temperatures we have been experiencing recently has made for some great shore fishing conditions. It is hard to believe a guy can fish comfortably in November from shore in Minnesota. I recently hit the Crow River where it borders the suburbs and took a shot…as long as I haven’t been able to arrow a buck I might as well pop some “white tips!”
A buddy and I grabbed the minnow buckets and waders and started to cover some open water on the Crow. There are areas where the current keeps portions of the river open and some areas are just locked tight in ice. It seems this small river can be iced up one day and open another.
We were fortunate enough to find one good spot on the river at a particular bend where the current was minimal and we nailed all our walleyes in this pool. We tried another three spots by doing some hiking along the banks and didn’t find another spot as good as the first one. We even moved by truck up the river and basically fished anything that looked good and was accessable by foot. It’s funny how these rivers behave.
The problem with small river fishing is that there is a ton of water that is totally void of gamefish while small portions are loaded…much like the Mississippi and the St. Croix. The Crow features some very low water and it seemed that 2 feet was the average depth while the slightly deeper water held the walleyes.
Just like in lake fishing…the walleyes are following the baitfish. We found lots of baitfish that were jumping out of the water after our jigs hit the surface. Their abundance on this spot was why the walleyes were snappy and going great guns. They were well-fed fish because they didn’t exactly smack our jigs…it was more of a “hang on ” type of pickup. We had good success on tiny, crappie sized jigs with both fatheads and plastic tails. It seems these river fish aren’t too fussy once you find baitfish and current.
As with anything else in fishing, you have to “pay your dues” and do the legwork to find the good areas. The Crow is a well-kept secret and those that fish it regularly are pretty much sworn to secrecy.
The best tip I can offer is not to work a spot much longer that l0 minutes before moving. If an area is holding fish, your first few casts will tell the tale. Anything longer than 20 minutes without contact is a waste of time. Also keep an eye out for those telltale rodholders that river shore people use to hold up their rods on shore. These are usually a piece of branch with a “Y” cut into it for support. Savvy river people always leave these by shore and this is always a tip to a good spot.
Walleyes from shore is awesome….now I don’t have to charge the batteries in my boat and deal with the boat aftermath. It is November after all.