MISSISSIPPI RIVER
The mighty Mississippi can be more than a mile wide between Wisconsin and our neighbors to the west, Iowa and Minnesota. That’s a pretty long cast from shore when the channel runs along our bordering states’ side of the river!

Maps are available at every dam and at other locations along the river that will show where the main channel runs. This is a major key to gaining access to spring walleyes as they migrate upstream toward the dams. A good example of this kind of shore-fishing opportunity is found just west of the railroad tracks at the little hamlet of Victory, about halfway between La Crosse and Prairie du Chien.

Riprap has been placed along the shoreline to stem the Mississippi’s irrepressible current, with the main channel essentially bumping into these rocks. Walleyes like to stage along the slackwater/fastwater interface as they move upstream. A combination of tight-lining a river rig on the bottom baited with a fathead minnow and casting either hair- or plastic-tipped jigs is a good way to get hooked up.

But the best way to cash in on the Mississippi’s shore-fishing bounty is from one of several fishing floats, or fishing barges, staged along the river directly below several of the lock-and-dam systems. A Wisconsin license is valid for fishing essentially anywhere between the railroad tracks that run along both sides of the river. This includes floats moored along shore in our neighboring states.

These floats typically charge a daily fee, while providing free ferry service to and from an adjacent parking lot. The fee ranges from $14 to $20. Tackle and food is usually available on the float, but in most cases the angler needs to bring his or her own bait. You’ll also need to bring along a stringer or fish basket -- and extra clothes.

The floats are moored between wing dams, offering perhaps the best walleye action the river has to offer when fish are on the move. Some of them like the Clements Fishing Barge at Genoa and Great Alma Fishing Float at Alma have been in continuous operation for decades. The float below Lock & Dam No. 9 recently re-opened, offering a super walleye fishing opportunity for just a few dollars. It is now called Hubbard’s Fishing Float & Café, which has special 5 to 7 p.m. evening hours when you can get a outstanding T-bone steak!

Fishing prospects on the Mississippi -- and on these barges -- can change virtually overnight. It is wise to call ahead for fishing conditions before heading out.

Contacts: Eagle Point Fishing Barge, (608) 748-4443; Clements Fishing Barge, (608) 689-2800, www.clementsfishing.com; Trempealeau Fish Float, (608) 783-2286; La Crescent Barge, (507) 437-8778; Great Alma Fishing Float, (608) 685-3474, www.almawisconsin.com/recreation; Hubbard’s Fishing Float & Café, (608) 994-2595, www.hubbardsfishingfloat.com.

ROCK RIVER
This south-central Wisconsin river keeps getting better every year, with shore-fishing opportunities available from downtown Fort Atkinson downstream to the old Beloit sewage treatment plant just 200 yards north of the Illinois border.