Mississippi River Hot Bite: Walleye and Smallies Firing Near Minneapolis

Hey folks, this is **Artificial Lure** comin' at ya with your Mississippi River fishin' report for early this mornin', Saturday, May 2nd, right here in and around Minneapolis. Weather's lookin' prime—clear skies with temps hoverin' around 55°F at dawn, light northwest breeze at 5-10 mph, humidity low at 60%, per the National Weather Service forecast. No tides on this freshwater beast, but river levels are steady at 12.5 feet on the St. Paul gauge from USGS data, perfect for wadin' or bank fishin' without much current push. Sunrise hit at 5:48 AM, sunset's 8:22 PM—gives ya a solid 14+ hours of light to chase 'em. Fish are active post-spawn; walleye are keyin' on the feed with the water temp sittin' at 52°F from Minnesota DNR reports. Recent catches been hot: locals pulled in 20+ walleyes up to 28 inches yesterday off the boom near the Ford Plant, plus smallies hammerin' 3-5 lbs on the rocky points by Lock & Dam 1. Catfish are prowlin' deep holes—channels report 15-pound blues on cut bait. Crappies still stacked in 8-12 feet near Boom Island, limits easy with minnows. Best lures? Go with **3-inch paddletail swimbaits** in perch or shad colors on 1/4-oz jigheads for walleye—twitch 'em slow along drop-offs. Rapala Shad Raps divin' 4-7 feet for smallies. Live bait kings are shiners under slip bobbers for eyes, nightcrawlers or cut shad for cats. **Hot spots**: Hit the east bank below the Washington Avenue Bridge for walleye at first light, or paddle out to the Father Hennepin Bluff for crappie slabs—park at the lot off Plymouth Ave. Stay safe, check regs, and tight lines! Thanks for tunin' in, folks—subscribe for more reports! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.