mississippi backwaters

[Holehopper26]

thinking about heading up to the mississippi backwaters next week 1/8/2021. ive never fished the backwaters and any info would be greatly appreciated!

[Stellahound]

Ton of area to fish. I fished Prairie du Chien this past Monday. Easy way to do it is find a crowd and follow. Plenty of panfish and pike/bass to be found in the river. What area do you plan on fishing?

[Holehopper26]

I’m planning PDC area and up to DeSoto bay. Might try and find some water on the Iowa side. Any tips on where to get bait or where to park? It’s a 3 1/2 hour drive for me so I’d like to be prepared as possible.   

[Stellahound]

If you fish Prairie du Chien you can fish Gremore Lake. Park at the Crooked Oar bar. There is a bait place right there. You can also park on the north side of the bridge between PDC and Iowa and fish there also. Lansing IA has a bait shop and I think you can also get bait at Harpers Ferry. You can go to Blackhawk Park(Wisconsin side) and access several spots from there to include Desoto Bay. I know people park at a bar by Desoto Bay and walk on from there. I think you pay to park at the bar tho, but I have never done that.

[Duke M]

Last weekend there were hundreds of anglers on Gremore. If you can't get on by the Crooked Oar you can continue a few hundred yards up County Hwy K and turn left onto Ambrough Rd. At the T turn left again and there is parking and you'll see where guys go out. I would not attempt to cross the Ambrough Slough to the West to go out to Tilmont or Mud yet because there is current in the Ambrough and I don't know that I'd trust the ice on foot.

So many of the sloughs are tricky at early ice and now we have snow on top of the ice. I can say that Green Lake in Black Hawk park has been safe for a while. I have seen guys on DeSoto Bay. I know if you come across from Lansing on Hwy 82 toward the WI side, you can watch for other anglers and see where they walk on. As long as you are between the rail road tracks your Iowa license is valid.

[Holehopper26]

Thanks for all the info guys I appreciate it a ton! Tight lines!

[Duke M]

Well, didja go?

Duke

[matzilla]

use tip downs with minnows - 2 tip downs and 1 jigging rod

avoid the crowds as much as possible - be prepared for a slow, grind it out kind of bite and a lot of sorting. There are some really good fish to be had but you need to work a bit harder for them so far this season

[jstfish]

So let me get this straight  ? I can have 3 tip ups (with flags ) and 2 rods on the Mississippi at sny magill access ?

[matzilla]

yes but once you pass the mn/ia line it is 3 lines only - iowa mississippi you are allowed exactly as Kevin laid out. If you are in pdc or desoto, i wouldn't push it lol one the iowa side i would do it w/o any hesitation.

A “tip-up” is an ice fishing device with an attached
flag or signal to show fishing action, used to hold
fishing line and a hook. You may fish a combination
of one tip-up and one additional line, or two tip-ups
and no additional lines. You can use an additional
line or tip-up if you have a third line fishing permit.

When fishing the Mississippi, Missouri and Big
Sioux Rivers and their connected backwaters, the
following regulations apply: you can use up to three
tip-up fishing devices. You can use two or three
hooks on the same line, but the total number of
hooks each person uses cannot exceed three. Each
tip-up fishing device must have a tag attached,
plainly labeled with the owner’s name and address.
You cannot use a tip-up fishing device within 300
feet of a dam or spillway or in a part of the river
which is closed or posted against use of the device.
Three tip-up fishing devices may be used in addition
to two lines with no more than two hooks per line.

a tip down is a tip up in iowa if it has a flag just as Kevin said

[New User Name]

I was out on Gremore yesterday morning. People are now fishing the slough to the west.

I had about 6" of ice where I fished. The bluegills were hitting steadily until about 9:00 AM when they shut off. Picked up a couple crappie as well. No perch.

From what I hear the panfish bite up north by La Crosse has slowed down for a lot of people.

[lionsfan]

Great replies, guys! I'm headed up there this weekend with my oldest son (13). Staying in PDC, but down to fish wherever. Not real familiar with the area, and a LOT of water to cover! Your responses will definitely help cut down on some of the thinking a bit.

We'll be looking mainly for perch/walleye/pike, but a good bite is a good bite. Just want to show the boy a good time!

Holehopper, how'd you do?

[jakefetch]

Not trying to poach this thread here, but I'm wondering if painting the handles on my tip down schooleys blaze orange will qualify as an attached "signal?"  What do you think?  Otherwise, I guess I could add more weight on the line to counter-balance the added weight of a flag attached to the handle somehow.  Also, I agree with Mattzilla.  I would not try the 3 tip up Iowa law on the Wisconsin side.  I may be wrong but I believe while your license is good there, you still have to abide by their laws.  I fished Green Lake in Blackhaw, and Stoddard a few weeks ago, and used 2 tip downs & 1 jigging rod.  Caught most of the perch on the tip downs.

[New User Name]

Correct understanding on how licenses and regulations work on the Mississippi. True for both Iowa-Wisconsin and Minnesota-Wisconsin.

An Iowa license in this case allows you to fish anywhere between the railroad tracks. No need to get a Wisconsin license. But you have to follow the laws of the state in which you are fishing. So don't run more than three lines on the Wisconsin side of the river.

Not sure about Iowa-Illinois, but I think it is the same.

Back in the 90s Minnesota and Wisconsin anglers had to abide by their own state's regulations anywhere between the tracks on the Mississippi. What that meant was that Wisconsin residents could use three lines on the Minnesota side, and Minnesota residents could only use two lines on the Wisconsin side. You can see why that got changed.

[Kevin23]

Correct understanding on how licenses and regulations work on the Mississippi. True for both Iowa-Wisconsin and Minnesota-Wisconsin.

An Iowa license in this case allows you to fish anywhere between the railroad tracks. No need to get a Wisconsin license. But you have to follow the laws of the state in which you are fishing. So don't run more than three lines on the Wisconsin side of the river.

Not sure about Iowa-Illinois, but I think it is the same.

Back in the 90s Minnesota and Wisconsin anglers had to abide by their own state's regulations anywhere between the tracks on the Mississippi. What that meant was that Wisconsin residents could use three lines on the Minnesota side, and Minnesota residents could only use two lines on the Wisconsin side. You can see why that got changed.

Iowa/illinois is shore to shore but you can fish connected backwaters with either license. Cannot fish in any tributaries. Follow the laws in the state you are fishing like you said, between IA/IL you can only use 3 lines up to the border in the river (center of navigation channel unless marked)