Icy Walleyes and Sauger on Pool 1 of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis

This is Artificial Lure checking in with your Mississippi River Minneapolis fishing report. Up here on Pool 1, winter’s in charge. The river’s low and cold, with shelf ice building in the backwaters and slower edges. Open main‑channel runs are still fishable, but you’ll want to pick your spots and move slow. According to SolunarForecast, the better feeding windows today line up with a **major bite mid‑morning into late morning and again toward evening**, with a softer minor push right after daybreak. Sunrise is right around **7:30 a.m.** and sunset about **4:30 p.m.**, so you’ve got a short, prime light window to work with. Weather‑wise, local forecasts are calling for **below‑freezing air temps, light north to northwest breeze, and high overcast**, classic mid‑season conditions that usually nudge fish into deeper, softer current: inside bends, below current breaks, and wintering holes tight to rock. Recent reports from metro anglers and local bait shops around Pool 1 have been steady but not fast. Folks are picking up: - **Walleye and sauger**: mostly 14–19 inches, with a few bigger fish after dark. - **Smallmouth bass**: numbers are down with the cold, but a handful of chunky bronzebacks still coming from deeper rock piles. - **Channel cats**: occasional fish on cut bait in the deepest winter holes. Best river presentations right now are **subtle and slow**: - For walleye/sauger: - 1/8–1/4 oz **jig and fathead** or small rainbow chub, just heavy enough to tick bottom. - **Vertical jigging** plastics or a small blade bait (silver, gold, or firetiger) in 18–28 feet. - After dark, long‑lining a **#5 crankbait** or small stickbait along current edges can still produce. - For smallmouth: - **Ned rigs** with green pumpkin or natural shad plastics dragged painfully slow over rubble. - 3–4" **swimbaits** on light heads, swum just off bottom on seams. - For cats: - **Cut sucker** or frozen shad on a simple slip sinker rig, right in the deepest bends. Live bait is king in this cold: **fatheads, river shiners, and small sucker minnows** are your best bet. On plastics, think natural and downsized; let the current do most of the work. Couple of hot spots to consider: - **Below Upper St. Anthony Falls / Nicollet Island area**: Classic wintering water with deep holes, eddies, and current seams. Work the downstream side of the big bends and any visible current breaks. - **Downstream of Lock and Dam 1** near the Ford Bridge: Deeper slots, riprap edges, and slower runs stack both walleye and sauger. Stay mobile until you mark or feel fish. Ice is forming in the backwaters and along the banks, but river ice is never uniform. Use a spud bar if you step off onto any skim ice, and give the current plenty of respect. Check Minnesota DNR regulations for winter closures or special rules before you launch. If you slide over to metro lakes like Harriet or Nokomis, anglers are already seeing early‑ice **crappie and bluegill** over basin fl This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.