Fly Fishing Insider Podcast
The upper Mississippi above the Twin Cities holds big smallmouth because a 12-to-20-inch protected slot has been in place for years, the habitat is rock bar and weed, and crayfish make up roughly 80 percent of the diet. Musky fishing on the same water peaks from mid-September until ice.
Kip Vieth owns and operates Wild Wood Float Trips in Minnesota, guiding smallmouth and musky from drift boats on the upper Mississippi and the St. Croix for more than 20 years.
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What makes the upper Mississippi a top smallmouth river?
The stretch of the upper Mississippi from St. Cloud down to the Twin Cities runs under a protective slot: smallmouth from 12 to 20 inches must be released, with a single fish over 20 inches allowed. That regulation has been in place long enough to shape the fishery, and the guide credits the founder of a Minnesota smallmouth advocacy group for getting it passed. Habitat does the rest, with rock bars, weed beds and heavy forage, and genetics in the system that produce fast-growing fish. Counting the river miles this outfit can guide comes to roughly 600 to 700.
Why does the Mississippi look different above the Twin Cities?
The upper Mississippi in July and August looks nothing like the big muddy river most people picture. The water runs slow and clear, with Illinois pondweed growing through it, closer in character to a large trout stream. The change happens below the dam between the Twin Cities, where the Minnesota River enters after draining heavy agricultural country in the western part of the state and brings farm runoff with it. Below that confluence the Mississippi turns into the river most people recognize.
What do smallmouth eat on the upper Mississippi?
Crayfish account for roughly 80 percent of a smallmouth's diet in this system. Further north, chubs and small walleye become a bigger share of the forage. Even with crayfish dominant, the guide fishes minnow patterns far more than crayfish patterns, on the reasoning that a visible eat on top or just under the surface is worth more than dredging. Those minnow patterns run around five inches long and are wind resistant enough to surprise visiting anglers used to smaller western streamers.
How do you retrieve a popper for river smallmouth?
The popper retrieve is short and deliberate: lay the popper out 40 to 50 feet, pop once, let the popper sit and settle, then give another pop or two. Aggressive smallmouth eat the popper on the landing or on the first pop, so three pops without a response is the cue to pick the popper up and cast to a new fish. Rubber legs matter, because a fish that rises to look at a resting popper often eats when the legs keep moving on their own. Popping again at that moment usually turns the fish off.
When should you fish a diver instead of a popper?
The diver is the choice in cold, dark or dirty spring water, and it is fished with a long dive that leaves a bubble trail rather than a hard chug. Fished on a short two- or three-foot sink tip with a very short leader, the diver dives once and then works below the surface trying to fight its way back up, darting and pushing water the whole time. Late in summer, when smallmouth have seen a season of poppers, dead-drifting a popper or a foam-and-rubber-leg pattern often outfishes any retrieve at all.
Why does the fly line matter more than the rod for bass bugs?
The guide's advice to anyone building a smallmouth outfit is to buy the good fly line first and choose a rod that fits the line, which reverses how most anglers shop. Throwing five-inch minnows, poppers and divers requires a heavy weight-forward taper, either an aggressive front-loaded line or a dedicated bass-bug taper, to turn the fly over at the end of the cast. That mass is what allows the pick-it-up-and-shoot delivery that keeps the fly on the water. A premium rod loaded with a poor line casts like an average rod.
What leader and rod setup does fly fishing for musky require?
The musky leader is short and simple: roughly 50-pound fluorocarbon joined to 40-pound wire with a double uni knot, then 18 to 20 inches of wire to a snap, for a total of three to four feet. A short leader is deliberate, because a long leader lets a heavy fly stall at the end of the cast and makes the fly harder to turn and redirect at the boat. Wire, not heavy fluorocarbon, is the rule, since a musky will eventually cut through fluorocarbon regardless of diameter. The rod is a heavy 11- or 12-weight with an extended rear grip that allows figure-eights at the boat and lets the angler brace the butt against the forearm while casting.
When is the best time to fly fish for musky, and how do you stay focused?
This outfit runs musky trips from about mid-September until ice forms, usually the first or second week of November, because the fish are heaviest, most aggressive and feeding to carry eggs through winter. Cold, changing, unpleasant weather beats sunny and 60, and booking around the new moon adds meaningfully to the odds. Three days on the water is a reasonable expectation for one landed fish. The hardest part is attention: the eat usually comes the moment focus drops, and most trout anglers blow the first eat by lifting the rod instead of setting hard with the line hand.
Key takeaways
- The upper Mississippi from St. Cloud to the Twin Cities protects smallmouth from 12 to 20 inches, which is a large part of why the river grows big fish.
- Crayfish make up roughly 80 percent of a smallmouth's diet there, but five-inch minnow patterns, poppers and divers produce the better fishing.
- Give a popper two or three pops at most; an aggressive smallmouth eats on the landing or the first pop, and a fish sitting under a resting popper usually eats the rubber legs.
- Fish a diver on a two- or three-foot sink tip with a short leader when spring water is cold and dirty, so the fly pushes water below the surface.
- Build musky leaders from about 50-pound fluorocarbon to 40-pound wire with a double uni, keeping the total length to three or four feet so the fly turns and stays working.
- Book musky trips in the fall around a new moon and a weather change, plan on three days per landed fish, and set the hook with the line hand rather than lifting the rod.
