11/09/99
The
GRIZissippi
By
Noel Vick
He
owns it, but he’ll share it with clients.
 Forget
Canadian Fly-ins, Lake Erie, and Bay de Noc.
Lake of the Woods is awesome, but a guy from the Cities
needs a few days time to enjoy it.
Winnie and Leech, truly special, but they’re still north
a ways. Even a trek
to Mille Lacs requires a little trailering.
So it would seem that regular exposure to trophy walleyes
is contingent on vacation days or “calling in sick”.
The Griz begs to differ.
The
mysterious patch of water in question is the Mississippi River.
You know that murky tract you only afford passing glances
en route to the eight-hour grind? A sip of coffee, a casual glance below the bridge, grain
swelled barges pushing downstream, and a squadron of pigeons
billowing up and away – not the stuff quintessential walleye
factories are made of. But
what the urbanized Mississippi River lacks in remote and wild
features, it over compensates for in productivity.
Who’s
Griz? If he appeared
in a police lineup there would be no dispute as to which character
went by the name Griz. Editor’s
note: To the best of our knowledge, Griz’s record is pure and
he’s never appeared in a police lineup.
If “Old Man River” has a face, the Griz wears it.
I like to think of him as the guide that time forgot.
Leathered
wrestler’s hands that seldom if ever see protective wear.
A dense trapper’s beard, which breaks northeasters like a
windshield. And a
thick well maintained head of hair that denies access to any form
of headgear. This is
Griz.
Inside
Griz’s fertile mind dwells the greatest fishing wisdom ever
known. He sees things
others don’t. He
fishes when others won’t. And
he pulls fish from places others can’t.
Our
day on the river began at a vacant boat landing in late October.
We were greeted by a biting north wind paired with
industrial skies; it was no wonder why parking spaces were readily
available. We
departed in Griz’s tailor-made river-runner armed with
recommended ¼-ounce Fireball jigs and beefy fathead minnows.
What color jigs? Griz
says the lead is there to get it down and all the fish really care
about is the main course – minnows with shoulders.
Because
of the labors of guys like Griz and his good buddy Dick Sternberg
the river is back. Continuously
cleansing waters and mandated catch and release practices coalesce
with an abundant forage base and wall to wall spawning habitat to
create one of the North America’s greatest walleye fisheries.
Unfortunately,
a healthy walleye population doesn’t necessarily guarantee fish
in the boat. With
over 150 wingdams to choose from, countless back channels, barge
traffic, and prop crushing shallows, the river can be frustrating
to fish and challenging to navigate.
Griz can nearly close his eyes and safely land on top of
walleyes.
Fishing
the “spot on the spot” is Griz’s mastery.
He can take a 50-yard run of current and pinpoint a dozen
unique fish holding structures within.
A submerged logjam, unmarked riprap, troughs, lips, bars
are all visible on Griz’s mind map.
And coupled with each and every micro-spot is a tale or two
of glory, of which I’d never question.
Jigging
is a study in adaptation. Several
weeks ago, a junket to Leech Lake revealed that aggressive
“buggy whipping” was in order – incessant six inch to
one-foot snaps. A few
weeks later, Lake of the Woods and Rainy River walleyes demanded a
lazier pull and fall approach with occasional sequences of
one-inch pumps like you’d apply ice fishing with a vertical
spoon. So on this
day, I watched what the virtuoso was employing.
Griz reached down, felt for bottom ticks, lifted a bit, and
brought her back down. Feel
everything; set everything. The
bulk of the bottoms we fished were hard and snag-free.
In fact, opposed to common river-law, only a jig or two was
sacrificed to the Mississippi itself – a couple of other jigs
were borrowed to pike. Only
a river rat with Griz’s abilities can pilot with such
snaglessness. It’s
all about boat control. Creep
along; befriend river current; keep vertical with as light of a
jig as possible. Even
novice anglers perform like experts under Griz’s watchful eye.
Fireballs
and fatheads were taking their share of fish.
Walleye, walleye, sauger, walleye, white bass, walleye,
sauger, bite off, retie, and so on.
Somewhere along the line the river sage fastened up one of
his specialized Griz Jigs.
Beneath
its outwardly unassuming white-feathered body is some serious fish
catching engineering. A
Griz Jig’s nontraditionally weighted-head is perfect for
Mississippi River current. The
long pluming tail feathers dance and undulate beneath the
surfaces, requiring no minnow dressing.
The hooks are golden and sharp, and don’t expect the
threads and feathers to come unglued. But what really turns fish on is the way Griz snaps and
twitches the lure. Griz
commenced banging walleyes and sauger at a pace, which eclipsed or
at minimum rivaled our minnow-tipped renditions.
A
swarm of seagulls snacking on boiling shad marked our next
destination. Here,
unlike the 6 to 14-foot deep running water we fished in the
morning, was a stagnant, but connected, backwater complete with
impressive depths and a sand/gravel floor.
Similar jigging techniques produced a smattering of
walleyes and enormous white bass from a deep break.
But the mayhem really ensued when we started pitching jigs
at the bank and working them down the slope.
First cast:
10-pound plus river walleye!
Second cast:
another good whack. Ensuing
casts: a batch of walleyes that included four, five, and six-pounders.
An amazing encounter in an industrialized setting
surrounded by four million residents…
More
amazing yet, late October marks only the beginning of a lengthy
and wintry period of unbelievable river fishing.
Griz books river trips throughout the winter – iced- in
boat landings or previously scheduled hardwater Mille Lacs
engagements are the only things that stand between Griz and the
river. He doesn’t
cook shore lunch, he doesn’t fillet fish, and Griz hates
whiners. But if you
want a shot at catching more walleyes and sauger in one day than
most do in a year, he’s your man.
And a 100 fish day is one thing that even puts a grin on
Griz’s face.
Contact
Griz’s Guide Service
at (651) 771-6231 for Mississippi and St. Croix River guided
trips, summer and fall fishing on Lake Winnibigoshish and Pelican
Lake (Orr, MN), as well as ice fishing on Mille Lacs.
Griz Jigs are
available at Blue Ribbon Bait & Tackle in Oakdale, Vados Bait
in Spring Lake Park, and other Minnesota sporting goods
establishments. |
