Mississippi River Minneapolis: Summer Smallmouth and Walleye Peak Season Report

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Mississippi River Minneapolis fishing report. The big river’s running a little high but clearing, with decent visibility in the main pools and a light stain tight to shore and below the dams. The Mississippi here isn’t tidal, so no tide report today—what matters is current seams and flow changes from recent rains and dam releases. Look for softer water just off the main push. Weather-wise around Minneapolis, the day is shaping up mild with light winds and comfortable temps, a classic early-summer pattern. Expect a mix of clouds and sun with just enough breeze to put a chop on the water. Sunrise is right around the mid‑5 a.m. hour, with sunset landing near the mid‑9 p.m. mark, so you’ve got a long window of low‑light feeding at both ends. Fish have been active in those prime windows. Local reports along Pool 1 and Pool 2 say smallmouth bass have been chewing well on rocky points, bridge pilings, and riprap banks. Anglers are seeing good numbers of 12–17 inch bronzebacks, with a few pushing 19–20. Walleyes have been more of a dawn and after‑dark deal, hanging on current breaks below the dams and off the tips of wing dams. Some solid eaters in the 15–20 inch range, plus a few bigger fish for those working slowly and tight to structure. Channel cats are consistent as always on cut bait, with plenty of fish in the 3–10 pound class and the occasional big one for patient soakers. Best lures lately: for smallmouth, think classic river stuff. Tube jigs in natural green pumpkin, 3–4 inch paddle‑tail swimbaits on 1/8–1/4 oz heads, and small squarebill crankbaits ticking rock in 4–8 feet. Topwater has started turning on at first and last light—walk‑the‑dog baits and small poppers worked along shorelines and current breaks have drawn blowups when the river’s calm. For walleyes, anglers doing well are dragging live‑bait rigs with leeches or nightcrawlers, or slow‑rolling jig‑and‑plastic combos just off bottom in that 8–18 foot range. Bright chartreuse or orange when the water’s dingy, more natural shad or smelt patterns when it’s clearer. Natural bait that’s working: nightcrawlers and leeches under slip bobbers on the edges of current, plus cut sucker or goldeye for the cats. If you’re after numbers of panfish in backwaters and marinas, small pieces of crawler or waxies under a float will keep a rod bending. A couple local hot spots to put on your list: • The stretch below Lock and Dam No. 1 (Ford Dam): classic current seams, eddies, and riprap. Great for smallmouth and walleyes, with cats hanging deeper. Work the first couple hundred yards down from the dam, and don’t ignore those softer inside turns. • The University/Franklin Avenue bridge area: plenty of rocky structure, pilings, and current breaks that hold smallmouth all summer. Cast crankbaits and swimbaits upstream and swim them back with the flow, or pick apart the rocks with tubes. Focus on low‑light periods, keep your presentations just off bottom in the heavier current and a bit higher in the slower seams, and you should find cooperative fish. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a river report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn