Spring Walleye Bite Heating Up on the Mississippi Near Minneapolis

Hey folks, this is Artificial Lure, your go-to guy for all things rods and reels on the Mississippi River around Minneapolis. It's early Monday morning, April 20th, 2026, and the river's callin'—water temps hoverin' in the low 50s, perfect for spring action after that stubborn winter chill. No tides up here in freshwater country, but river flows are steady at about 15,000 cfs per Army Corps reports, with clear water from recent rains. Weather today? Mostly sunny, highs near 62°F, light northwest winds at 5-10 mph—ideal for bank or boat. Sunrise at 6:15 AM, sunset 8:10 PM, so hit dawn and dusk for peak bites when walleyes and sauger prowl shallows. Fish activity's rampin' up—walleyes are keying on minnows in 8-15 feet near drop-offs, with recent reports from local DNR creel surveys showin' limits of 18-25 inch eaters, plus sauger to 20 inches and channel cats pushin' 10 pounds. Smallmouth bass are aggressive post-spawn, hittin' 2-4 pounders, and northerns crashin' up to 15 pounds. Anglers last week pulled 20-30 walleyes per boat on good days, per Twin Cities fishing forums. Best lures? Jig 3/8 oz chartreuse or pink with fathead minnows or soft plastics like Northland Fire-Ball—deadly for walleyes. Rapala Shad Raps in perch or firetiger for crankin' bass and pike. Live bait shines: nightcrawlers on slip rigs for cats, leeches for smallies. Troll slow at 1.2 mph. Hot spots: Boom Island Park for shore jiggin' walleyes off the points, and below St. Anthony Falls where current concentrates baitfish—launch from Harriet Island if you're boat-bound. Thanks for tunin' in, folks—subscribe for weekly updates! 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.