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Fishing can be quite a humbling experience during the summer months. With the middle of August fast approaching, September is right around the corner, a month that marks the beginning of outstanding river fishing for walleyes, saugers and crappies.

Both the Mississippi River and St. Croix River give up good numbers of fish throughout the season, but it is during the spring spawning period and late fall that these fisheries really shine and produce some of the heaviest walleyes of the year. In a few short weeks it'll be time to begin checking in on some of my favorite fishing report websites to see how anglers are faring at spots such as the Mississippi's Pool 2 (between St. Paul and Hastings) and Pool 4 (Red Wing), as well as the water below the dam in Alma, WI. The run from Stillwater to Hastings is prime walleye water on the St. Croix River and should never be overlooked or under-estimated during the spring and fall months.

Bait presentation couldn't be easier for fall river walleyes and saugers. Jigs in the 1/8th to 3/8th size tipped with either live minnows or plastics are the clear ticket, and when the water temperatures dip below 50-degrees, scented, soft plastic curly tail grubs and shad bodies will oftentimes out-fish live bait. Unlike lake walleyes, river walleyes position themselves and feed fairly tight to the bottom, so be sure your jig is working no more than a foot or so off the riverbed. I hold steadfast to my trusty, tried and true rule-of-thumb for river fishing, and that is simply to fish the river's structure and likely fish-holding spots. Period. Don't get too fancy with your electronics and look for (or expect to find) suspended fish, because river walleyes rarely suspend.

River walleyes need to stay out of the fast and heavy currents, so look for breaks such as wing dams, current seams (where fast and slow currents meet) and drop-offs to hold active fish. Sometimes it's effective to anchor just upstream of a good drop-off, send your jig to the bottom and allow it to work downriver into the hole.

There is no doubt that boat control is a major factor in fishing success, and that rule-of-thumb is doubly important when fishing a river. Faster surface currents will constantly threaten to push your boat downstream faster than your bait, so using a trolling motor to slightly power upriver as you drift down will go a long way to ensure that things remain vertical. Keeping your jig next to the bottom and in the strike zone while drifting is most efficiently achieved when your presentation is vertical and under the boat.

So there you have it. I'm thankful when I realize that we must endure this hellishly hot and sticky weather for only a few more weeks. Then we can all bust out our Canadian pac boots, bundle up and begin to feel like proud Minnesotans again. I know the fishing will be good in September and October when I'm forced to wear my favorite camo knit cap out on the water. I think I'll cheat the calendar a bit and look for that cap when I get home tonight.

Dan Brown's weekly outdoor column is brought to you by Frankie's Bait and Marine, in Chisago City, and St. Croix Outdoors, in St. Croix Falls, Wis.

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