Fall Morning on the Cannon River

Trout fishing has been over but that does not mean fishing is over. I enjoy the crisp fall mornings of October. First off I fished my Sucker Creek for an hour under the bridge. This was my fourth time fishing it this fall, each trip has been worthwhile. My main interest was in more tubby smallies and a beautiful redhorse. Happy to land my second redhorse of my life this morning, beautiful red fins. The two I have caught were this size - larger than a white sucker, and again right away I could see the red fins stick out and was extra careful not to lose the fish. Just a beautiful silver fish with big scales.



Next I headed over the to Byllesby Cannon River Dam off 19, four miles east of Cannon Falls. My first time here. Initially I was jigging under the rock ledge on shore with a walleye jig and worm, no action. A Mexican family was fishing next to me with worms and caught only one white sucker all morning, packed up and left. After they left I worked my way downstream a touch away from the dam. I noticed soft current shallow water below the dam that was 2-3' deep and lots of rocks. Smallie Central! I caught three smallies, the last one being an absolute tub. Initially I was casting a Mepps minnow spinner and also lost another tub smallie. I fished the same area over a few times and notice I caught fish each time after a lure change. Heck, I even tried Tony's PK "trout" lure (smallie colors) and caught one. Then I got snagged next cast and that was the end of that lure.



Next I switched over to a fluorescent yellow/orange/green shallow runner Rapala and caught two of these. A first for me. I believe this is a quillback. The first one I snagged in the dorsal fin. The second one I snagged in the face. These fish were chunky wide fish and strong fighters. I guess they are related to the carp. I ran out of time but I bet if I walked down the shore and found more soft water there would be more of smallie fishing.



Walking on my way out here are photos of the Byllesby Dam and Lake Byllesby itself. There is a fishing pier and two guys fishing from it. I am told it is 70 feet deep at the dock if you can believe that.