Mississippi River, MN
Elk River Access to Dayton Access
Outing Information
- Date
- Start/End Time
- 6:45PM to 8:45PM
- Best Fishing Time
- -
- Rating
- Poor
- Classification
- Public
- Water Temp
- -
- Water Clarity
- Slightly Stained - 3' to 5' visibility
- Water Level
- 330
- User
- Randy Kleinman
Fish Caught
Northern Pike
| Caught | Avg Size | Pattern | Optional Fields |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 22" | Yellow Northland Spinnerbait | |
| 2 | 22" |
Weather
| Skies | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mostly Sunny | X | ||
| Precipitation | |||
| None | X | ||
| Wind | |||
| Light - 5 to 10 knots | X |
- Air Temp High/Low
- 78.0°F / -
- Wind Direction
- N,NW
- Weather Front
- -
- Barometer
- -
- Moon Phase
- 0% Full (New)
Other Patterns Tried
No other pattern information for this outing.
Hatches
No hatch information for this outing.
Insect Seining
No seining information for this outing.
Fishing Partners
No fishing partners were saved with this outing.
Waypoints
Elk River Entry Point 45.28762931881335 lat, -93.5584545135498 lon Google MapsCrane Rookery N of Crow River Confluence 45.25476981040491 lat, -93.53699684143066 lon Google Maps
Notes
Spontaneous Mississippi River outing with TKleinman. He caught one SMB about 10" using a Mepps spinner over a boulder field. We were making our way to the crane rookery from upstream Elk River side and ran over to large and very shallow boulder fields. The water was so low that they almost proved unnavigable.
Once we got to the rookery, I pitched a spinnerbait off a log because it "looked bassy" and a 24" pike nabbed it in clear water so I got to see the entire thing. We went back up into the side channel where the majority of nests are and I pitched it up against some very shallow rocks that "looked bassy" again. Another 22" pike nabbed it in very clear water. Both fun catches, but was looking for bass.
The rookery spot and the downstream edge of an island right out from the Dayton access/Crow River confluence both proved to be losers for the old-fashioned river rig with a nightcrawler. TKleinman had 3 hits, but never a fish on.
It took almost an hour to get back up river. We finally reached the access at 9:45PM. Many rocks hits proved damaging to the lower unit on the boat, and the clutching mechanism went out on it. So our top speed as measured by the GPS was 3.3 mph, which was barely enough to match the current.
Note to self:
Gage height: 1.6ft near Big Lake
Discharge: 330cfs
River not navigable by boat, canoe/kayak no problem.