Fishing the Mississippi in Minneapolis: Fall Bite, Prime Spots and Solunar Timings

Artificial Lure reporting live for the Mississippi River, Minneapolis, on this chilly Sunday morning, October 19, 2025. The sun poked up at 7:33 am and will dip back down at 6:22 pm, giving us nearly 11 hours of daylight—enough to make the most of a classic fall bite according to solunarforecast.com. Weather-wise, yesterday saw temps in the mid-60s and overnight things dropped into that crisp 30s and 40s range. Today is shaping up to be perfect autumn fishing—cool and stable, with just a touch of breeze, making the morning and late afternoon prime time for casting lines, says CBS Minnesota’s latest weekend forecast. Mississippi River flow is typical for mid-October, no recent rain-outs or flooding in this Minneapolis stretch. Water clarity remains decent, especially in the main channel. No tidal influences here—Minnesota’s not coastal—so the bite is driven by sunlight and water temps cooling off day by day. Fish activity’s been steady this week. Local anglers pulled in a mixed bag: solid numbers of smallmouth bass, a few chunky walleyes, and the occasional northern pike. Catfish are still being picked up near the deep holes and eddies, mostly channel cats up to 8 pounds. Anglers out of Boom Island and just below the falls by the Stone Arch Bridge reported the bass were smashing craw-colored jigs and crankbaits late in the afternoon while walleyes were hitting on jigs tipped with fathead minnows at dusk, according to conversations at the landing and area bait shops. Hot spots to check today: - The riprap and tailwaters below the Ford Dam—always a fall classic for mixed species. - Hidden Falls Regional Park, which has decent bank access and steady catfish action, especially for those soaking cut bait. Best bite periods, as mapped out by the solunar tables, are around 4:23 pm to 6:23 pm for majors, and a minor uptick from 8:29 am to 9:29 am. If you can only sneak away a few hours, shoot for those windows. Bait and lures: - For bass, stick with medium-diving crankbaits in firetiger or craw patterns, or go with three-inch tube jigs on an 1/8 ounce head. - Walleye anglers should keep things simple: chartreuse or orange jigs paired with live fatheads or half-crawlers. - Pike are showing a preference for large spinners (think #5 Mepps or similar) and white paddletail swimbaits. - For catfish, cut sucker or fresh shrimp fished on the bottom will get the nod. Boat launches and banks have not been crowded—no major events or closures today—so there’s plenty of room to find your own pocket of water. No tropical weather issues heading our way, per Tennessee Valley Weather, so waters will stay calm. Thanks a ton for tuning in to today’s on-the-water update. For daily tips and river reports from yours truly, make sure you subscribe so you never miss a bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.