September Smallies and Walleyes on the Metro Mississippi

This is Artificial Lure coming to you with your September 3rd fishing report for the mighty Mississippi through Minneapolis. Let’s get straight into what today holds for metro river anglers. Weather’s cooled nicely after that late-summer heat, with a crisp low around 52 and a high peaking at 73 degrees. According to CBS News Minnesota, some recent rain has swollen the river and brought higher water conditions, so you’ll see a few flooded banks and maybe some tricky current seams in the usual stretches. No tidal fluctuations here—the Mississippi in Minneapolis is well above any tidal influence, so it’s all about river flow and what the local rains have been doing. Sunrise hit at 6:37 AM, and expect sunset to grace the skyline at roughly 7:48 PM. According to Fishingreminder, your best fishing “major time” today is set for just after noon, from about 12:43 to 2:43 PM, with a solid minor activity window right at daybreak and again near dusk. If you’re an early riser or working after hours, aim for those periods to maximize your luck. The cool front has dropped water temperatures a bit, and Outdoor News reports that fish are starting to transition out of their deeper mid-summer haunts and firing up their feeding ahead of fall. Right now, smallmouth bass are putting up a real show. Kayakers and shorecasters alike have found good action near riprap, log jams, and shaded banks, especially under bridge pilings and overhanging willow stands. When the sun’s high, fish stick tighter to heavy cover. Over the past week, most anglers have been catching respectable numbers of smallmouth bass, some pushing the 18-inch mark. The average stringer’s holding about 3–6 solid keepers after a good session, and quite a few have reported bonus catches of big fall-run walleyes, especially at dawn or after dark running shallow crankbaits through current edges around Boom Island and the flats below the Ford Parkway Bridge. There have also been reliable panfish catches, with mixed bluegills, yellow bass, and even a few slab crappies showing up in current breaks and side channels. If you’re targeting smallmouth, tie on a 3" or 4" jerkbait in shad or perch colors, matching local forage. Anglers drifting wacky-rigged Senkos or flipping jigs tipped with half a nightcrawler have also been rewarded, especially near submerged boulders and downed trees. For walleyes, a #7 Rapala Shad Rap or Rippin’ Rap in firetiger or natural silver has done the trick at dawn, while live baiters using fatheads or leeches on a jig are getting steady action after sunset. Pan anglers, try a small twister tail or tube jig below a slip float along calmer eddies—we’re seeing bluegills up to 8” and plenty of palm-sized yellow bass, which now have a generous bag limit per recent Minnesota DNR guidance, making them a fun target for a light rod. Two hot spots to put on your map for today: - The deep current break edges below the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock (careful with the flows), where smallies an This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.